Wonder tales from the Greek & Roman myths

s

THE GREEK
ROMAN MYTHS

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES

WONDER TALES

FROM THE GREEK
& ROMAN MYTHS

BLACKIE & SON LIMITED

50 Old Bailey, LONDON
17 Stanhope Street, GLASGOW

BLACKIE & SON (INDIA) LIMITED
Warwick House, Fort Street, BOMBAY

BLACKIE & SON (CANADA) LIMITED
TORONTO

ZEUS
From the bust in the Vatican Museum, Rome

WONDER TALES

FROM THE GREEK
& ROMAN MYTHS

BY

GLADYS DAVIDSON

Author of " Stories from the Of eras" u Overheard at the Zoo" fife.

BLACKIE & SON LIMITED

LONDON AND GLASGOW

Myth and Legend
and History

Footprints of Early Man. A well illustrated

account of Early Man in the light of the most

recent investigations. Donald A. Mackenzie,

author of Ancient Man in Britain, &c.
Tales from Northern Sagas. Donald A.

Mackenzie.
Wonder Tales from the Greek and Roman

Myths. Gladys Davidson.
Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and

Legend. Donald A. Mackenzie.
Indian Fairy Stories. Donald A. Mackenzie.
Wonder Tales of the East. Donald A.

Mackenzie.
The Stories of the Months and Days.

R. C. Couzens.

Glimpses of Old New Zealand. J. R. Elder.
The Rise of the British Empire. A. R.

Hope Moncrieff.
In Byways of Scottish History. By Louis

A. Barb6, B.A.
The Story of the Great War, Donald A.

Mackenzie.

Printed in Great Britain by Biackie & Son, Ltd.. Gtatgvn

CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION 9

PANDORA'S Box 14

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 28

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS 44

EUROPA AND CADMUS 53

ORPHEUS AND HIS LYRE 61

THE STORY OF PHRIXUS AND HELLE . . . . .68
How JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE . . , . 71

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER r 87

THE STORY OF THESEUS AND ARIADNE . . . .98
BELLEROPHON AND PEGASUS, THE WINGED HORSE . . 109
FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY . . . .116

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES :-fc> 132

THE WANDERINGS OF ^ENEAS /O$y

THE STORY OF ECHO AND NARCISSUS 171

ATALANTA'S RACE ClTJC^

~ia£Z&- — ^~*r

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES ."*2££.« 189

THE STORY OF ALCESTIS 204

THE STORY OF CUPID AND PSYCHE 209

PYRAMUS AND THISBE 215

MIDAS AND THE MAGIC GOLD 220

THE MYTHS OF THE FLUTE AND THE PANDEAN PIPES . 228

DAMON AND PYTHIAS

THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES »

499374

UB sen

LIST OF PLATES

ZEUS Frontispiece

CERES 32

MERCURY ASTONISHES PHILEMON AND BAUCIS . . 48

ORPHEUS WITH THE ARGONAUTS ....,- 65
MEDEA GIVES THE MAGIC POWDER TO THE DRAGON , , 80

THESEUS FIGHTS THE MINOTAUR 104

PARIS 128

ClRCE ATTEMPTS TO ENCHANT ULYSSES ..... 144

PENELOPE 152

NARCISSUS FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIS OWN IMAGE . . 177
ATALANTA STOPS FOR THE THIRD GOLDEN APPLE . . 192

MINERVA , 196

APOLLO 205

KING MIDAS SPRINKLES THE GOLDEN PLANTS WITH THE
MAGIC WATER 224

PAN 232

^-^.

DlONYSIUS AND ACTORS ^4P\

Wonder Tales from
the Greek and Roman Myths

Introduction

The religion of the early Greeks and Romans,
like that of most of the ancient nations of their
time, was very closely interwoven with the history
of their country and the deeds of their most
famous heroes; and though, before the intro-
duction of Christianity, it had fallen into a very
corrupt state, in its earlier and purer forms it
had much that was beautiful in it, and many
great truths were hidden in the myths and fables
relating to the various gods and goddesses wor-
shipped by its adherents.

What we may regard as the foolish pagan prac-
tice of worshipping many different gods and god-
desses may not have been so entirely foolish
from the standpoint of primitive peoples. Those
who have made special study of such matters
give various explanations as to how the prac-
tice may have arisen. The foremost nations
of ancient times all had a belief in the existence
of gods and goddesses — the Babylonians, As-

io GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Syrians, Egyptians, as well as the Greeks and
Romans and the people of ancient India. Natu-
rally, such gods and goddesses are regarded as
having each different powers and a different char-
acter, and some of them may be looked upon as
far more powerful and benevolent than others.
Writers tell us that among the Greeks, as among
the other ancient peoples, many people were fully
convinced that there was one great and splendid
God, who was mightier and far above all the
others, who were inferior to himself in power and
over whom he ruled as a glorious king. This
king, or father of the gods, was called by the
Greeks Zeus, and by the Romans Jupiter, being
familiar to us also by the name Jove.

The more enlightened of the Greeks felt that
this mighty God, the lord of the whole universe,
must be possessed of every great and good quality
they most admired; and since they so highly
reverenced these qualities and virtues in him,
and he was the head of all, they often spoke
as if he were the one and only deity.

Among the other great deities or gods, was
Minerva — called Pallas Athene by the Greeks —
the Goddess of Wisdom. Two deities strong
and mighty in battle were Mars — called Ares
by the Greeks — the God of War, and Bellona,
his sister, Goddess of Battles. They also wor-
shipped beauty, itself — called Aphrodite by the
Greeks, Venus by the Romans — the Goddess of

INTRODUCTION n

Beauty. Another famous deity was Mercury —
called Hermes by the Greeks — the God of cunning,
liveliness, and commercial ability. Artistic gifts,
again, were represented by Apollo, the God of
Music and the Arts, while Cupid — called Eros
by the Greeks — was the God of Love.

The marvels of the world of nature were treated
and worshipped as deities also — the sun as Apollo,
or Phoebus, the sun-god ; the moon as the goddess
Luna; fire as the god Vulcan; the corn as Ceres;
the flowers as Flora; the fruits as Pomona, &c.

Possibly wise men and teachers may have in-
vented some of these gods with the desire that
mankind should not forget to render due worship
to the powers and goodness of the One Great
God and All- Father, nor to be thankful for the
wonders He had made and His care for their
welfare; and some myths in which these gods
and goddesses figure are probably intended, if
read aright, to be taken as parables or allegories
setting forth some great truth or moral lesson.

Several of these myths and stories are very
similar to certain of the stories contained in our
Bible and in the great books of other ancient
religions; and this is the reason why some stu-
dents have thought that all religions can be traced
to one origin.

However that may be, though the comparison
of these myths with the Bible narratives is very
interesting and fascinating, I do not propose to

la GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

go into the subject in this book, but merely to tell
you some of the wonderful stories contained in
the Greek and Roman fables, so that you may
be encouraged to take up the study of these
myths and their hidden meanings for yourselves
later on.

Most of our knowledge of these myths has
been gathered from the beautiful poetry of the
ancient Greeks and Romans, and from the won-
derful plays written by their greatest writers.

From these authors we learn that the chief
home of the gods was believed to be Mount
Olympus, a range of high mountains on the
boundary of Macedonia and Thessaly; and here
the mighty Jupiter reigned as king of the heavens,
with his queen, Juno, the glorious Goddess of
Marriage, and attended by a court of other gods
and goddesses.

The seas were ruled by Neptune, the King-
God of the Ocean; and the Under- World, or
Land of Shades, where the ancients believed
that the spirits of men and women dwelt after
death, was ruled by the dreaded god Pluto, the
King of Darkness.

All these ruling gods were attended by lesser
gods; and they did not always remain in their
own abodes, but spent much of their time in
visiting the earth, where they often made use of
mortals, giants, dwarfs, and even wild beasts in
order to carry out their plans.

INTRODUCTION 13

They were all gifted with magic powers, and
some of them could take on the form of any
creature they pleased; and though they were
often glorious to look upon, they were not
always kind or virtuous, and in many of the
stories told of them by the ancient writers they
are represented as doing cruel deeds.

There are also mentioned in these tales other
beings known as nymphs, who were, in reality,
lesser goddesses, but who, though of a higher
order than ordinary mortal maidens, did not pos-
sess the magic powers of the great goddesses;
and these fairy-like creatures dwelt in the seas,
springs, rivers, grottoes, trees, and mountains.
The sea-nymphs were called Oceanides and
Nereids; those who dwelt in fresh water, rivers,
lakes, brooks, or springs were known as Naiads;
the nymphs of the mountains and grottoes were the
Oreades ; the nymphs of the glens were Napseae ;
the nymphs of the trees were called Dryads —
those who dwelt in oak trees only being known
as Hamadryads.

The nymphs were very fair to look upon; and
many of them were married to mortals, and some
of them to gods.

Besides the nymphs, there were some strange
male beings called Satyrs. These were lesser
gods of the woods, and were ugly creatures, more
like apes than men, but with the cloven feet and
horns of goats ; and they were wild and noisy in

14 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

their ways and took great delight in frightening
the nymphs and any mortal maidens who came
near them.

Many of the stories told of the gods and heroes
of the ancient Greeks and Romans are full of
wonder and beauty; and in this book I have
related some of the most interesting of these
tales, in the hope that you may be led thus to
read them later on in their original form in the
beautiful poetry of these two great nations of the
past — whose scholars, poets, dramatists, philoso-
phers, mathematicians and sculptors are numbered
amongst the greatest the world has ever known.

Pandora's Box

The great gods of the ancient Greeks were
exceedingly jealous of their magic gifts and
mighty powers; and they took great precautions
to prevent any of the lesser gods or, later on,
mortals from robbing them of part of their glory,
or even learning a little of the wonderful know-
ledge they possessed and which they wished to
v keep for themselves alone, fearing lest, otherwise,
they could not hope to rule the world.

The beings they feared most were the Titans,
a family of mighty giants, the six sons and six
daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth),

PANDORA'S BOX 15

who entered into a long struggle with Jupiter for
the sovereignty of the heavens, but who were at
\ast overcome by the great god, who thrust them
down into the lowest part of the under-world —
known as Tartarus, the place of punishment —
where they could no longer harm him.

Some of the sons of the Titans, however, still
tried to seize a part of the power and knowledge
of the gods, though they had not the wonderful
stature and strength of their mighty parents; and
the most famous of these was Prometheus, who
was afterwards regarded as a great benefactor of
mankind, for whom he performed numerous
good deeds.

Seeing that Prometheus was endeavouring to
teach the mortals on earth, who, at that time,
were very ignorant and helpless, Minerva, the
beautiful goddess of wisdom and learning, sur-
prised and full of admiration for his clever handi-V
work and kindness to mankind, offered to bring
him anything he desired from the heavens in
order to help him with his good work.

Prometheus cunningly answered that, never
having been in the heavens, he did not know
what to ask for; and then, as he had hoped,
Minerva agreed to take him there for a short
spell, that he might behold its glories for himself/

When Prometheus reached the heavens, he
realized at once that some of the fire from the
sun would be the most useful gift he could bring

16 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

to mortals, since heat was the one thing he had
always longed for in order to assist mankimj^ and
knowing that Minerva would never give him so
valuable a present — since the gods had hitherto
selfishly withheld the wonderful gift of fire from
men — he determined to steal the good thing he
wanted. Therefore he concealed a little fire in
the hollow staff that he carried with him, and
hastily returned with it to the earth, where he
now succeeded in carrying out the difficult tasks
he had set himself to do, and began to teach men
how to make use of the splendid gift he had
brought them — how to work in metals and in
clay by means of the heat they could now obtain,
how to cook their food, and to do many other
useful things they had never dreamed of before.

The gods had always regarded Prometheus as^
a person to be feared, since he was teaching
mortals to become wiser and more skilful every
day; and now that he had actually stolen fire
from heaven for their needs, they became ex-
tremely angry and full of alarm.

They began to be afraid lest mortals should
become too wise, and learn the mighty secrets
of Nature, which they had always tried to con-
ceal from them; and they determined to punish
Prometheus for his theft, and at the same time
to put such burdens upon the dwellers on earth
as would prevent them from ever becoming the
equals of the gods.

1C 718)

PANDORA'S BOX 17

Until this time the mortals who lived in the
world had been perfectly happy, and had never
known pain, disease, sorrow, or trouble of any
kind. There had been no wickedness, since bad
thoughts were unknown; and no one had ever
been ill, because the people had always lived
such simple lives that their bodies could not be
anything else but strong and healthy, since they
had no occasion even to overtire themselves.

But now, as the result of what Prometheus had
done for the benefit of mortals, all this happy
simplicity was to be changed, and pain and woe
were to be sent to mingle with the gladness of
man — this being judged by the gods as the best
means of keeping the dwellers upon earth subject
to their heavenly rulers. v

Jupiter, the mighty King of Olympus, conv
manded Vulcan, the God of Fire and Metals, to
make a lovely mortal maiden, who, when she was
formed and endowed with life, was given the
name of Pandora, which means "Giver of all";
and all the gods gave the maiden a wonderful gift
of some kind, in order to make her so charming
and fascinating that she might attract mankind,
upon whom she was destined to bring trouble.

Venus adorned the maiden with beauty, and
Mercury endowed her with cunning and quick
wits; Apollo gave her a musical voice; and all
the gods gave her the same gift for which they
were renowned themselves.

i8 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

When all the gifts had been made, Pandora
was carried to the earth by Mercury, the mes-
senger of the gods, who took her first of all to
the abode of Prometheus, together with a strange
sealed box, which was filled with every kind of
ill that could afflict mankind. The box was
closely sealed; but although the gods had for-
bidden Pandora to open the chest, they hoped —
and, in fact, felt certain — that, sooner or later, she
would do so, and thus set free the prisoned woes.

Now, when Prometheus beheld the lovely Pan-
dora standing upon his threshold, he would have
nothing to do with her at all, feeling sure that she
f\was a snare of some kind sent for his undoing
by the gods whom he had offended; and fearing
even to look long upon the fair maiden, lest her
beauty should tempt him to receive her kindly,
he bade Mercury take her hence at once, and
roughly turned his back upon the travellers.

Mercury, however, was not disturbed by this
rude conduct; and swiftly he turned away and
conveyed Pandora and her box to the abode of
Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, feeling
sure that a welcome would be given by him to
the stranger.

And Epimetheus, though he had been warned
by his brother never to accept a gift from the
jealous gods, was so charmed with the beautiful
Pandora that he received her with great gladness.
So Mercury left the fair maiden with Epimetheus,\/

PANDORA'S BOX 19

together with the mysterious sealed box; and
after again cautioning the pair not to open the
chest, he returned alone to Olympus, where the
gods eagerly awaited the result of their plan.

And what they desired quickly came to pass;
for Pandora and her new companion had no
sooner been left alone than they both wanted
to know what was inside the strange box.

"Let us open it!" pleaded Pandora, as she
gazed at the fine carved pictures on the sides of
the chest. " There is surely something beautiful
inside — perhaps some wonderful thing which we
have never seen before."

" Oh no, dear Pandora, we must not do so,"
replied Epimetheus, who was young and hand-
some to look upon, and who was already in love
with Pandora and had made up his mind to
marry her. " We were commanded not to open
the box, for fear harm should come of it."

"But what harm could come of it?" asked Pan-
dora in wonder. " There has never been any-
thing that harms in the world, for Mercury told
me so himself as he brought me here; and ^£
ought to know, surely. Do let us open the
box, then, for I feel sure there is something
wonderful inside — perhaps something that will be
a great delight to us both."

But Epimetheus still refused her request, though
he really felt just as curious about the mysterious
box as she did and fully intended to open it

20 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

himself later on as soon as he could summon up
courage to do so; and Pandora, although she
certainly felt somewhat vexed with her new
friend for not agreeing to her desire, said no
more about the matter at that moment

A little later, however, Epimetheus went out
into the meadows to gather flowers to make into
a wreath to place on the glistening locks of the
lovely maiden whom the gods had sent to him;
and then Pandora returned to the magic box and
gazed with longing eyes at the forbidden treasure.

Suddenly, as she knelt down to examine more
zlosely the beautifully-carved pictures on the side
of the chest, it seemed to her that she could
hear strange voices from within calling out to her:
"Save us, kind Pandora! Set us free from this
dark prison! If only you will do so, you will
quickly know many wonderful things you have
never known before — things which no mortal in
the world knows yet. Knowledge is a good
thing, and greatly to be desired. Therefore, set
us free, good Pandora, and grow wise as the gods
themselves."

The longer Pandora listened to these strange
tempting voices, the more curious and excited she
grew; and she thought to herself: "I don't see
why I should not open the box and set free these
unhappy captives. Surely no harm could come
of it ; and it will be good for me to learn all I can,
for I want to be clever like the great goddess

PANDORA'S BOX ai

Minerva and to know many wise things. I will
open the magic box at once, before my new friend
comes back to prevent me from so doing."

So the fair maiden lifted up the lid of the
strange chest; and immediately afterwards she
uttered a shriek of terror, and called out for her
companion. For out of the box came a swarm
of frightful little winged imps, all with hideous
black faces and cruel sharp stings in their scor-
pion tails; and as Epimetheus hastened back
from the meadows on hearing Pandora's screams,
he was filled with dismay as he realized what had
happened.

He rushed forward at once and closed down
the lid of the magic box with a bang; and he was
just in time to see that, unhappily, all the wicked
black imps had escaped, and that only one bright
little creature remained in the bottom of the box.

The youth and the maiden were terribly
alarmed and were also soon in pain; for before
they had time to hide themselves, they had both
been stung by some of the ugly little imps that
were still buzzing around them like a swarm of
angry giant hornets.

Now these horrible stinging imps, as you will
have guessed, were really the evils and woes which
had been put in the magic chest by the gods, and
which have ever since troubled the dwellers upon
earth — such as aches and pains of all kinds,
bad tempers, selfishness, cruelty, greediness, and

22 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

everything that causes misery to human beings.

Before that time there had never been any of
these unpleasant woes to trouble mortals; but
now that Pandora had opened the magic box, she
had set free the imps of evil, and they soon
began to fly all over the world, in order to sting
people and make them unhappy.
^^*~ Pandora was full of sorrow when she realized
what terrible harm she had done by not obeying
the command laid upon her by the gods ; and she
wept many bitter tears — the first that had ever
been shed in the world!

Epimetheus, too, wept and shared her grief;
for, though he had scolded her at first, he could
not blame her for long, since he knew that he
ought not to have left her alone with the tempt-
ing magic chest, which had been put into his
charge as well as hers.

His conscience also reminded him that, sooner
or later, he had meant to open the casket himself,
had not his new companion forestalled him; and
so he felt ashamed, and, knowing that he also,
in a great measure, was to blame for what had
happened, he tried to comfort Pandora.

Presently, whilst the unhappy pair still sat
weeping together, with their arms twined around
each other, they heard, to their surprise, yet
another voice calling to them from within the
box: "Let me out, also, kind Pandora and
Epimetheus, that I may help you and all other

PANDORA'S BOX 23

mortals to bear the burdens laid upon you by the
ills you have set free. I am no imp of evil, but a
loving fairy ; and if you leave me here, a captive,
I cannot perform the good deeds I wish to do.
Oh, come quickly, and set me free; for I, alone,
can bring you comfort."

Feeling that no greater calamity could possibly
happen now, the sorrowful companions opened
the magic casket once more; and this time a
dainty little fairy creature with bright wings of
rose-colour flew out, as light and lovely as a
butterfly.

As Pandora and Epimetheus gazed in wonder
at this delightful stranger, the Fairy said to them
in sweet and soothing tones: "Do not despair,
fair children of earth, but look upon me. My
name is Hope; and I am truly glad that you
have set me free, or no mortal would have cared
to live longer in the world! I prithee, do not
lose heart, Pandora and Epimetheus ; for though —
through your own wrong-doing in yielding to
temptation — trouble, disease, and pain, from which
you cannot escape, have come into your fair
young lives, yet I shall be with you always to
comfort you and to help you to find peace and
joy once more. Behold! Because I am with
you and have laid my healing touch upon you,
the painful wounds caused by the stings of evil
have even now ceased to hurt."

This was true; and Pandora and Epimetheus

24 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

both felt greatly cheered as the Fairy of Hope
went on: "Then, weep no more, fair mortals
since your pains have vanished already and you
will soon be well again; but be grateful that the
mighty gods whom you have offended have not
altogether crushed you, but, in their gracious
mercy, have provided comfort for you even in
the midst of your deepest woes. Remember that
I, the Fairy of Hope, have been sent to dwell in
the world, as the greatest comforter of mankind;
and when other troubles and evils come back
from time to time to wound you with their sharp
stings — as they certainly will — despair not, for
I shall still be here to help you to bear them."

Thus were Pandora and Epimetheus comforted,
and soon took joy in their sweet new companion-
ship once more; and though, later on, the ugly
little imps of evil did indeed return to sting them
many more times, they always found the kindly
Fairy of Hope beside them on such sad occasions
to prevent them from despairing, bringing them
words of cheer and comfort, and easing their
pains by telling them of happy days yet to come.

You may be inclined to think that it was cruel
of the gods to send trouble upon the dwellers on
earth; but who can say? Perhaps, after all, they
were only wise, and thought it was good for
people at times to endure the dark days of un-
happiness and to learn to bear pain, so that they
might be better able to enjoy the sunshine of

PANDORA'S BOX 25

gladness, beauty, and health, and thus to be grate-
ful for the many pleasant things also given to
them.

No mortal has ever yet been able to solve this
mighty problem of the reason for pain and woe;
but since, with the entrance of Evil, the rosy
Fairy of Hope came into the world at the same
time, there is comfort for all, even in the worst
of woes.

The various poets tell us the story of Pandora,
and also that of Prometheus, in somewhat dif-
ferent ways; but the one I have told you above
seems to be the most reasonable one.

Some say that the reason why Prometheus
stole the fire from heaven was that, having
himself made a man of clay and water, he wanted
the fire to put warmth and life into the wonderful
being he had created. Others also declare that
Pandora was the first woman to live upon the
earth; and some even say that it was not Vulcan
who made her, but Prometheus himself, and that
the gods came down to the earth to bestow their
gifts upon her, and that, still fearful of losing
some of their power, they presented her at the
same time with the magic box of human ills,
knowing that, some day, she would set them free
to work havoc in the world.

One writer adds another curious fable in con-
nection with this strange story. He says that
when mankind had received the fire stolen from

26 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

heaven for them by Prometheus, some of the
mortals most ungratefully went secretly to Jupiter
and told him of the theft, and that the great god,
as a reward for the information, said that he
would bestow upon them the gift of perpetual
youth — but, very cunningly, he placed this pre-
cious gift upon the back of an ass to carry to the
earth, knowing well that the stupid beast would
do something foolish with it and that it would
never come within reach of the mortals it was
supposed to be intended for. As the ass went
upon its journey, it came to a spring, and, being
thirsty, stooped to drink; but suddenly a serpent
appeared, and refused to allow the parched
creature to quench its thirst unless it would
give up to him the burden upon its back. The
foolish ass, thinking only of its own thirst, and
forgetful of its mission, loosened the pack from
its back, and gladly stooped to drink; and so the
serpent became possessed of the most precious
gift of the gods. Thus it was believed by the
ancients that as the serpent grew older, he cast
his skin, and seemed to grow young again.

The poets also tell us that as a punishment for
having stolen fire from heaven, Jupiter com-
manded Mercury to chain Prometheus to a rock
(some say he was bound to Mount Caucasus),
where an eagle was sent to him daily to devour
his liver, which grew again during the night; and
after enduring this torment for a long time, he was

PANDORA'S BOX 27

at last rescued by Hercules, the mighty strong
man of the Greeks, who broke his chains and
set him free.

Very possibly the meaning of this wonderful
fable is as follows: Prometheus (whose name is
derived from a word meaning forethought) was a
very clever and prudent person; and because he
taught and educated mankind from a low savage
state, he was said to have made men from the
dirt or clay. Because he was eager to learn all
he could about the heavens and studied the stars
from the summit of Mount Caucasus, it was said
that he was chained there ; and because he studied
so industriously and constantly, people imagined
an eagle preying continually upon his vitals.
Also, the ancients declared that he stole fire from
heaven because he taught them to strike a flint
with a piece of metal to get a spark, and because
also he was the first man to discover the nature
of lightning.

The story of Pandora is, of course, the manner
in which the Greeks and Romans accounted for
the coming of evil and pain into the world —
which latter ills the Jews accounted for by the
beautiful Bible story of Adam and Eve.

28 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

The Story of Proserpina

One of the best-beloved of the goddesses
who dwelt in Olympus was Ceres (called by the
Greeks Demeter), Good Mother Ceres, as she was
often affectionately spoken of; for she it was who
made the corn grow and the earth bring forth
flowers, fruits, and green herbs for the use of men
and gods. She had charge of the seed when it
was dropped into the ground ; and when the young
shoots came through, she watched over them with
loving care and helped them to grow into strong
plants that bore good fruit and ripened into golden
fullness by her magic touch.

No one could do without the assistance and
loving labours of Good Mother Ceres; for had
she not worked so constantly and well, there
would never have been any harvest at all and
the people on the earth would have died of
starvation. So everybody loved the busy god-
dess, and all were kind to her.

Ceres had a beautiful young daughter whose
name was Proserpina (called by the Greeks Per-
sephone), and whom she loved very dearly.
Everything that was fair, and lovely, and good
for a maiden to have, Mother Ceres gave to her
child; and Proserpina was well brought up, and
was taught to be kind and loving.

This good mother and her beloved child had
only one thing to complain of that spoilt their

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 29

happiness; and this was that they could not be
always together. It sometimes happened that
Ceres was obliged to travel far and wide in order
to watch over and tend the corn and plants in
distant lands; and as she could not always take
Proserpina to these far-away places, the fair
maiden was occasionally left alone. And then
the tender mother would weep, since she was
always afraid that some terrible harm might be-
fall her child during her absence; and Proser-
pina would weep too, though not for long, since
she had many merry friends with whom she could
play and pass away the hours.

One day when she was obliged to travel to
a far-distant land, Ceres felt sadder than usual
at having to leave her child behind, and she
wished to shut her up in a sealed cave, as she
sometimes did, for safety; but the beautiful Pro-
serpina kissed away her mother's tears, and said
brightly: "Nay, nay, do not weep, dear mother;
for the time will pass away quickly, and thou wilt
soon be home again. Do not lock me up in that
dark cave, I prithee, for I will promise to take
good care of myself; and, as thou knowest, it is
good for me to be out in the warmth and light,
that I may grow and catch the dazzling sunbeams
in the meshes of my golden locks. I will ask
the merry nymphs, my gentle companions, to
join me, and we will go forth into the meadows
to sport together and to gather the fair flowers

30 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

that blossom there. Oh, let me go free, dear
mother."

" Very well, my fair child," agreed the gentle
goddess of the corn, though somewhat reluc-
tantly. " But be sure not to wander far a-field,
my beloved one; and run back at once if thou
seest a stranger. Thou art so beautiful to look
upon that I am always afraid someone will run
away with thee one of these fine days."

But Proserpina laughed so merrily on hearing
this, and promised to take such extra good care
of herself this time, that Mother Ceres felt some-
what reassured as she drove away in her famous
car — which was drawn by a fine pair of winged
dragons — her long golden hair flying in the breeze
and crowned with ears of ripe corn, and holding
in her hand a great bunch of scarlet poppies and
corn.

Very soon afterwards Proserpina went out to
sport in the meadows with a number of dainty
nymphs who were always glad to be her com-
panions; and they ran races together, played
with cowslip-balls, and gathered great bunches
of the lovely flowers which grew around them
so luxuriantly on every side.

Now, whilst fair Proserpina and her merry
nymph companions disported themselves happily
in the meadows above, dark Pluto, the King
of the Under- world (sometimes called Hades by
the Greeks and Dis by the Romans), sat on

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 31

an ebony throne in his gloomy abode, feeling
more lonely than he had ever done before. He
was a mighty king, since he ruled over the
spirits of the departed; and he was also pos-
sessed of great wealth, since all the precious
stones and metals buried in the earth were his.
Also, he was very majestic to look upon, being
of great stature, with piercing black eyes, and
long black hair which lay massed upon his fore-
head; and sometimes he wore a long black veil
draped about his shoulders like a mantle, which
added to his kingly dignity of appearance.
He possessed a magic helmet which rendered
him invisible; and he drove about in his dark
underground kingdom in a golden chariot drawn
by splendid black prancing horses with reins and
trappings of gold.

There were many wonderful things to be seen
in the kingdom of Pluto, who was the brother of
Jupiter, King of the Heavens, and of Neptune,
King of the Seas. Here, on the borders, was the
gloomy black River Styx, where the souls of the
departed were ferried across by Charon, the famous
ferryman, and set down in the Land of Shades,
from whence they could never return. Here, also,
was the great, black, bottomless pit called Tar-
tarus, into which were thrust all those spirits who
had done evil in their lives upon earth; and be-
yond the King's palace — which was a very gloomy
abode and guarded at the entrance by a fierce

3a GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

three-headed dog named Cerberus — lay the Elysian
fields, or Elysium, the abode of the blest, where
dwelt all those spirits who had done good deeds
during their lives.

The veil of gloom was not so heavy in the
Elysian fields, where gleamed a soft, violet light
and where the air was fresher; and here, walking
in the Fortunate Groves of Delight, one might
meet the shades of the mighty heroes of the past
and all whose names were still held in honoured
memory in the world above. These blessed ones
were crowned with myrtle and laurels; and they
danced and sang songs of joy, and held sweet
converse with one another.

But though Pluto might have joined in the
gladness of the Blest, he did not do so; and he
continued to sit upon his ebony throne, full of
gloom and loneliness. He longed for a beautiful
queen to share his glory with him, and to enliven
his dull palace with her gracious presence; but
though he had wooed many of the fairest god-
desses, they would none of them consent to dwell,
even with so mighty a king, in the dark under-
world, since all dreaded the Land of Shades and
had no desire to go thither.

At last, however, Jupiter took pity on his lonely
brother, and promised that he should wed fair
Proserpina, whose father was the mighty King of
Olympus himself, taking care, however, to keep
this promise a secret from the good goddess Ceres,

CERES

From the statue in the Vatican Museum, Rome

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 33

knowing well that she would never consent to part
with her daughter.

Thus it came to pass that on the day that
Proserpina went out to sport in the meadows
with her nymph companions and to gather gar-
lands of flowers, King Pluto upon his ebony
throne below was gloomily wondering how he
could ever hope to woo the beautiful Proser-
pina, when she was always so closely guarded
by her mother and would certainly never be
willing to wed so dismal a person as himself; and
he had just made up his mind that he would have
to use force in order to gain his wish, when,
suddenly, lively Mercury, the swift messenger
of the gods, appeared before him and said:

" Waste not thy time in gloomy grumblings,
oh mighty Pluto, but be up and doing. Use
thy wits and strength; for, behold, the fair Pro-
serpina even now sporteth in the meadows above.
Since thou hast the means of swift travelling,
it should not be difficult for thee to seize thy
promised bride."

Pluto then roused himself and eagerly devised
some means of magic whereby he might the better
carry out his plan; and then, springing into his
golden chariot, he took up the glittering reins,
and his fiery black steeds sprang forward gallantly
as he drove them with furious haste upwards to
the earth through the winding dark passages of
the under-world.

(0718) 3

34 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Meanwhile, the artless Proserpina, forgetful ol
danger, had wandered away from her nymph com-
panions, whom she soon left far behind; for the
farther she went, the more lovely flowers she found.
It was the glorious springtime, and she soon had
her hands full of tall lilies, golden daffodils, purple
violets, bright-eyed daisies, and blue forget-me-
nots; and then, suddenly, her eyes fell upon a
wonderful giant flower, more beautiful than any
she had ever seen before. It was a splendid nar-
cissus, a noble flower of truly marvellous beauty, a
sight to wonder at; for it had a hundred perfect
heads of bloom growing from its single pillar-like
stem; and the sweet perfume of it was almost
overpowering.

Full of delight, and little dreaming that a snare
had been placed for her, Proserpina ran eagerly
towards the strange flower to pluck it; but, to
her surprise, she could not snap off the stem, and
so tried to pull it up by the roots instead.

For a long time she could not stir the plant;
and then, quite suddenly, she pulled it out by its
root, so that a large hole remained.

And now she soon realized that magic must
be at work, since the hole in the ground quickly
grew larger and larger, until at last it looked like
the mouth of a vast cave; and at the same time
she heard a loud rumbling like thunder in the
ground below.

Next moment there sprang out through the

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 35

opening the golden chariot of the King of the
Under-world, glittering with precious gems, and
drawn by jet-black prancing steeds, caparisoned
with gold; and, driving in this splendid car,
Proserpina's terrified eyes beheld a strange-look-
ing dark man, with black hair and piercing black
eyes, who quickly drew near to the shrinking
maiden and said in a deep, yet tender voice:

" Fair daughter of the good Goddess Ceres,
behold in me Pluto, King of the Land of Shades.
I have come hither in haste to take thee away
with me to be my Queen, and to sit beside me
on my ebony throne. Be not afraid, oh maiden
beautiful as the summer dawn; but haste thee
to enter my chariot, for my fiery steeds are
impatient of standing."

"Oh no! no!" cried Proserpina, in a great
fright. " I don't want to be a queen; and I won't
go away with thee, for I wish to dwell always
with my good mother, who would weep bitterly
were I to leave her. Depart, dark stranger; for
I will not go away with thee in thy golden
chariot."

" But I mean to have thee, fair Proserpina,"
said King Pluto, quietly but firmly. " Thou hast
been promised to me as a bride by my glorious
brother, Jupiter, the mighty King of Olympus.
I am lonely, and have no fair maidens in my
palace; and thou wilt be like a sunbeam in my
gloomy halls. Thou wilt be the richest Queen

36 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

ever heard of; and I will make thee very happy,
for I love thee dearly."

As King Pluto spoke these last words, he
smiled; and when he smiled, he looked so much
pleasanter that Proserpina did not feel so
frightened as before, and even began to think
that it was a pity so splendid a King should be
lonely, and have no fair maidens in his palace.

Thinking that it would only be kind to offer
a few flowers to the dark stranger, she drew
nearer to the car, shyly holding out a few of
the choicest blossoms in her hand; but instantly
King Pluto snatched her up into the chariot, and
drove away with her at a furious rate to his
gloomy palace in the under-world.

It was in vain that poor Proserpina wept and
begged to be sent back to her mother; for the
lonely King was so glad to have a fair maiden
in his palace at last that he kept her as his bride
in accordance with the promise of Jupiter, placed
a crown of dazzling jewels upon her golden locks,
and thus made her Queen of the Under- world.

And though Proserpina grieved for a long
time and never ceased to wish to return to her
beloved mother, she was not altogether unhappy
in her new abode; for the dark King with the
black eyes loved her dearly and was very kind
to her, allowing her to sport in his palace all
day long, and even occasionally to wander into
the Elysian fields. He gave her a glittering

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 37

robe of golden gauze and long chains of dazzling
jewels to wear; and he never ceased begging of
her to eat the rich foods he had ordered to be
made ready for her. But Proserpina refused all
the food he offered her, since she only liked
crushed corn and meal cakes, and the sweet juicy
fruits of the earth, none of which were to be found
in the dark under-world.

Meanwhile, the Goddess Ceres had returned
to her home and was filled with grief when she
found that her beloved child was lost. She called
together the nymphs who had been the com-
panions of Proserpina on the fatal day on which
she had vanished, and asked them what had
happened; but they could tell her nothing, since
they had not seen anything of the golden chariot
with its prancing black horses, nor of the splendid
dark King with the piercing black eyes who had
snatched up their beautiful playmate.

So the unhappy Ceres left her home and
wandered forth into the world, weeping and wail-
ing, in search of her lost child; but for a long
time no one could tell her any news about fair
Proserpina.

Then, at last, she was advised to go to Apollo,
the sun-god, who could see everything that
happened in the daytime in every part of the
world; and the glorious sun-god told her that
he had seen Pluto, King of the Under-world, drive
forth in his golden chariot from a great hole in

38 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the ground, snatch up Proserpina as she gathered
flowers in the meadows, and return with her to
the Land of Shades, where he had wedded her
and crowned her as his Queen.

Ceres was filled with despair when she heard
this terrible news; and she hastened at once to
great Jupiter in Olympus and entreated him to
command Pluto to restore her stolen daughter
without delay.

However, Jupiter did not wish to offend Pluto,
after having promised the dark god that he should
have Proserpina for his bride; so he refused the
request of the weeping mother, bidding her to
grieve no longer, since her fair daughter was now
a powerful queen and would soon be quite happy
in the under-world, where everybody was kind
to her and where she was greatly beloved by the
King, her husband.

But Ceres, sad at heart and lonely, wept all the
more; and she wandered over the world, refusing
to perform her usual task of attending to the
growing corn and plants.

In the land of Eleusis she found comfort for
a time by nursing the King's son, Demophoon,
whom she grew to love so dearly that she desired
to make him immortal by breaming her own divine
breath upon him by day, and by holding him at
night in the flames of a fire which danced harm-
lessly about him. But one night the child's
mother, Queen Metaneira, saw what the stranger

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 39

nurse was doing, and, in her terror, aroused the
whole household to observe also. Ceres, full of
anger, declared that the spell had thus been
broken, and that the royal child, Demophoon,
could never now become immortal, although he
should still be a great hero and be honoured by
all because he had lain in the arms of a goddess;
and when the King and Queen of Eleusis thus
realized that the stranger they had received into
their palace was divine, they were filled with awe,
and caused a splendid temple to be built for her
on a certain hill known as Callichorus.

Here Ceres dwelt alone with her sorrow for
a very long time ; and she never went out to help
the young plants to come through the ground, or
to see that the green corn grew properly.

Thus it came to pass that, after a while, the
ground became bare and nothing grew upon it;
and, since there was no food to be got, owing to
the famine, the dwellers upon earth began to
starve.

It was of no use for the hungry people to go to
the still-sorrowing Ceres in her far-away temple
and entreat her to come forth to make the corn
and fruits grow again; for all she said was: "1
will not come forth again into the sunshine and
watch over the plants until my fair daughter
Proserpina is brought home to me once more."

And so, at last, in order to prevent all mankind
from starving, Jupiter was compelled to send

40 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Mercury, his fleet-footed messenger, to the
under-world, to command King Pluto to restore
his beautiful Queen, Proserpina, to her weeping
mother again, providing, however, that she had
not partaken of any food in his domain.

Now, Pluto did not dare to disobey his power-
ful brother, Jupiter; but he tried more than ever
to persuade Proserpina to eat of the good things
he had provided for her, for, if only he could do
that, he knew that she could not be taken away
from him, since, if any living person took food in
the under-world, he or she was obliged to remain
there for ever and could not be taken away even
by the mighty Jupiter himself.

Seeing that Proserpina still refused to partake
of any of the food to be obtained in his own king-
dom, the dark King sent forth a messenger to
obtain some fresh fruit from the earth. For his
fair bride had said many times: "If only thou
wouldst bring me a rosy apple, or a ripe pome-
granate, I would eat it gladly; but I like not the
appearance of the food thou hast in this strange,
dark land, and I dare not eat it."

But ever since Mother Ceres, in her sorrow
at the loss of her child, had hidden herself away,
no new fruits had grown upon the earth; and all
that Pluto's messenger could find, after searching
far and wide, was one small, dried-up pome-
granate, with scarcely a drop of juice in it.

When Proserpina saw the pomegranate, how-

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 41

ever, she accepted it eagerly; and she had just
eaten about a third of its dried-up seeds when
Mercury came into her presence with the wonder-
ful news that she was to be allowed to return
to her mother, the good goddess Ceres.

Proserpina clapped her hands for joy when she
heard this glad news; but King Pluto said: " Do
not be too full of joy, Proserpina, for thou art still
my Queen and may only remain eight months of
the year with Mother Ceres; for, remember this,
thou hast partaken of a third part of that pome-
granate given thee but now, and therefore, be-
cause thou hast eaten food in my kingdom, thou
must return to dwell with me for a third part of
every year. For eight months I shall live here
in loneliness, without a Queen, and full of gloom
and sadness; and then, for four happy months,
I shall have thee, my beloved one, to sit on the
ebony throne beside me, to bring me joy and to
make my palace ring with laughter and merri-
ment."

" Oh yes, dear Pluto, right gladly will I return
to thee for a third of every year!" cried Proserpina,
as she placed her glittering crown in the hands of
the dark King and looked up bravely into his
black eyes. " Thou hast been very gracious to
me, oh my King, and I have grown to love thee
well."

Some writers tell us that Ceres herself went
into the under-world to fetch her daughter away

42 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

from King Pluto, and that no one would ever
have known that Proserpina had partaken of food
in the Land of Shades had not an attendant
named Ascalaphus revealed the fact that he had
seen the fair young Queen take a bite out of a
pomegranate in the King's garden ; and for giving
forth this bad news, whereby it was necessary for
her beloved daughter to spend three months of
each year in the under-world, Ceres, in her anger,
caused an enormous stone to fall upon the in-
former, who thus lay pinned to the ground until
released a long time hence by Hercules, who
removed the stone. After this Ascalaphus was
changed into an owl — a creature which has
always been regarded as a bird of ill omen
ever since — by Proserpina, who still bore a
grudge against him.

However that may be, Proserpina was restored
to her mother, who received her with great joy;
and then the flowers, and fruits, and corn quickly
began to grow upon the earth once more, since
their growth was now tended again by the busy
goddess.

But now Mother Ceres always took her beloved
child out with her wherever she went, no matter
how far she might have to travel, fearing lest some
other handsome stranger should steal her darling
away; and for eight sunny months of every year
Proserpina lived upon the earth, and also visited
the gods in Olympus.

THE STORY OF PROSERPINA 43

Then, for the other four months, the fair maiden
returned to King Pluto and dwelt with him as
Queen of the Under- world; and these were days
of joy for the black-eyed King. Nor was it long
before Proserpina grew to love dearly her splendid
royal lord; and when she took her place beside
him on his ebony throne, with a glittering crown
upon her golden hair, she felt glad that he was her
King and that he had stolen her away so boldly
that bright springtime morning when she had
wandered forth into the meadows to gather the
fair sweet flowers that blossomed there.

The meaning of this charming fable is as
follows: Proserpina is intended to represent the
seed which grows within the earth. The seed lies
buried in the dark ground for the four winter
months — which corresponds to Proserpina's stay
in the under-world; and then during the eight
months of spring, summer, and autumn thai
follow it breaks forth, grows, and ripens into
fruit, just as fair Proserpina dwelt in the sun-
shine of the earth for eight glad months.

44 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Philemon and Baucis

One wild and stormy evening an old man of
Phrygia, named Philemon, and his wife, Baucis,
sat in their cottage, talking together by the fire-
side in great content. Though they were growing
old and were very poor, they were still as happy
as in the days of their youth; for sweet love was
with them yet and the joy in their hearts had
never left them.

Their humble cottage was on the hillside, a
little way apart from other houses; and though
they always had a kind welcome for every travel-
ler or visitor who came to see them, they did not
have many dealings with the village folk in the
valley below, who were so wicked, selfish, and
cruel that the gods in Olympus had already
determined to punish them that night.

Philemon and Baucis, however, were unaware
that anything strange was about to happen; and
though the storm that had arisen during the day
became worse every hour, it did not trouble them,
since they were both safe and snug within doors,
sitting side by side on their cosy hearth.

But just as old Baucis rose to prepare their
simple evening meal, she heard the sound of a
great noise down the hillside, and knew that the
evil people in the village below must be driving
out some poor wanderer who had sought shelter

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS 45

there ; for the rude villagers were never hospitable
to strangers, but always chased them out with
dogs and flung stones after them.

" I fear those rough folks down yonder are
driving out some poor weary traveller," she said,
as she peeped without. " And it is such a
terribly stormy night for anyone to be out How
can they be so selfish?"

" Perhaps the stranger may come to us, dear
wife," said kind old Philemon. " If so, we will
make him welcome, so that he shall not want for
shelter after all."

" I hope that it may be so," agreed gentle
Baucis.

A few minutes later there did indeed come the
sound of approaching footsteps; and Philemon
gladly hastened to open the door.

A brilliant flash of lightning showed him that
two strangers were standing without, one of whom
was very tall, stern, and kingly-looking, and the
other a slender, graceful youth, with a wonderfully
light, quick step. Both were wrapped in long
flowing mantles; and seeing that they were wet
through, Philemon at once drew them into the
cottage and closed the door again quickly to keep
out the boisterous wind and driving rain.

" Come in, come in, good sirs!" he cried eagerly.
" Welcome to our humble home. We are but
poor folk and simple in our ways of living; but
such food and warmth as we have we are always ,

ft

46 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

willing to share with the wayfarer. Come in!"

So saying, the old man led his guests to the
warm fireside, where he made them sit down
whilst he relieved them of their wet cloaks, which
he hung up to dry ; and Baucis made haste to set
out the simple supper, laying upon the table some
cakes of bread, a dish of fresh fruit and herbs from
the garden, a comb of golden honey, and a jug of
new milk.

Whilst Philemon was busy looking after his
guests, he could not help noticing that there were
many strange peculiarities about them, and that
they were much finer to look upon than any other
persons he had ever seen.

The elder and taller stranger had handsome
features and an air of majesty; but his face was
stern just now, for he was still thinking of the evil
people he had just left in the village below. The
graceful youth, though also very dignified, had so
much that was strange about him that old Phile-
mon's eyes soon opened wide in amazement. For
one thing, he had little wings on his sandals and
on his cap; and he was so light and quick in
his movements that he scarcely seemed to touch
the ground as he walked. Then he carried with
him a very remarkable staff, which also had little
/ wings on it, as well as a pair of serpents twisted
' around it.

However, though Philemon had never seen such
strange people before, he was much too polite to

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS 47

make any remarks about the fact, or to stare
too long at his guests ; and presently, when Baucis
announced that supper was ready, they all sat
down at the table to eat and drink.

Now, although the old couple knew it not, the
strangers to whom they had offered such welcome
hospitality were none other than Jupiter, King of
the gods in Olympus, and Mercury, the god of
cunning and gain, who was also known as the
messenger of the gods because his winged sandals
made him so fleet of foot.

The gods had known for a long time that the
people in this Phrygian village were very bad
and selfish, and that strangers and travellers were
always treated churlishly by them; and, there-
fore, Jupiter had come himself, with Mercury
as his companion, to prove the truth of the
tales that had been told him of their cruel
treatment of strangers, intending to punish the
offenders if he found them so bad as was said.

He had not long been left in doubt, since, in
their journey thoughout Phrygia, he had found
no one willing to entertain himself and his com-
panion until they had reached their present rest-
ing-place, and he had already determined tc
punish the offenders that night by means of the
terrible storm that was even now raging without;
but having, to his surprise, found a most kindly
welcome at the cottage of old Philemon and
Baucis, he was well pleased, and hoped to find

48 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

out some way of returning such kindly hospitality.

"How is it that, though I can see thou art
old and poor, thou canst still be so happy and
so fair to look upon?" he asked Baucis, who
replied at once in her gentle old voice: "I am
happy because I have love in my heart; and
if I am still fair to look upon, it is love that
makes me so."

Now, Mercury was fond of a good joke; and
it was not long before he made the old couple
open their eyes wide with astonishment. Observ-
ing that the milk jug was now empty, he asked
for it to be replenished; and when Baucis re-
plied with real regret that there was not another
drop of milk in the house, he tilted up the empty
jug and at once a constant stream of fresh new
milk poured out, some of which was lapped up
by the two serpents twisted around his staff.

Then when Philemon humbly poured out a cup
of water for himself, not wishing to take the
milk set before his guests, he was presently
amazed to find, when he put it to his lips, that
it had been transformed into rich red wine!

Everything the strangers touched they made
more beautiful and rich. The simple fruits in
the dish grew larger and finer than any ever
seen in that land before; and the bread and
honey tasted more delicious than the richest
foods at a royal feast.

When they saw these wonders, Philemon and

MERCURY ASTONISHES PHILEMON AND BAUCIS

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS 49

Baucis now realized that their guests were not
ordinary mortals; but since they were too polite
to ask them any questions, they continued to
talk to them in their simple way. When it
was time to retire to rest, they hospitably gave
up their own sleeping chamber to the guests,
and laid themselves down upon the hard floor
to sleep before the hearth.

Next morning the kind old couple rose be-
times in order to prepare another meal for their
exalted visitors; but Jupiter and Mercury de-
clared that they could not wait for it, since
they wished to proceed on their journey. Then
Jupiter revealed to his humble host and hostess
the true identity of himself and his companion;
and when Philemon and Baucis knew that it
was the mighty god Jupiter who had been their
guest, they fell on their knees before him, full
of fear.

Jupiter, however, raised them at once, and
said to them graciously: "Ye have nothing
to fear from me, good Philemon and Baucis.
I and my companion came hither as weary
travellers, and ye treated us well; and, there-
fore, we will do well by ye. Yet think not
that I came hither for this purpose alone. I
came to see if the people in Phrygia, and, in
particular, in the village below, were really as evil
and inhospitable as I had been told; and I found
that what I had learned from others was indeed

0718) 4

50 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the truth. Therefore, to punish them, I have
covered over this village and the valley beneath
with water, and these people with cold hearts
now lie beneath the waves. Behold!"

And when Philemon and Baucis looked down
the hillside, they saw that where the village had
stood yesterday there was now a deep lake, which
flooded the whole valley and was still turbulent
from the recent storm ; and they felt sorry for the
fate of the evil people who had dwelt there.

"Do not weep for them," said Jupiter: "they
do not deserve pity. But, tell me, have ye any
wish to be granted? Ye have proved kind and
good, and because ye have shown hospitality to
strangers, any desire ye may have shall now be
granted!"

"But we have love and are perfectly happy
already, so what more can we want?" asked the
simple old pair.

"Yet think once again," said Jupiter, with
gentle insistence; and then Baucis said very
timidly: "Though we are happy, yet we are
old, and must soon expect to be parted from
one another. Is it too much to ask, oh my
gracious lord, that my dear Philemon and I
may live together for many more happy years,
and that when at last death draws nigh unto
us, we may die in the same hour, still full of
love as we have ever been, and depart to the
Land of Shades together?"

PHILEMON AND BAUCIS 51

" It is not too much to ask," said Jupiter, "and
it shall be granted unto thee, gentle Baucis. Ye
shall dwell together for many more happy years,
and your hearts shall always remain young and
full of love ; and when death shall come at last —
as come it must — ye shall die in the same hour
and depart together to the Land of Shades."

Then Jupiter and Mercury suddenly vanished
out of sight in a vivid flash of lightning, followed
by a loud peal of thunder; and when Philemon
and Baucis turned back to enter their home, they
found that their humble cottage on the hillside
had been transformed into a wonderful temple,
with pleasant rooms in it in which they could live
and a beautiful garden in which they could sit out
in the sunshine.

Here Philemon and Baucis now dwelt as servers
in the temple for many more happy years; and
every weary traveller who came past that way
they had a kind welcome for, and many were the
poor beggars they clothed and fed.

And so full of love were they and so young
did their happy hearts feel that, in the eyes of
Philemon, Baucis was still as beautiful as in the
days of her early youth; and in the eyes of
Baucis, Philemon was still as handsome and
wonderful as when he had first wooed her — and
as the years went on their love and happiness
grew deeper still.

And then, at last, after they had lived to a

52 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

very great age, when the worshippers came to
the temple one morning, they found that the
good old couple were no longer there; for, dur-
ing the evening before, as they sat side by side at
the temple door at sunset, they had gently passed
away in the same hour, and Mercury, the mes-
senger of the gods, had come to conduct their
gentle spirits to the Land of Shades, where they
had entered the Elysian fields together.

But, in their places, on either side of the temple
door, there now stood an oak tree and a linden
tree ; and as the branches of the trees grew, they
twined together. Then, when the north and the
east winds swayed the branches from side to side.
it seemed to the worshippers who still came thither
that the oak tree murmured in a happy whisper:
" I am old Philemon, and I still love my dear
Baucis."

And when the south and west winds gently
stirred the leaves to and fro, then the linden
tree sighed softly: "I am old Baucis, and I
still love my dear Philemon."

Thus did Jupiter keep his promise; and Phile-
mon and Baucis, who had loved one another
dearly in their lives, in death were not divided.

EUROPA AND CADMUS 53

Europa and Cadmus

Agenor, King of Phoenicia, had three fine
sons named Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix, and one
fair young daughter named Europa; but of all
his children, he loved Europa best. He was so
proud of the latter's beauty and so afraid lest
someone should steal her away, that he would
never allow the pretty little princess to play out-
side the palace gates unless her brothers kept her
company; and it was always a relief to his mind
when the four royal children returned safely from
their wanderings.

The young princes were always willing enough
to take charge of their fair sister, of whose beauty
they, also, were very proud; but Cadmus, the
eldest, loved her most of all, and it was he whom
the King held chiefly responsible for her safe-
keeping.

One day, when Europa had grown into a lovely
maiden, she went with her brothers to sport in
some open pasture-ground quite close to the sea-
shore; and finding that many rare flowers were
growing amidst the long grasses there, the young
princes began to make gay wreaths and long
trails of blossoms with which to enhance the
beauty of their fair sister.

In a short time Europa was nearly smothered
with flowers; and then, with a merry laugh, she

54 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

bade her brothers chase butterflies and leave her
to rest in peace for a while. So the young princes
ran off to follow the gorgeous butterflies that flitted
here and there; and Europa lay down amongst
the long grass, and lazily played with the gar-
lands of sweet-scented flowers which she wore.

Now Jupiter, the mighty god of the heavens
and King of Olympus, had seen and noted the
great beauty of the young Princess Europa; and
having a strong desire to possess her as one of his
many beloved handmaidens, he had long waited
for an opportunity to carry her away from her
friends; and, at last, he knew that his chance had
come, when he looked down from Olympus and
saw the pretty maiden he longed for now resting
in the grass by the seashore, practically alone
and unprotected — her guardian brothers being all
engaged in chasing butterflies at the other end of
the meadow.

So the powerful god of thunder and light-
ning— who, as we have seen before, was not
always noble and good, but frequently unkind and
greedy in his desires — laid a cunning plan, and,
by means of his magical gifts, changed himself
into a beautiful white bull and drew near to the
spot where the fair princess lay.

Europa had almost fallen asleep, when she
heard a rustling in the grass behind her and the
trampling of some creature approaching; and,
springing hastily to her feet, she was greatly

EUROPA AND CADMUS 55

alarmed at the sight of the strange white bull so
close to her.

However, the beautiful animal had such large
tender-looking brown eyes, and appeared to be
so gentle and harmless, that the maiden soon
recovered from her first fright and began to make
friends with him, patting his glossy white coat and
stroking the curly hair on his forehead; and
presently, feeling admiration for the handsome
bull, she took off some of the wreaths and chains
of flowers she wore and hung them over the
gentle beast's shining horns and around his neck.

Then the bull began to frolic around the young
princess, and knelt down on his knees before her,
as though inviting her to take a ride upon his
back; and presently Europa began to think that
it would indeed be great fun to gallop across the
field on the back of this new pet and astonish her
brothers, who were still amusing themselves at
the other end of the meadow.

Seeing that the maiden still hesitated, however,
the bull came several times and knelt before her,
and at last refused to rise up again; and when
Europa saw what a pathetic look of pleading had
come into his great soft, brown eyes, she could no
longer resist the temptation to accept his most
evident invitation. So, with a merry laugh, she
seated herself lightly upon the back of the kneel-
ing creature, playfully using the chain of flowers
she had flung around his neck as reins; and

56 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

instantly the white bull arose and began to trot
across the meadow.

The young princes were amazed and greatly
alarmed when they saw their sister approaching
them mounted upon such a strange charger; but
when Europa gaily waved her hand and called
out a saucy greeting to them as she passed by,
they were somewhat relieved.

Cadmus, however, still felt that all was not well,
and, in haste, ran after his truant sister, wishing
that he had never left her side; and at that
moment the white bull suddenly began to gallop
away swiftly towards the shore, and as the now-
terrified prince followed in frantic haste, it plunged
into the sea and swam swiftly through the waves.

In vain did poor Europa, now fully aware of
her danger, call to her brother for help; for the
white bull, bellowing with triumph, swam more
swiftly still over the crested billows, and she was
compelled to cling tightly to his horns to prevent
herself from falling into the sea and being drowned.
In a short time, they both vanished from the sight
of the despairing Cadmus, never to return.

Thus did cunning Jupiter succeed in carrying
off the beautiful Princess Europa to be his hand-
maiden and sweet companion in the far -distant
island of Crete, where he afterwards landed ; and
when he had assumed the shape of a handsome
young man, Europa was no longer sorrowful, but
gladly returned the love he had to offer her

EUROPA AND CADMUS 57

But the three young princes who had been left
behind on the shores of Phoenicia were full of
grief and consternation; and when they had at
length found courage to return home and break
the sad news to their royal parents, the latter
were plunged into the deepest woe.

King Agenor also was filled with wrath
against the young princes for having left their
fair sister unprotected in the meadow, and in
particular did he blame Cadmus, whom he thrust
from his presence, crying passionately: " Go forth,
faithless youth, destroyer of my happiness, and
never dare to return to my presence again unless
thou bringest back to me my beloved daughter,
now lost to me through thy carelessness!"

Thus was the young Prince Cadmus driven
from the palace of the father whom he had so
deeply offended; and, full of despair at what had
happened and grieving sorely for the loss of the
beautiful sister whom he had loved so well, the
wretched youth wandered forth, not knowing
which way to turn.

For many years Cadmus wandered hither and
thither, in first one country and then in another;
but nowhere could he learn any tidings of his lost
sister — and since he dared not return home with-
out her, he knew that he was fated to be an exile
all his life.

At last, however, the good goddess Minerva
took pity upon him, seeing that he was a bold

58 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

and splendid young man and not afraid to face
any danger that might come in his way; and she
caused him to turn his steps towards Mount
Parnassus, not far from which lay the city of
Delphi, where a famous oracle — a mysterious
hidden voice which uttered words of wisdom and
prophecy from the god Apollo — was to be heard
in the great temple there.

When Cadmus entered the temple to pray for
guidance in his now -hopeless search, the voice
of the oracle replied clearly: "Seek no more
for thy lost one, oh Cadmus, for she is happy
and will never return to thee."

" But what, then, shall I do, oh great Apollo,
since my home also is lost to me?" still prayed
the kneeling prince; and the mysterious voice
replied: "Go forth with hope, oh Cadmus, and
follow the first brindled cow thou meetest; and
in the spot where the cow lieth down, there build
thou a great city, and win renown as its king."

Greatly cheered, though somewhat mystified by
these commands, Cadmus once more set forth
upon his wanderings; and, after a while, he did
indeed observe a brindled cow moving before
him — and he determined to follow it, as he had
been bidden.

For many days he followed the brindled cow;
and as his story became known, some idlers
whom he met by the wayside joined him, curious
to see what would happen.

EUROPA AND CADMUS 59

At last, after a weary journey, the cow could
go no farther, and so lay down in a lonely place
to rest; and the idlers ran down to a neighbour-
ing well to get water to quench their thirst.

Cadmus was about to follow them when, hear-
ing loud shrieks of terror, he was just in time
to see an enormous dragon rush out from a rocky
den behind the well and swallow up all his com-
panions, one after the other.

Having no desire to meet with a similar fate,
Cadmus hastily drew the mighty sword he wore;
and when the monster rushed towards him, gnash-
ing its terrible teeth and shaking the earth with
its heavy scaly body, the prince boldly jumped
inside its huge mouth, so that its teeth could not
close over him.

Once inside the jaws of the dragon, Cadmus
aimed many fierce blows at its throat with his
sword; and at last the great beast rolled over,
dead, and the victorious hero sprang out of its
jaws in safety.

He was just wondering how he could possibly
build a city in that lonely spot with no one to
help him, when the voice of Minerva came to
him again: "Take out the dragon's teeth, oh
Cadmus, and sow them in the ground."

So Cadmus drew out the teeth of the dead
dragon, and planted them in the ground not far
away ; and then, to his amazement, there grew up
instantly a crop of armed men, all ready for battle.

6o GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Minerva now bade Cadmus throw a stone in
amongst the strange crop he had raised; and as
soon as he had done so, the armed men began to
quarrel fiercely amongst themselves and to fight
so desperate a battle that all were killed save five.

The five remaining warriors next drew near
to render homage to Cadmus as their leader, who
commanded them to assist him to build a city
in that spot; and when they had performed this
task, the builders became the first inhabitants of
the city, and Cadmus became their king.

The city was called Thebes; and as the years
went on many people came to dwell in it, and
Cadmus and his people gained great renown and
glory, keeping enemies away and growing skilful
in the gentle arts of peace. Cadmus is said to
have invented sixteen letters of the Greek alpha-
bet, and to have taught his people the arts of
writing in prose and of working in copper, and
to do many other useful things.

For many years Cadmus still grieved for his
lost sister Europa; but in order to comfort him
the gods sent to him one of the dwellers in
Olympus to be his bride — Harmonia, the daughter
of Mars, the god of war, and of Venus, the
goddess of love and beauty. On the wedding
day all the gods of Olympus came to join in the
festivities; and after this great event Cadmus
forgot his grief, and lived happily to the end of
his days with his beautiful wife.

ORPHEUS AND HIS LYRE 61

Orpheus and his Lyre

What a wonderful power music has over all,
young and old alike! It can fill our hearts with
noble thoughts; it can make us see in our minds
more beautiful pictures than any that have been
painted on canvas; it can make us gay or sad.

Throughout all the centuries that have gone
by music has brought joy into the world; and in
the stories of the ancient Greeks and Romans,
we read that some of the makers of sweet music
had more power over the people than even the
richest and mightiest of kings and queens.

In the very earliest times there were only two
kinds of musical instruments — the flute, or pipe,
and the first simple harp, or lyre as it was then
called; and some very charming tales, used to be
told as to how these two instruments came to be
invented.

The lyre was first made, quite accidentally, by
Mercury, who was the cleverest, the swiftest-
footed, and the most cunning of all the gods,
and who was known as the messenger of the
gods; and the old fable states1 that he made it
as a plaything when still only quite a baby.

We are told that the baby Mercury was playing
about on the seashore one day when he happened
to find the empty top shell of a tortoise; and,
taking this up, he carelessly began to fasten across

62 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

it some threads of sinews, or of -gut, which he had
with him, to make strings of various lengths.

Then he idly began to pull the strings with his
little chubby fingers, and found, to his great sur-
prise and delight, that they made the sound of
sweet music. This was a wonderful discovery;
and after pulling the strings for a short time, the
happy child was able to make up pretty tunes and
to sing songs to them.

You may be sure that young Mercury felt very
proud of himself when he first went about amongst
his friends and played merry airs to them upon
the new toy he had been clever enough to make;
and crowds of strangers came to listen to him,
and to marvel at the strains of sweet music he
drew from the strings stretched across merely a
common tortoise shell.

It was not long before this delightful new
musical toy was heard of by the glorious god,
Apollo, who bought it from Mercury; for Mercury
was also the god of commerce and gain, and
this was his first little bit of trading.

And now the noble art of music began to
grow quickly and became more greatly admired
than ever before. For Apollo, who, besides being
a person of such dazzling beauty that he was
called the " sun-god ", was also the god of art, so
that everything that was beautiful was sacred to
him ; and above all the other arts, he dearly loved
sweet music and singing.

ORPHEUS AND HIS LYRE 63

So when Apollo had bought the lyre made
by the baby Mercury, he quickly learned to play
upon it and to compose finer music than had ever
been heard before; and his fame as the god of
art and music became greater still.

After a while Apollo greatly improved his new
treasure, and then secured more empty tortoise
shells which he made into other rough instru-
ments, so that, later on, many people regarded
him as the actual inventor of the harp; and by
and by many other lovers of music amongst the
Greeks also became good players upon the lyre
and gained much praise.

The most famous of all the heroes of music was
Orpheus, who was also a poet, and who lived in
the land of Thrace. It was believed by some
that Apollo himself was his father, though he is
more generally supposed to have been the son
of CEagrus, King of Thrace, whilst his mother
was Calliope, the goddess and muse of epic
poetry.

Never before had such music even been dreamt
of as that composed by Orpheus ; and his wonder-
ful playing of the lyre to the accompaniment of
his glorious voice was quite magical.

When Orpheus took up his lyre and began to
touch its strings with his loving touch and to
sing to the sweet melodies that he composed
the beautiful poetry that came into his ' mind,
all nature seemed to draw nigh unto him.

64 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

His magic music waked the sleeping earth from
her winter rest, so that the fair flowers left their
dark cradles to open their dewy buds in the bright
spring sunshine; the forest trees uprooted them-
selves to leap on high and to toss their branches
in the merry breeze; and the very rocks and hills
began to dance!

Such harmonious sounds calmed the wildest
tempests and caused the tossing waves of the
ocean to run smoothly once more; and evil
thoughts in the heart of man were transformed
to thoughts of love and kindness.

Even the fiercest of wild beasts became tame
and gentle, and would draw near to lick the
player's feet or to follow him about like harm-
less lambs; and it was no strange thing for a
savage lion or a deadly serpent to join company
with the fair maidens and happy children who
came to listen to the wonderful music of Orpheus.
As for the birds, they put their dainty heads on
one side and learned afresh how to sing, whilst
the babbling brooks ran more merrily over the
pebbles; and all the songsters and music-makers
in nature joined in to make a perfect chorus of
harmonious melody when this sweet singer, with
his magic touch, struck the lyre.

Thus Orpheus became the master musician
and most glorious singer of the world; and when
there was danger of evil, he was often sent for
in haste to drive it away by means of his wonder-

ORPHEUS WITH THE ARGONAUTS

ORPHEUS AND HIS LYRE 65

ful gift of song. When the famous hero, Jason,
set forth with his brave company of Argonauts
upon the quest of the Golden Fleece, he took
Orpheus with him in his vessel ; and many times
the strains of beautiful music made by this sweet
singer calmed the most fearful tempests and kept
away many a threatened evil, thus saving the
bold heroes from great dangers which they would
not otherwise have escaped.

Yet, strange to say, this master musician, though
he brought joy and peace to others, could not
save himself from great woe.

Orpheus had a beautiful wife whose name was
Eurydice and whom he loved so dearly that he
could scarcely bear to have her out of his sight;
for he always felt that some harm might come to
her when he was not there to keep away evil by
means of his magic music.

And what he feared indeed came to pass ; for
one day, during his absence, when Eurydice went
forth alone into the woods to gather flowers, a sad
misfortune happened to her. She was very happy
as she filled her arms with tall bluebells, shy,
drooping anemones and other fair spring flowers;
and presently she sat down beneath an ancient
oak tree to rest for a while and to weave a gar-
land of blossoms to twine amongst her long
flowing tresses of sunny hair. Then, noticing a
specially beautiful tall bluebell growing close be-
side her, she stretched out her hand to pluck it;

(0718) 5

66 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

but quickly she drew it back, as she felt a sharp
stinging pain. She had been bitten by a serpent
hidden in the grass; and the poison from its cruel
fangs caused her to droop and die.

When Orpheus returned and was told the sad
news, he was bowed down with grief for the loss
of his fair and well-beloved wife ; and feeling that
he could not live without her, he determined to
follow her to Hades, the under-world, where the
Greeks believed their loved ones dwelt after
death.

This was a fearful journey to make, full of
dangers and terrible sights; but Orpheus took his
lyre with him and set forth bravely, and the magic
music he made not only brought him safely
through every danger, but caused many unhappy
spirits on the borders of Tartarus to be grateful
for his coming, since such sweet sounds even
caused their eternal torments to be stayed for
the time being.

When at last the bereaved musician came into
the Land of the Shades and found himself in the
presence of Pluto, the god-king of the under-
world— who sat upon his ebony throne with his
fair Queen, Proserpina, beside him — and begged
to be allowed to take back with him his beloved
Eurydice to the earth once more, his request was
at first refused; but when Orpheus then took up
his lyre and despairingly poured forth all his woe
into a marvellous song of passionate entreaty,

ORPHEUS AND HIS LYRE 67

Pluto's heart was softened by the magical music
he heard, and feeling great pity for the unhappy
husband, he at length gave his consent and said
that Orpheus might take back his wife to the
upper world as a special favour and as a reward
for the dangers he had braved, and also because
of the sweet melodies with which he had flooded
the palace of the dark King.

But on one condition only was he to be allowed
to take back Eurydice to the upper world — that
he did not even once turn to look back upon her
as she followed him to the earth, for, if he did so,
then she would be snatched back instantly to the
Land of Shades, there to dwell for ever.

Full of joy that his beautiful wife was to be
restored to him and that happy days were yet in
store for them both, Orpheus set forth upon his
return journey, with the fair Eurydice following
him with eager steps and with gladness in her
heart; and the strains of his lyre were now
sweeter than any he had ever struck before.

But, alas, poor Orpheus! So great was his joy,
and so eager was he to make sure that his beloved
one was indeed following him, that, unhappily, he
forgot the command of Pluto, and, just as he drew
near to the upper world once more, he looked
back upon her over his shoulder — and instantly
the beautiful Eurydice was seized by unseen hands
and snatched back to the Land of Shades, to dwell
in the under-world for ever.

68 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

This second loss of his fair wife quite broke the
heart of the master musician ; and he vowed that
he would never again look upon the face of a
maiden. This vow so enraged the women of
Thrace, many of whom had long loved him in
vain, that it is said they tore him in pieces in one of
their wild festivals in honour of Bacchus, the god
of wine; but even as he died, the thought of his
beloved lost one was still with the faithful
Orpheus, whose last word as he expired was
" Eurydice ".

The Story of Phrixus and Helle

When Athamas, King of Orchomenus in
Bceotia, deserted his good wife, Nephele, and
married I no, the Princess of Thebes, many
troubles fell upon his two children, the young
Prince Phrixus and the little Princess Helle; for
the new Queen, I no, was very jealous of the
King's love for these fair children, and so treated
them with great unkindness.

At length she even found an excuse for com-
manding that her hated step-children should be
offered up as a special sacrifice to the gods in
honour of a certain festival ; and the weak King
Athamas. not caring to thwart his new Queen's
jealous desire, permitted preparations for this cruel
offering to be made.

THE STORY OF PHRIXUS AND HELLE 69

The deserted Nephele, however, hearing of
the terrible fate that awaited her beloved chil-
dren, prayed passionately to the gods for help
in this dire necessity; and since the gods did
not desire the two royal children to be sacrificed
to them, they sent Mercury, their swift messenger
— a beautiful young god who wore winged sandals
upon his feet and a winged cap upon his head, so
that, as he sped along at lightning rate, he scarcely
touched the ground, and could even skim over the
crest of the ocean waves without wetting his feet
— to prevent the cruel deed from being done.

Mercury caused a golden-fleeced ram suddenly
to appear beside the young prince and princess as
they stood, hand in hand, waiting for the priests
to bind them to the altar-stone; and seeing
the beautiful creature making strange signs to
them, Phrixus, with the assistance of the weeping
Nephele — who, despairing of the success of her
appeal to the gods, had come to see the last of
her beloved children — quickly mounted upon its
back, and pulled up his little sister beside him.

Instantly the golden ram mounted into the
air; and the young prince and the little princess
were thus swiftly borne away in a flash of brilliant
golden light from the hands of the unnatural people
who had wished to sacrifice them.

Over the land and sea they sped, clinging
tightly to the golden fleece of the magic ram;
but, unhappily, the little Princess Helle grew

70 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

afraid as they were crossing over the Straits of
Pontus, and, in her terror, loosed hold of her
protector, and thus fell into the sea below and
was drowned. In after years the spot where she
fell was called the " Hellespont ", in memory of
her; and this same strait is now known as the
Dardanelles.

Prince Phrixus, however, was a strong, bold
youth, and he clung fearlessly and with great
firmness to the magic creature he rode upon until
at last he arrived in the land of Colchis, where he
was permitted to dwell in safety.

Upon arriving in Colchis, the young prince
offered up the magic ram as a sacrifice to the
gods, in thanksgiving to them for having sent it
to save his life; but he first carefully removed its
beautiful golden fleece and gave it to the King of
Colchis, who hung it upon an ancient oak tree in
a woodland place known as the Grove of Mars,
where it shone forth in a dazzling blaze of light
which glowed like the rays of the sun.

Phrixus now remained in Colchis, where he
lived in peace for many years; and, later on, he
was married to a fair princess, and had two brave
sons.

Aetes, King of Colchis, was so pleased at having
the marvellous new treasure brought into his
land by Phrixus that he liked to think it belonged
to himself alone; but the gods soon let it become
known that the beautiful golden fleece — which

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 71

was of divine origin — was to hang up in the
Grove of Mars only until a great hero should
be found brave enough to take it hence.

In order that their decree should be observed,
the gods sent a terrible fiery dragon to live at the
foot of the oak tree in the Grove of Mars to
guard the wonderful treasure; and it became the
mightiest deed of valour that the great heroes of
Greece could take upon themselves to set forth
upon the quest of the Golden Fleece.

For Colchis was a far- distant, wild country,
famed as the abode of magicians, and the way to
it was so full of terrible dangers that many brave
men lost their lives on the journey; but at last
there came one mighty hero who was bolder and
had better luck than any of the others who had
gone before him, so that he suceeded in the great
enterprise. This hero was the famous Jason,
whose strange adventures we shall follow in the
next story.

How Jason took the Golden Fleece

Aeson, King of lolcus in Thessaly, upon be-
coming somewhat enfeebled by age, resigned the
throne in favour of his little son, Jason, appointing
his brother, Pelias, to rule the kingdom until the
child should come of age; but Pelias, being of a

72 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

tyrannical and grasping nature, soon found means
to snatch the throne for himself and was crowned
as king.

Not satisfied with this evil deed, Pelias next
attempted to take the life of the true heir; but,
fortunately, old Aeson was able to save his son
from this sad fate. Then, feeling that it was
not safe for the young prince to remain in that
troubled land for the time being, the unhappy
King determined to take Jason away to be brought
up by old Chiron, who was a famous teacher of
the heroes of old, and who was a Centaur — that is
to say, the top half of his body, from his head
to his middle, was that of a man, and the lower
half of him was that of a horse.

Chiron lived in a large cave, where he had
a great number of pupils, many of whom after-
wards became renowned as mighty heroes; and
so the old King Aeson took his little son by
the hand, and, with a very heavy heart, journeyed
to the abode of this strange but famous teacher,
who received them with great kindness, and pro-
mised to take charge of young Jason until he
was old enough to return to lolchus to claim his
stolen kingdom.

When the old King had departed, after a sad
parting with his beloved child, Jason soon made
friends with his fellow pupils and companions,
who gave him a glad welcome; and he felt proud
to be the playmates of such fine youths, amongst

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 73

whom were Achilles, who afterwards became
famous as the great hero of the Trojan War,
and Hercules, who grew up to be the strongest
man in the world as well as one of the boldest
heroes of ancient times.

Old Chiron himself, though a strict teacher,
was pleasant to look upon, and had a kindly,
gentle nature; and he taught the fair youths
in his charge not only how to use all kinds of
weapons of defence, and to be fearless in battle
and skilful in manly sports, but also how to
use their brains wisely, to love noble deeds, to
be faithful and true, gentle with the weak, and
kind to all. He trained them to have faith in
themselves and their own powers, so that they
should never be afraid to attempt any difficult
enterprise; and he loved to gather the boys
around him when their tasks for the day were
done, and to sing to them and to tell them
stories of the splendid heroes of the past, so
that they should learn to honour the mighty
dead and have the desire to emulate their great
deeds.

Thus did the young Prince Jason receive the
training of a hero; and when he had grown up
to be a splendid youth, strong and beautiful to
look upon, with clever wits, a ready arm, and
a true hero's heart, he longed to meet with
adventures.

Feeling that he was now ready to battle with

74 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the world, he determined to journey to the land
of his birth once more and to claim from his
tyrant uncle, Pelias, the throne which it was his
right to sit upon; and so he bade farewell to his
kind teacher and beloved companions with sincere
regret, and set forth upon his travels.

Over his shoulders a leopard's skin was flung
as a cloak; and upon his feet he wore a pair
of rich golden sandals which had been a part-
ing gift to him from his royal father, who was
now dead.

As he sped lightly upon his journey with a
joyous heart, young Jason felt ready for any
adventures that might come his way; and he
had not long to wait for the latter.

As he drew near to a certain broad stream
in which the water, swollen by the spring floods,
flowed in a rushing torrent, the youth noticed
upon the bank a strange old dame, who leaned
heavily upon a tall staff, the top of which was
carved into the shape of a cuckoo, and who was
followed by a couple of handsome peacocks. In
spite of her aged and bent appearance, however,
the old dame had a certain air of majesty and
dignity about her; and, to the surprise of Jason,
she addressed him by his name as though already
acquainted with him, and begged him to carry
her across the stream, since she was too feeble
with age to brave the swirling torrent upon her
own feet.

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 75

Jason had a kindly heart, and had been taught
by old Chiron the Centaur that gentleness and
reverence to the aged and to children was one of
the first qualities of true nobility; and though he
had no desire to thus burden himself whilst cross-
ing the angry stream, he willingly agreed to
carry the dame over the water, and bade her
mount upon his back.

The old woman immediately did so, her example
being followed by the two peacocks, who perched
one on each of her shoulders, since they also de-
sired to take advantage of the kindly services of
the youth; and then Jason stepped boldly into
the stream and carried his unexpected burden
safely to the opposite bank, losing one of his
golden sandals as he trod amongst the rough
pebbles, a fact he scarcely heeded, owing to his
surprise at noting that the weight he bore seemed
to grow less with every step he took.

He soon knew the reason for this, and that
magic had been at work; for directly he stepped
out of the water, to his utter amazement the
old dame suddenly vanished, and in her place
stood the beautiful goddess Juno, the glorious
Queen of Olympus, in all her dazzling majesty,
and still attended by the stately peacocks — these
royal birds being sacred to her, as well as the
cuckoo, an image of which bird was carved upon
the top of her staff.

" Noble youth," said Juno, as Jason knelt

76 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

humbly before her, with bowed head, overcome
with awe, " in the shape of an old and feeble
dame I tried thy heart, and found it good and
kind, and not selfish as are the hearts of many
other youths whom I have thus visited; and I
now bid thee go forth into the world and per-
form the mighty deeds of a hero, suffering all
and fearing naught, for my blessing shall rest
upon thee wherever thou shalt roam, and thou
shalt succeed in the difficult task which pre-
sently will be given thee to do. Fare thee
well, Jason, and keep hope in thine heart always,
since Juno smiles upon thee."

With these gracious words, the lovely Queen
of Olympus mounted into a golden chariot which
had now appeared, and which was drawn by her
two attendant peacocks; and in a few seconds
she had vanished out of sight, leaving Jason to
proceed upon his way, full of hope and joy.

When the young prince at length arrived in
lolcus, the land of his birth, he found that a
great festival was being held, and that his grasp-
ing uncle, Pelias, was about to sacrifice a black
bull in honour of the event; but upon Jason sud-
denly appearing before him, the usurper dropped
the sacrificial knife and turned pale as he gazed
upon the stranger and noted that he wore but
one golden sandal. Years ago a soothsayer had
bidden the tyrant King to beware the coming of
a royal youth who would one day appear before

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 77

him wearing a single golden sandal, whom he
would know to be the nephew whom he had
wronged and who would come prepared to claim
his stolen throne.

Though full of anger that the young prince had
indeed appeared in accordance with the prophecy
to claim his rights, the greedy King quickly
thought out a cunning plan to rid himself of his
unwelcome nephew, who he saw at once was of
the stuff of which heroes are made : and greeting
him calmly as his kinsman, he spoke thus in
reply to the young man's stern request:

" I have held this kingdom for many years,
nephew Jason; but I will give up the throne
to thee upon one condition only — that, first of
all, thou settest forth upon the noble Quest of
the Golden Fleece; and if, upon thy return, thou
bringest back with thee that mighty treasure,
thou shalt certainly reign in my stead."

You will remember reading in the story of
" Phrixus and Helle " what the Golden Fleece
was, how it came to be set up in the Grove of Mars
in Colchis, and how, because of the many terrible
dangers that had to be overcome before anyone
could hope to take away the prize, only the very
bravest heroes ever ventured to set forth upon
the quest; and, therefore, it was no wonder that
Jason was astonished that he, a mere stripling,
should be asked to perform a task that even the
mightiest heroes of Greece had so far failed to

78 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

achieve, though he did not so much as turn pale
as the cunning King added:

" Thou art a fine, strong youth, with a stout
heart, and art well fitted for this great task; and
one of royal birth should not refuse to undertake
the greatest of hero deeds when commanded to
do so."

"Nor do I refuse!" cried Jason proudly. "I
am no craven, and am not afraid of any task
that may be set me; and I will go forth will-
ingly upon the Quest of the Golden Fleece;
what is more, I will never return hither with-
out it."

The artful Pelias now became more friendly
and amiable, since he felt convinced that the royal
youth would never even reach Colchis alive, much
less come back with the famous Golden Fleece;
and therefore he allowed his bold nephew to seek
any assistance he desired in making his plans for
the journey.

Jason was eager for adventures and full of
hope; and he went without delay to seek advice
from the Oracle oak-grove situated in a certain
woodland district known as Dodona. The spirit
that dwelt within these ancient oaks (some say
that it was the spirit of the mighty Jupiter
himself who spoke the words of prophecy to be
heard there), always eager to encourage the heroes
who sought its aid, told him to have a great ship
built for him, with oars for fifty rowers; and,

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 79

when it was ready, he was to man the vessel
with fellow heroes, and also to take with him
Orpheus, the master singer of the world, whose
magic playing upon the lyre would lessen the
dangers he was bound to meet upon the way.

Jason thanked the wise spirit for its excellent
advice, and forthwith consulted the famous ship-
builder, Argus, and commanded him to build a
fine vessel, which was to be named the Argo in
honour of the builder. Many bold youths and
heroes gave assistance in the building of the
Argo\ and upon Jason's second visit to the wise
Oracle of Dodona, one of the branches of an
ancient tree bowed down before the youth and
said: "Oh, cut me off, royal Jason, that I may
become the figurehead of thy vessel and guide
thee with good advice upon thy journey."

Jason thereupon cut off the branch and took
it to a famous sculptor to be cut into a figurehead ;
and when the work was completed, all were
amazed at the beauty of the woman's head which
had been carved by the artist, whose hand
appeared to have been guided by magic.

And now Jason no longer needed to go to the
Dodona Oracle for advice ; for he discovered that
the same spirit also dwelt in the beautiful figure-
head of his vessel, which, in future, he could con-
sult when in doubt or difficulty.

When the noble vessel was at length ready,
Jason had no need to seek or ask for companions;

8o GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

for forty- nine of the bravest and most famous
heroes of his time — amongst whom were Hercules,
Theseus, Ajax and others — came forward as vol-
unteers, and, willingly offering their services to the
royal youth, took their places at the oars at once.

Next there came Orpheus, the wonderful singer
and poet (of whom we read in the story of
" Orpheus and Eurydice "), with his magic lyre,
and sat at the helm beside Jason; and then the
bold company — who were now known as the
"Argonauts" — set forth upon the Quest of the
Golden Fleece.

Many were the exciting and terrifying adven-
tures they met with upon their journey; and had
it not been that the blessing of Juno, the Queen of
Olympus, rested upon Jason, and that Orpheus
was present with his magic music to calm the
wind and the waves, they would never have
succeeded in overcoming the troubles and dangers
that came in their way.

More than once, when fearful storms were
raging and they were expecting every moment
to be dashed to pieces on the rocks, Orpheus
struck his lyre, and, by means of his sweet sing-
ing, made the rough angry waters smooth once
more. Once, also, when they were in terrible
danger in a wild place known as the Blue Rocks,
the goddess Juno sent a heron to guide them, so
that by following the royal bird, they were able
to navigate the passage safely.

MEDEA GIVES THE MAGIC POWDER TO THE DRAGON

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 81

They often stopped at various ports and islands
they came to upon their way; and in one of these
strange lands they fought with a host of terrible
giants who had long troubled the people in
those parts, and destroyed them all by means of
their great strength and skill with the bow and
arrows.

On another island they were attacked by a
flock of huge, fierce eagles known as the Stym-
phalides, all of whom were said to have feathers
of bronze which they shot out and sent down
upon the heroes with great force; but Jason
quickly sought advice from the magic figurehead
of his ship, and was told to command his com-
panions to make a fearful clatter with their swords
and shields — and the amazing noise thus made
scared away the ravenous birds which other-
wise would certainly have devoured them.

After many more strange adventures of this
kind, the Argo at last arrived on the shores of
Colchis ; and leaving his friends to guard the ship,
Jason landed alone and fearlessly made his way
to the royal palace, where he requested the King
to permit him to enter the Grove of Mars and
attempt to carry off the Golden Fleece.

Now, King Aietes of Colchis was not pleased
when he found that a hero had at last braved and
overcome all the dangers of the long and difficult
journey to his land; and he soon began to feel
afraid that this bold youth — who seemed to be

( 0 718 ) 6

82 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

afraid of nothing — might even manage to snatch
away the great treasure in the Grove of Mars, in
spite of the fact that it was guarded day and
night by a terrible dragon which he himself had
never dared to go within sight of, much less
attempted to fight with.

So, hoping to persuade Jason to return to his
ship without even attempting the great task that
awaited him in the Grove of Mars, he said to
him : " Before I can allow thee to enter the sacred
Grove of Mars, first of all thou must tame two
fierce brazen-footed bulls which breathe forth
fiery flames, and which roam loose in a field at
night; and not only this, but shouldst thou
succeed in taming these wild beasts, thou must
yoke them and plough the field, and then sow in
it some magic dragon's teeth, from which will
spring forth a vast crop of armed men, all of
whom thou must overcome by morning. And
then, after this, thou wilt have to slay the terrible
dragon in the Grove of Mars, ere thou canst carry
off the Golden Fleece. Therefore, take my advice,
rash youth, and return to thy vessel; for thou
wilt certainly die if thou art so foolish as to
attempt these impossible tasks."

But Jason declared all the more stoutly that he
would not give up the quest of the Golden Fleece,
no matter what dangers might come in his way;
and he went out of the palace trying to think of
a means to carry out the heavy tasks that had

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 83

been set him, which, in spite of his bold resolve,
he knew were really impossible to be done by
ordinary means.

Yet, assistance was at hand, and Juno's gracious
blessing was still upon him; for the daughter of
the King of Colchis, the beautiful Princess Medea,
had fallen in love with this royal hero directly she
set eyes upon him, and she had already made up
her mind to help him in his quest.

Medea was a sorceress and a dealer in mar-
vellous magic, and she was clever enough to know
that her gifts were of value in the present case;
so she ran after Jason as he walked gloomity from
the palace, and offered to help him in his tasks
if he would love her and become her husband.

And the young hero had no sooner looked
upon the fair princess than he loved her as she
desired; and he said to her: "If thou wilt help
me to take the Golden Fleece, royal maiden, thou
shalt go away with me to my own land to be my
queen."

Then Medea gave the youth a box of magic
paste, which she told him to smear all over his
body and garments, since it would prevent the
flames from the fiery bulls from harming him;
and Jason gladly did as she bade him.

Then, in the dead of night, Medea came to him
again and led him to the large open field where
the fiery bulls were already roaming loose; and
next moment the terrible beasts were charging

84 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

him, breathing forth long streams of scorching
flames and endeavouring to trample him to death
with their heavy brazen feet.

The strange paste which Jason had smeared over
his garments and the exposed parts of his body
prevented the flames from burning him; and not
stopping even to draw his sword, the bold youth
instantly seized both the raging bulls by their
horns in such a mighty grasp that they knew him
at once to be their master, and thus became quite
tame and were prepared to obey him. Seeing
this, Jason yoked the beasts to a plough close by
and made them work hard and quickly, so that,
in a very short time, the field was ploughed.

Then Medea brought forth a bag filled with
magic dragon's teeth (they were, in fact, the
remainder of the teeth of the terrible dragon slain
by Cadmus, whose adventures are related in the
story of " Europa and Cadmus"); and Jason
sowed the field with them. As soon as he had
planted the last of these strange seeds, there
sprang up a thick crop of armed men, who made
a furious rush upon the watchful and intrepid
youth; but, following the command of the clever
Princess Medea, Jason promptly flung his helmet
into the midst of the amazing crop he had raised.

Instantly, the warriors began to fight amongst
themselves, each one thinking that his neighbour
had thrown the helmet at him alone; and so
fiercely did the battle rage, that by the time dawn

HOW JASON TOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE 85

appeared all the armed men lay dead upon the
field.

When the King of Colchis knew that Jason
had actually performed the tasks that had been
set him, he was furious with rage and disappoint-
ment; and suspecting that his witch daughter
must have assisted the young hero, he com-
manded Medea to compel Jason to sail away in
his ship immediately, since, otherwise, he and she
should be slain.

But, instead of following out this command, the
royal maiden quickly led Jason into the Grove of
Mars, where, after walking some distance, they
saw the dazzling light shining forth from the
wonderful Golden Fleece, which was hanging
upon the trunk of an old oak tree, around which
an enormous dragon lay coiled, fast asleep.

Their approaching steps awakened the monster,
which turned fiercely upon them at once; but just
as it opened its huge jaws, intending to swallow
them both at a gulp, Medea opened a golden box
she had brought with her and flung its contents of
magic powder down the raging beast's throat.

This powder caused the dragon instantly to sink
back to the ground in a heavy slumber; and as
the sound of its loud snores began to shake the
earth, the princess bade Jason seize the Golden
Fleece at once, without further delay. In order
to do this, the young hero was actually compelled
to step upon the dragon's scaly back, since its

86 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

long snaky body was wound round the base of
the tree; but he gathered his courage together,
and did the deed.

Then when Jason had torn off the beautiful
Golden Fleece from the oak tree, he and Medea
hastened away to the shore, hand in hand, with
utmost speed, and boarded the Argo without a
moment's delay.

Then with a mighty shout from all the fifty
heroes, and to the sound of Orpheus's lyre, the
Argonauts set forth upon their return journey,
bearing the beautiful Golden Fleece with them;
and though the King of Colchis followed them
for a long distance, full of rage because the magic
treasure and his witch daughter had been taken
away from his land, he could not overtake the
bold adventurers, and was obliged to return to his
palace alone.

Many more adventures and terrible dangers came
to the brave Argonauts, and many more years
passed away before they arrived at their journey's
end; but at last they came safely to lolcus, the
land of Jason's birth. Here the young prince
was at once made king, with the beautiful Princess
Medea as his queen; for the grasping Pelias was
soon driven out by the people whom he had ruled
so tyrannically, and who gave a joyous welcome
to the brave hero who had gained such world-wide
glory by succeeding in the wonderful Quest of the
Golden Fleece.

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER 87

Perseus the Gorgon Slayer

One of the greatest heroes we read about in the
Greek wonder tales is Perseus, who did many
brave deeds and was beloved and helped by the
gods.

The adventures of Perseus began when he was
still a baby. He was the son of a beautiful
princess named Danae, and his father was the
great god, Jupiter. When but a few weeks old,
he and his mother were sealed up in a great chest
and cast into the sea; this cruel deed being done
by the command of Danae's father, King Acrisius
of Argos, who, having been told by a soothsayer
that he would meet his death at the hands of his
grandson, hoped thus to rid himself of the child
for ever.

Acrisius had first of all endeavoured to prevent
his daughter from marrying, and to exclude her
from the sight of all likely suitors by imprison-
ing her in a brazen tower; but his selfish scheme
failed, since bolts and bars were nothing to the
mighty Jupiter, who visited the fair captive in her
prison, appearing before her suddenly in the form
of a shower of gold. Thus, in spite of the pre-
cautions taken, Danae was seen and beloved by
the great King of Olympus; and their son,
Perseus, was preserved for the career of a
glorious hero.

For the gods did not intend Danae and her

88 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

child to perish when so cruelly cast into the sea,
and by their miraculous intervention, they caused
the waves to cast up the chest upon the shores of
the island of Seriphos, where it was found by
a kindly fisherman named Dictys.

When Dictys saw the distressed lady and her
fair babe still alive in the chest, he took them
both to his humble home, and gave them food
and shelter; and when he had heard the story
told by the unhappy Princess Danae, he was filled
with pity, and said: "Weep not, fair Princess, for
thou shalt dwell here in safety, and be as a
daughter unto my wife and me; and the little
Perseus shall be brought up with all the loving
care I would have bestowed upon a son of my own."

So Danae and her son lived for fifteen happy
years with good Dictys and his wife: and Perseus
grew up to be a brave and noble youth, who was
taller and handsomer to look upon and more skil-
ful in every manly sport than any other young
man in the land.

Now, although Dictys lived the simple life of
a fisherman, his brother, Polydectes, was King
of the island of Seriphos, which, in his greed, he
had snatched and kept for his own alone ; and this
King Polydectes was very fond of holding feasts,
to which all the gay young lords and fighting
youths of the land were invited, each guest always
being expected to bring a gift with him for the
avaricious King.

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER 89

Perseus, as soon as he had grown up to be
a splendid youth and had gained considerable
renown by his skill in games and the use of
arms, was commanded by the King to attend one
of the royal feasts; but, as he was but a portion-
less youth and possessed no riches, he could not
afford to take a gift with him.

The gay young lords, who were jealous of
this noble youth because he had recently excelled
them all in their national games and warlike
sports, now pointed their fingers at him in scorn,
because he had not brought a gift to the banquet ;
and the King received him with disdain, for the
same reason.

Then Perseus, full of shame because he had
been compelled to come to the palace empty-
handed, cried out boldly: "Though I have not
the means to bring thee rich gifts as these lords
have done, oh King, yet will I go forth and fetch
back to thee a greater gift than any thou hast
ever received before — the head of Medusa, the
Gorgon!"

I must tell you that there were living at that
time three terrible monsters known as the Gor-
gons, having the faces of women but the bodies
of winged dragons, with brazen feet and claws and
such strange hard eyes that all persons who looked
upon them were turned to stone; and the most
hideous of these monsters was named Medusa,
whose head was covered with hissing serpents

90 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

instead of with hair and who was the terror of
the world — but who was, nevertheless, the only
one of the three monsters who was mortal and
could be slain.

When Polydectes heard the rash promise of
Perseus to slay the Gorgon, Medusa, he held him
fast to his word; and being very eager to rid him-
self of the youth, of whom he also was jealous,
he said harshly and with scorn in his voice: "Go
forth, then, ye boaster, and fetch me hither the
head of Medusa, for I will accept none other gift
from thee ; and if thou shalt dare to return hither
without it, thou shalt surely be slain!"

Then Perseus went forth from the palace to set
about the great task he had declared he would
perform; and because he was brave and hopeful,
the gods helped him in many ways.

First of all, Minerva, the goddess of wisdom,
came before him in her dazzling beauty and lent
him her own shield, which was polished like a
mirror, telling him that in this he could see where
to strike at Medusa without needing to look upon
her actual face, and thus prevent himself from
being turned to stone by her petrifying eyes,
Then Mercury, the messenger of the gods, lent
him his winged sandals and cap, as well as his
magic sword which always dealt death at the
first blow; and the Hesperides, or daughters of
Hesperus, the Evening Star, borrowed for him
the magic helmet of Pluto, King of the Under-

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER 91

world, which made the wearer invisible for so
long as he wore it; and from other gods and
nymphs he learned which paths to take when
he set forth upon his journey.

After long and weary wanderings, Perseus at
length arrived in the dismal land of the Gorgons,
all three of whom were asleep as he drew near
to them.

He knew that he must not look upon the eyes
of these terrible monsters, or he would be trans-
formed to stone ; but he saw the picture of Medusa
in the bright shield lent him by the goddess
Minerva, and he shuddered at the sight of the
fierce hissing serpents upon her head, at her
dragon's scaly body, and her fearful brazen feet
and claws.

A less-noble youth would have fled at once at
such a terrifying sight; but Perseus had a brave
heart, and, still keeping his eyes fixed upon the
picture in the mirror-shield, he drew closer and
aimed one mighty blow at the sleeping Medusa,
which struck off her head, so that the fierce
Gorgon rolled over, dead. From the drops of
blood which fell from the severed head of Medusa,
there sprang forth instantly a beautiful winged
horse, afterwards named Pegasus, which imme-
diately flew out of sight, and met with strange
adventures later on.

Still keeping his eyes fixed upon the picture
in the shield, Perseus quickly wrapped up the

92 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

fallen head in a goatskin he had brought with
him for the purpose, and hurried away from the
spot; and though the other two Gorgons now
awakened and rushed wildly and with fearful cries
after the slayer of Medusa, they could not find
him, since the magic helmet he wore hid him
from their sight, and also prevented their stony
glances from falling upon him.

Thus did Perseus escape from a great danger;
and, with the Gorgon's head carefully hidden in
the goatskin beneath his arm, he set off upon his
return journey.

As he passed through the land of ^Ethiopia,
he observed that the country had been laid waste
by an enemy, and that floods and fires in addition
had made it dismal to behold; and, consequently,
he took to the sea, and skimmed lightly over the
crests of the waves by means of the winged
sandals he wore.

Then, to his surprise and horror, he saw, not
very far from the shore, a great black rock, to
which a most beautiful maiden was bound with
chains ; and, full of fierce anger that such a cruel
deed should have been done, Perseus hurried to
the maiden's side, broke off her chains and set
her free.

He then removed his magic helmet; and when
the grateful maiden beheld her rescuer, she told
him her name was Andromeda, Princess of the
Ethiopians, and that she had lived a very happy

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER 93

life until the Queen, her mother, had boasted one
day that her daughter Andromeda was the most
beautiful maiden in the world. This foolish boast
had made the lovely nereids, or sea nymphs, so
angry that they persuaded Neptune, King of the
Sea, to send great floods to waste the land of
the ^Ethiops, and had commanded the Fire- King
to burn the houses of the people ; and, not content
with this, they had also sent a sea monster to
roam the shores and to devour all the people who
came in its way.

At last it was found that the only way to stop
these woes was to give up the Princess Andro-
meda herself to the terrible sea monster, which
would then be satisfied and return to the depths
of the ocean once more ; and, therefore, the lovely
maiden had been taken out and chained to the
black rock and left there, with the waves raging
about her, ready for the monster to devour when
next he should come that way.

"Oh see, here he comes!" suddenly cried the
royal maiden, pointing to a fearful snaky creature
that was even then rushing through the waves
towards her. " Oh, what shall we do? It will
slay thee also, noble youth! Leave me, and save
thyself, I prithee!"

" Not so!" cried Perseus. " I fear no monster;
and I will soon make this one harmless to all!"

With these bold words, the youth sped over
the waves to meet the terrible creature; and

94 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

taking off the cover from the Gorgon's head, he
held it up with a loud cry. The sound caused
the monster to look up; and as its glance fell first
upon the glaring eyes of the dead Medusa, it was
instantly turned to stone and sank heavily to the
bottom of the sea.

Then Perseus returned to the beautiful princess
and asked her to marry him, since he already
loved her; and Andromeda gladly gave her con-
sent, since she also returned his love. So Perseus
took the lovely maiden in his arms, and bore her
safely over the waves to the shore; and they
presently entered the royal palace together, where
they were received with great joy by the King
and Queen of ^Ethiopia and all their people, who
had never expected to see the beloved princess
again.

The brave young hero was married to the
Princess Andromeda very soon afterwards; and
at the request of the King and Queen, he re-
mained in the land of the ^Ethiopians for a year.
At the end of that time, however, he announced
that he must return to the island of Seriphos to
fulfil his promise to the greedy King Polydectes;
and he bade farewell to the ^thiops and set forth
in a splendid ship, with his beautiful wife to bear
him company.

After a while he came to the island where his
boyhood had been spent, and went to the house
of good old Dictys, who was overjoyed at behold-

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER 95

ing him once again, and from whom he learned
the sad news that his mother, the Princess Danae,
had been reduced to slavery by the grasping
King Polydectes; and, full of rage at the news,
he hastened to the palace at once, to demand
his mother's freedom.

As he entered the palace, he heard the sound
of merry music, and soon learned from the slaves
that the King was again feasting with the same
gay lords who had treated the portionless youth
with such scorn at their last meeting; and, with-
out further delay, he stepped quickly into their
presence and greeted them proudly.

"Ah, here comes this vain boaster!" said the
King, with a scornful smile. " Since thou hast
no scratch upon thee, it is plain to see that thou
hast never been in the land of the Gorgons.
Yet shalt thou not escape from this hall alive,
unless thou bringest that which thou didst so
foolishly promise — the head of Medusa."

" Smile not with such scorn, oh King, for I
have fulfilled my promise to thee. Behold the
head of Medusa, the Gorgon!" cried Perseus,
in triumph; and uncovering the monster's head,
he held it up aloft, taking care not to look upon
it himself.

The King and his guests looked up at once,
gazing with amazement straight into the terrible
petrifying eyes of Medusa; and instantly they
were all changed into lifeless figures of stone.

96 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Then Perseus set free his beloved mother,
Danae, who gladly gave welcome to the fair
Princess Andromeda as her daughter; and the
people of Seriphos were so well pleased that the
tyrant Polydectes and his vain courtiers were
dead that they desired Perseus to be their king
instead. Perseus, however, declared that the
throne should belong to Dictys, whose inheri-
tance it was; and after establishing his old friend
as king, the young hero determined to visit his
age$l grandfather, King Acrisius of Argos, that he
might make peace between him and the Princess
Danae.

Before setting out upon this adventure, how-
ever, Perseus returned to the gods the various
things they had lent to him for the performance
of the great task he had undertaken and succeeded
in so well; and the Gorgon's head he presented
to the goddess Minerva, who afterwards placed
it in the middle of her shield.

The young prince then set off upon his new
quest alone and clad in the garb of a humble
shepherd, and travelled to his mother's land; and
when he arrived in Argos, he found that the old
King Acrisius had been driven from his throne
by his own brother, but that he was living in
peace and honour as the guest of the King of
Larissa, with whom he had taken refuge.

Once more Perseus went on his way until
at last he came to Larissa; and here he found

PERSEUS THE GORGON SLAYER 97

the old King Acrisius watching a grand festh'al
of games held in his honour.

Perseus thought his grandfather might be
pleased and would be more likely to receive him
kindly if he could first of all prove himself to be
skilful in games; and therefore, before revealing
his identity to the old man, he began to take part
in the sports, and soon carried off most of the
prizes. But, sad to say, whilst he was throwing
a heavy quoit, the wind caught it in a sudden
gust, so that it swerved out of its course and fell
upon the old King with such force that the shock
caused him to fall back, dead.

Thus did the seer's prophecy come true, and
Acrisius was slain, though unwittingly, by his
own grandson; and Perseus was so overcome
with grief when he found what had happened
that for a long time no one could comfort him.
Although he was himself now the heir to the
throne of Argos, he refused to sit thereon, because
of his misfortune in having slain his grandfather;
and he therefore resigned it to a kinsman in
exchange for the kingdom of Tiryns.

Before commencing to rule the latter country,
however, Perseus returned to the island of Seri-
phos, where he was received with great joy; and
then, after a while, he journeyed back, with his
beautiful wife, Andromeda, to Tiryns, where he
reigned in peace for many happy years.

< C 718 ) 7

98 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

The Story of Theseus and Ariadne

One of the most famous heroes of the ancient
Greeks was Theseus, the son of Aegeus, King of
Athens. His mother was the Princess Aethra of
Troezen, with whom he was left to spend his child-
hood in the city of his birth, away from his father,
Aegeus. At Troezen Aegeus had left a famous
sword which he placed for safety beneath an enor-
mously-heavy stone, telling Aethra that as soon as
their son was strong enough to remove the stone
and take the sword, he was to set forth for Athens
to join his father and share in his royal birthright.

Aegeus had a reason for thus concealing the
birth of his son; for in Athens there were at
that time a number of his nephews who ex-
pected to succeed him on the throne, and he
feared they might kill his son did they learn
that he had one, since they believed him to
be childless.

Theseus very early showed signs of the manly
qualities that go to the making of a hero, and
eagerly profited by the excellent training afforded
him of becoming proficient in all warlike pursuits,
and hardy games and accomplishments ; and when
he had grown up to be a splendid youth, hand-
some, strong, and fearless, he boldly announced
his intention to possess himself of his father's
famous sword.

The young prince, therefore, was led to the

THE STORY OF THESEUS AND ARIADNE 99

spot where the sword had been hidden by his
royal father; and, though still but a mere youth,
to the amazement of all, he thrust aside the
great stone, and took up the splendid sword
which lay beneath it, still bright and keen as
of yore. And then he bade farewell to his
weeping mother, who was filled with grief at
having thus to part with her fine young son,
and departed from the land of his childhood,
and, with his father's flashing sword girt around
his waist, set forth for the famous city of Athens.

Theseus met with many adventures upon his
way, and quickly proved himself to be a hero
indeed; for he had to fight with several des-
perate robbers and savage monsters, all of whom,
by means of his fearless courage and skill in
arms, he was able to overcome.

When, however, he at length arived in Athens,
he very nearly lost his life before he could prove
his identity; but upon being brought into the
presence of King Aegeus, the latter recognized
him at once as his son, by means of the sword
he wore. So Theseus was now welcomed as the
King's son and next successor; and since he had
already proved himself to be a warlike youth, his
cousins, who had hoped to secure the throne for
themselves, left him in peace for the time being.

For a few years Theseus lived a quiet life;
and then his love of adventure led him to take
part in a desperate enterprise. Some years pre-

ioo GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

vious to his arrival in his father's land, the
Athenians had been at war with the Cretans,
who had defeated them; and Minos, the King
of Crete, had only withdrawn his warriors and
permitted the Athenians to keep their city on
condition that they sent him, as a yearly tribute,
seven youths and seven maidens to be devoured
by a terrible creature known as the Minotaur,
which he had to keep and feed. This fearful
monster had the head of a bull and the body
of a man; and it was kept in a labyrinth or
maze, where it roamed loose at will, and in
order to keep it satisfied with its home, so that
it should not come out into the city, it had to
be fed on human flesh.

Ever since the war with Crete, the Athenians
had been compelled, greatly to their sorrow, to
send each year seven of their noblest youths and
seven of their fairest maidens to be devoured by
the Minotaur, as a tax to King Minos; and, in
order to act fairly by his people, Aegeus caused
the victims to be chosen by means of casting lots.

Then, to his horror, on the fourth year after
the arrival of his son in the land, the lot fell
to Theseus himself to be one of the seven youths
to be sent to the Minotaur; and old Aegeus tear-
fully entreated his counsellors and people to send
another in the place of the young prince, whose
life was of such value to the country.

But Theseus himself sternly silenced his

THE STORY OF THESEUS AND ARIADNE 101

anxious father, declaring that since the lot had
fallen upon him, he should certainly accompany
the other youths and maidens to Crete; and
he boldly added that he should give fight to
the Minotaur, and hoped, by slaying it, thus
to rid the people of Athens of their fatal yearly
tribute.

When Aegeus heard this noble resolve, he was
filled with grief, since it seemed almost certain
that he would never see his beloved son again, no
one having yet been known to escape from the
jaws of this terrible monster; but seeing that
neither tears nor entreaties would alter the firm
resolve of Theseus, he bade him a sorrowful fare-
well, commending him to the care of the gods,
and desiring him, if he should, by some miracu-
lous means, manage to escape from death and
return to Athens, to fly white sails in his usually
black-rigged vessel, that the royal watcher might
know, directly the ship hove in sight, that the
enterprise of his heroic son had been blessed with
success.

Theseus agreed to his father's request, and then
boarded his black-sailed ship, together with the
six other youths and the seven fair maidens who
were to be given over to the devouring jaws of
the Minotaur; and the sad party sailed away from
Athens, followed by the sound of lamentation from
the weeping people on the shores.

When the victims landed in Crete, they were

102 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

not given over to the monster at once, but were
kept in a safe place until the time of their sacrifice
should arrive ; and the bold young Prince Theseus
was allowed to live for a while in the palace of the
King of Crete, who, at his request, promised that
he should be the first of the Athenian victims to
be offered to the Minotaur.

Now, King Minos of Crete had two beautiful
daughters, whose names were Phsedra and Ari-
adne; and both these princesses were pleased to
have the companionship of the handsome young
Theseus — more particularly Ariadne, who fell so
deeply in love with the Athenian prince that she
sought desperately for some means of saving his
life.

Before being cast to the Minotaur, the victims
were always deprived of any weapon with which
they might have defended themselves; but when
the day at length arrived upon which Theseus
was to be offered to the monster, Ariadne managed
to convey secretly to the royal victim a sword
with which to attack his foe, and also a long silken
thread to use as a clue, by means of which he
might find his way out of the labyrinth should he
be so fortunate as to succeed in slaying the fearful
beast.

In return for the valuable assistance she had
thus rendered him, when Ariadne came to bid
him farewell, Theseus, although he really cared
more for the Princess Phaedra than for the

THE STORY OF THESEUS AND ARIADNE 103

more practical sister, promised that if he escaped
from the terrible danger to which he was about
to be exposed, he would marry her and take her
away with him.

Theseus, with the unsuspected sword carefully
hidden within his clothing, was then conducted
to the entrance to the labyrinth of Crete, thrust
inside and left to his fate; but ere he had gone
many steps, he was careful to fasten one end of
the thread given him by Ariadne to a notch in
the wall, so that by unwinding the bobbin as he
went up and down the endless maze of passages,
he knew that he would be able to find his way
back to the entrance when he wished to do so.
He was very glad that the loving princess had
been so wise as to give him this clue of thread,
since he soon realized that he would never have
been able to find his way out of the network of
paths without some such help ; and, greatly cheered
by this good piece of fortune, the young prince
went boldly on his way until at length he came
to the middle of the labyrinth, which led out into
an open court, at one side of which he saw the
Minotaur awake and ready to devour him.

The terrible monster made a fierce rush at its
intended victim ; but Theseus instantly drew forth
his concealed sword and fought desperately for his
life. A fearful battle ensued; but so strong and
brave was young Theseus, and so well skilled
in the use of the sword, that, after a mighty

io4 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

struggle, he stretched the Minotaur dead at his
feet.

After performing this heroic deed, by means
of which he had not only saved his own life,
but had freed his country from the cruel yearly
tribute of fourteen human victims, he turned to
retrace his steps; and by means of the silken
clue so thoughtfully provided by the fair prin-
cess who loved him, he succeeded in finding
his way back through the (myiuado ofjwinding
passages to the entrance to the labyrinth.

He quickly made known his conquest and slay-
ing of the Minotaur; and the King of Crete,
thankful to be rid of the terrible monster, gladly
gave permission for the other intended victims to
return to their own land.

So Theseus boarded his vessel once more, with
the now-rejoicing Athenian youths and maidens
whose lives he had saved; and when the gentle
Ariadne came also to remind him of the promise
he had made to her, he could not refuse to take
her with him, although, in spite of her kindness
to him, he still cared more for her sister Phaedra,
whom he really desired to marry.

And now I am sorry to have to relate a very
mean act of Theseus, and one which is all the
more to be regretted when we consider how
glorious were his hero deeds, and how well he
conducted himself when he became a king.

On the return journey to Athens the prince's

THESEUS FIGHTS THE MINOTAUR

THE STORY OF THESEUS AND ARIADNE 105

vessel was caught in a storm and driven out of
its course, so that the party had to take refuge on
the lonely island of Naxos until the wind had
abated somewhat; and here, when the others all
returned to the ship, the Princess Ariadne was
deserted and left alone by Theseus, who hurried
on board whilst she was resting and sailed away
without her, thus returning her love and kindness
with ingratitude — though, doubtless, he excused
his base conduct by thinking that, though he was
now acting cruelly to Ariadne, he was about to
bring joy to her sister Phaedra, who also loved
him, and whom he intended to marry later on.

I must tell you that the deserted Ariadne,
though she grieved at her sad fate for a long time,
was at length comforted by Bacchus, the merry,
laughing god of wine, who, finding the unhappy
princess alone on the island, took pity upon her
and persuaded her to marry him and to think
no more about the Athenian prince who had
broken his word to her.

So, in due time, Ariadne forgot her grief, and
was married to the merry god ; and on her wed-
ding day Bacchus presented her with a crown of
seven stars, which she afterwards always wore
until her death, when it was carried up to the
heavens and set there as a constellation or group
of bright stars to shine down upon the world for
ever. Thus was the fair, loving Ariadne, though
deserted by a mortal lover, blessed and honoured

io6 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

by the gods; and a severe punishment for his
faithlessness almost immediately fell upon Theseus
after his base act — that ugly blot upon the fair
page of his hero life.

As the vessel drew near to the city of Athens,
Theseus, in the joy of his victory, forgot the
instructions given to him by his father to fly
white sails as the token of his success; and when
old King Aegeus from his lofty watch tower —
whither he bent his steps every day to look for
the first signs of the returning ship — beheld the
eagerly-expected vessel at length drawing near,
black-rigged as when it had set forth with its
unhappy victims, he believed that his beloved son
had failed in the enterprise and was dead. On
realizing this sad surmise, the old King was so
filled with despair that he cast himself headlong
from the watch tower into the waves below and
was drowned; and the waters in that district
were ever afterwards known as the " ^gean
Sea", in memory of the unhappy king who
perished in their depths.

So Theseus returned to a city of mourning;
but, after a while, when he had recovered some-
what from his grief, he himself became King of
Athens and gained great glory for his people.
He ruled the Athenians wisely and well, making
many new and excellent laws for them and im-
proving their lives in every way; and he became
a greatly-beloved and much-admired king.

THE STORY OF THESEUS AND ARIADNE 107

In spite of his care for the welfare of his people,
Theseus still found time to satisfy his love of
adventure ; and he performed many other wonder-
ful hero deeds at various times.

In most of his later enterprises Theseus was
accompanied by his great friend, Pirithoiis, King
of the Lapithae, who, in the first instance, had
made war upon him solely for the opportunity
of making his acquaintance, having a great
admiration for one who had been so bold and
fearless as to slay the Minotaur single-handed.
When the opposing armies met, however, and the
two kings came face to face, a mutual love grew
up in their hearts at that first moment of meeting,
so that, instead of fighting, they fell into each
other's arms and embraced; and ever afterwards
they were the greatest of friends.

When Pirithoiis was married to a beautiful lady
named Hippodamia, Theseus went to join in the
wedding festivities; and he was able to help his
new friend out of a great trouble at the same
time. Pirithoiis had invited to his wedding some
strange beings to whom he was related, and who
were known as the Centaurs — a race of creatures
having the heads and arms of men and the bodies
and legs of horses — who lived in a neighbouring
country; and when these strange guests arrived,
they so greatly admired the beauty of the bride,
that they tried to run away with her, as well as
with the fairest of her waiting-maidens. The

io8 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

ladies were all rescued, however, by the other
wedding guests; but the result was that the
Lapithae made war upon the Centaurs. Theseus
declared that he would join his friend in this
enterprise; and in the battle that ensued he led
the Lapithae with such skill that the Centaurs
were utterly defeated and driven from their own
land to dwell in caves and other lonely places.

After this Theseus made war upon the
Thebans, and vanquished them; and later on
he joined the great hero, Hercules, in his war
against the Amazons — a race of tall, warrior
women who fought their enemies and defended
themselves without the aid of men, whom they
despised and would not permit to live in their
land. Having overcome the Amazons, their
splendid queen, Hippolyta, was given to him
as a prize, and he married her.

After the death of Hippolyta, Theseus was
married to Phaedra, Ariadne's sister, who, how-
ever, brought much trouble into his life; and he
endeavoured also to secure as his wife, Helen, the
daughter of Jupiter and the most beautiful woman
in the world, whom he had carried away by force,
but whom he was obliged to return at the request
of her twin brothers, Castor and Pollux.

Theseus also joined his friend, Pirithoiis, when
the latter desired to take away for himself Proser-
pina, the wife of Pluto, King of the Underworld.
For this purpose, they both had to journey to

BELLEROPHON AND PEGASUS 109

the Land of Shades ; and here Piritholis was slain
by Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded
the gates, whilst Theseus was seized and chained
to a stone, where he remained a captive for
several years until Hercules, hearing of his sad
plight, came and released him.

On his return to Athens, Theseus found that
his people had chosen another king, thinking him
dead ; and he was therefore driven forth into exile
into the land of Scyros, where he met his death
by treachery — being thrust down a precipice by
King Lycomedes.

Bellerophon and Pegasus,
the Winged Horse

Bellerophon — whose original name was Hip-
ponous, given him because he was the first to teach
the art of governing horses with a bridle — was
a handsome and virtuous young prince, the son
of Glaucus, King of Corinth; but having been
so unfortunate as, accidentally, to kill his own
brother, he was compelled to take refuge in
another country.

His father sent him to Prcetus, King of Argos,
who received him kindly and sympathized in the
misfortune that had befallen him; and here the
young prince might have lived in peace for many

i io GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

years had he not happened to offend Queen
Antea of Argos. Antea was very vain of her
good looks and loved flattery and admiration
beyond all other things in the world; and when
Bellerophon first came to her court, she quickly
fell in love with him and hoped to secure him
as another of her many admirers.

But Bellerophon was too upright and honour-
able to yield to the temptation thus put in his
way; and having, besides, no love for the faith-
less queen, he repulsed her advances and refused
to become her lover. This conduct on his part
so enraged Antea that she resolved to be re-
venged upon one who had been so bold as to
disdain her love; and therefore she falsely ac-
cused him to her husband of the crime she had
cried to entice him to commit but which he had
so successfully resisted.

Prcetus, though believing his queens accusa-
tion, did not desire to violate the laws of hos-
pitality by taking the life of one who was still
his guest; and therefore he thought to achieve
his end by dispatching the really innocent Bel-
lerophon to his father-in-law, lobates, King of
Lycia, with tablets upon which was engraved
an instruction to punish the bearer with death
because of Queen Antea's accusation against him.
Bellerophon was led to believe that the tablets
he bore were letters of favourable introduction
to his new host; and it is from this incident

BELLEROPHON AND PEGASUS in

that the expression " Bellerophon's Letters " came
into use, an expression applied to one who bears
to another letters which he imagines are written
in his favour, but which in reality, unknown to
himself, are written in disparagement of him and
intended to work his ruin.

Upon the young prince's arrival in Lycia, he
was well received by King lobates, who, in
accordance with the hospitable custom of the
ancients, entertained his stranger guest for nine
days before asking the reason for his visit; and
even then, having learnt from the tablets de-
livered to him of the bearer's supposed crime,
he still was averse to laying hands upon one
whom he had treated as an honoured guest.

The King of Lycia, however, determined to
accomplish by outside means the obligation laid
upon him; and therefore he commanded BeJ-
lerophon to set forth at once to slay the Chimaera,
a terrible monster that breathed forth flames, and
which had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a
dragon's serpentine tail. This fearful beast had
for many years inhabited the plains and fields
of Lycia, consuming all who came in its fiery
path; and lobates felt that by sending his now-
unwelcome guest to attack the Chimsera, he was
certainly sending him to his death.

Bellerophon, however, was a noble prince and
of the stuff of which the heroes of old were made ;
and regarding the well-nigh impossible task now

in GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

set him as a mighty deed of valour which was to
prove his own worth, he determined to use his
powers to the utmost in order to deliver the
people of Lycia from the plague under which they
had suffered so long. He therefore entreated
the assistance of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom,
who, hearing his supplication and wishing to
assist one who had been wrongfully accused of
a crime he had never committed, secured for him
the famous winged horse, Pegasus.

This beautiful, magic steed had sprung from
the blood of the Gorgon Medusa when the great
hero, Perseus, struck off her head; and it had
been so named because its strange birth took
place near the sources or pegai of the ocean.
As soon as born, the winged horse mounted
the skies in order to choose an abode for him-
self; and seeing that Mount Helicon, in Bceotia,
was a fair spot, he determined to rest there.
As he set foot upon Mount Helicon, he struck
the earth violently with his hoof, and instantly
there issued forth a fountain, the magic waters
of which possessed the wonderful power of giving
poetic inspiration, and which was afterwards
named Hippocrene or Horse Fountain.

The Muses — nine fair goddesses of poetry and
the arts — loved to rest upon the sunny slopes of
Helicon, and were usually to be found there when
absent from their other favourite haunt, Mount
Parnassus; and here, also, Pegasus was cared for

BELLEROPHON AND PEGASUS 113

by Minerva, who succeeded in taming him so that
he would bear a rider, who needed, however, to
be one of fearless courage to sit so fiery a steed.

When the goddess of wisdom brought Pegasus
to Bellerophon, the latter was amazed at the
animal's graceful beauty and wonderful folded
wings; and full of gratitude to Minerva for thus
aiding him in his enterprise, the hero-prince
promptly and without any fear sprang astride
the winged horse, which instantly mounted into
the air with him.

By exercising great caution and patience, the
courageous Bellerophon succeeded in making
Pegasus obey his will; and then he guided him
towards the plains of Lycia and hovered over
the Chimsera. The terrible beast in the field
below breathed forth tongues of scorching flames,
savagely ground its lion's teeth, and lashed its
serpent's tail when it felt the pain of the arrows
shot down upon it so remorselessly by its enemy
up aloft; but it was powerless to harm Bellero-
phon, who instantly mounted higher into the sky
whenever his intended victim hissed forth a longer
tongue of fire than usual — and thus, at last, the
long-feared Chimaera fell to the ground lifeless,
slain by the arrows of the triumphant Bellerophon.

According to some writers the Chimaera was
really a volcano in Lycia, around the top of which
dwelt lions, about the middle grazed goats, and at
the foot swarmed poisonous serpents; and Bellero-

(0718) 8

1 14 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

phon was believed to be the first person to render
this mountain habitable.

When the King of Lycia knew that the terrible
monster which had so long ravaged his land was
dead, he could not help but feel grateful to the
brave young prince who had performed this mighty
hero deed, even though the latter had not lost his
life in so doing, as desired. However, as he still
felt himself bound to carry out the request of his
royal son-in-law, lobates next sent Bellerophon to
fight with the Lycian soldiers against the Solymi,
a warlike neighbouring race who had long troubled
him; but the slayer of the Chimaera also van-
quished the Solymi and returned to Lycia alive
and full of glory, for the gods were on his side,
and beautiful Minerva sustained him in the fray.

Finally, King lobates sent the invincible hero
to fight against the famous women warriors known
as the Amazons ; but from this campaign also, Bel-
lerophon returned triumphant and unharmed ; and
then lobates, realizing that it was useless to
attempt to destroy one who was evidently being
protected by the gods, and feeling more grateful
than ever for the mighty deeds of valour per-
formed by the hero, ceased to seek his death, and,
as a reward for his services, bestowed upon him in
marriage his own daughter, the Princess Philonoe,
together with a portion of his kingdom.

Having thus overcome the false accusation made
against him, Bellerophon might have dwelt long

BELLEROPHON AND PEGASUS 115

in peace and prosperity; but now presumptuous
ambition seized him, and one day he mounted upon
the winged horse, Pegasus, and attempted to reach
even unto the heavens, the glorious abode of the
Olympian gods. For this bold presumption, how-
ever, dire misfortune came upon him; for the
mighty god, Jupiter, ever jealous of any invasion
of his realms or powers by rash mortals, caused
the winged horse to throw its ambitious rider, so
that the latter was flung back violently to the
earth.

Some say that Jupiter hurled a thunderbolt at
Bellerophon, who, consequently, was struck with
blindness, and passed the remainder of his life in
darkness and obscurity; and others declare that
the jealous god sent a gadfly to torment the
winged horse, so that, in its temporary madness,
it threw its rider.

However it was, Bellerophon was thrown back
to the earth, and ever afterwards avoided the face
of man in shame, and wandered aimlessly hither
and thither to the end of his days.

The winged horse, Pegasus, however, was per-
mitted to continue its upward flight until it reached
the heavens, where it was given a place, and so
became one of the constellations.

n6 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Fair Helen and the Siege of Troy

The story of the war between the Greeks and
the Trojans and the famous ten years' siege of
Troy, is one of the most interesting of all the
ancient wonder tales; for many splendid and well-
known heroes took part in this war, and their
deeds of valour were so great that Homer, the
finest of all the ancient poets, took them as the
subject-matter of his beautiful epic poem The Iliad.

I cannot tell you here of the doings of all the
heroes of the Trojan war, but will relate only the
deeds of the most famous of these; and we must
begin with the story of Paris and Fair Helen.

Priam, King of Troy, and his fair Queen,
Hecuba, had a fine family of sons and daughters,
of whom the most celebrated were Hector, Paris,
Deiphobus, Helenus, Cassandra, and Polyxena.

When their second son, Paris, was born, the
King and Queen of Troy were filled with dismay;
for a soothsayer, or wise man, foretold that this
child, when he grew up to be a man, would be
as a firebrand, and, by his rash conduct, would
cause a terrible war. In order, therefore, to
prevent disaster, Priam gave his infant son into
the charge of a slave, with instructions to destroy
the child; but the helpless babe was so beautiful
to look upon that the slave had not the heart to
kill him, and therefore left him upon a lonely
hill slope known as Mount Ida.

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 117

Here the royal babe was found by some kindly
shepherds, who took charge of him and brought him
up amongst their own people, giving him the name
of Paris, and teaching him their humble calling.

But the youthful Paris — who was very highly
gifted — quickly learned more than the simple
shepherds ever knew; and he grew up to be
so clever and accomplished in all the arts, and
so extremely handsome in his appearance, that
he was greatly admired, and his opinion on many
important matters was frequently sought.

So many fair graces had the handsome young
shepherd that he attracted the love of CEnone,
one of the nymphs of Mount Ida; and the pair
were married. But Paris was ambitious, and did
not intend to pass his life as a shepherd on Mount
Ida, even though he had a fair nymph as his
wife; and in a short time he deserted CEnone,
for the following reason.

When Peleus, King of the Myrmidons in
Thessaly, was married to the sea nymph, Thetis,
a splendid feast was held, to which all the gods
and goddesses, save one, were invited; and the
divinity who had been left out — the goddess of
Discord — was so disappointed and angry at the
slight thus put upon her that she determined
to cause strife at the festival. Therefore, she
threw into the midst of the assembled guests a
bright, golden apple, upon which was written the
inscription: "Let the fairest take it".

n8 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

As the disappointed goddess had hoped, dis-
cord immediately arose; for all the goddesses
began to quarrel amongst themselves as to which
was the most beautiful.

At length the claimants for the golden apple
became reduced to three, who were acknow-
ledged, without doubt, to be the loveliest of all
the goddesses — Juno, Minerva, and Venus. To
make a choice between these three, however, was
so extremely difficult that, eventually, Jupiter
declared the matter should be decided by the
famous shepherd of Mount Ida, Paris, who was so
greatly admired by all, and whose judgment and
good taste in such a matter could be relied upon.

So the three fair goddesses were sent to Mount
Ida, where the famous Judgment of Paris took
place.

Now it was no easy matter, even for so keen
an admirer of beauty as Paris, to decide which
was the fairest of the three lovely goddesses, who
were all so equally beautiful; and though the
young shepherd gazed long and carefully at the
three claimants for the prize, he could not at first
make up his mind to which one he should award
the golden apple.

Then the three goddesses, realizing the diffi-
culty of their judge, tried to gain his favour by
means of gifts. Juno promised to give him
mighty power and a splendid kingdom if he
awarded her the prize; Minerva promised that

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 119

he should gain greater glory in war than any
other hero; and Venus promised that if the
golden apple were awarded to her, she would
give him the most beautiful woman in the whole
world for his wife.

Now beauty appealed more to Paris than any-
thing else under the sun; and when he heard the
promise of the cunning Venus — who well under-
stood the hearts of men — it was more than he
could resist, so that he awarded the prize to her
as the most beautiful of all the goddesses. Thus
was the golden apple given to Venus, who was
ever afterwards acknowledged as the goddess of
beauty and love; and everyone was satisfied
with the judgment of Paris, except the two dis-
appointed goddesses, Juno and Minerva, who no
longer showed favour to the young shepherd of
Mount Ida, but tried to harm him whenever they
could do so. But Paris did not very greatly fear
their displeasure, since he had the constant help
and favour of Venus, who now took him under
her especial charge and protected him from many
dangers.

Soon after this event, King Priam of Troy
held a festival of games and sports for his sons
and the lords of the neighbouring countries ; and
Paris went to join in the competitions which took
place and proved himself so skilful in manly
exercises that he carried off most of the prizes.

The young prince Hector and his brothers

120 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

were very displeased that a seeming stranger
should thus prove more skilful in arms than
themselves; and they would have driven Paris
away, and perhaps even have slain him, had not
the Princess Cassandra recognized that the young
shepherd was in reality their own brother, who
had been lost in infancy.

Priam and Hecuba — who had long since re-
gretted the harsh treatment meted out to their
second son — were full of joy at thus receiving him
back again, and now gladly acknowledged him
as their son; and Paris soon gained great favour
and influence in the Court of Troy.

But in spite of the new honours now thrust
upon him, Paris did not forget that Venus had
promised him the loveliest woman in the world as
his wife; and soon he besought the fair goddess
to redeem her promise to him.

At this time the most beautiful woman in the
world was Helen, the Queen of Menelaus, King
of Sparta; and this Helen was so dazzling in her
perfect beauty and fascination that she was be-
loved by all who gazed upon her, and many men
went mad for love of her.

This, then, was the beautiful woman whom
Venus now promised to Paris; and the goddess
bade the young prince set forth on some special
royal mission to Sparta, that he might look upon
the fair queen, whom, with the assistance of Venus,
he was to win for his own.

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 121

Paris, forgetful of the pretty nymph, CEnone,
was now all eagerness to behold fair Helen; and
gathering together a fine fleet of ships, he de-
parted on an embassy to Sparta, where he was
received with great honour by King Menelaus,
who showed him many kind favours.

No sooner did Paris set eyes on the beautiful
young Queen of Sparta than he fell deeply in
love with her at once, and longed to take her as
his wife; and Helen, on her part, was so greatly
attracted by the handsome looks of the Prince
of Troy that she could not resist the temptation
of listening to his words of love.

When, therefore, King Menelaus shortly after-
wards went on a mission to the island of Crete,
Paris, with the help of the goddess Venus, laid
careful plans, and succeeded in carrying off the
beautiful Helen during her husband's absence,
and conveyed her with all speed to Troy; and
here she lived as the wife of Paris, and was
always afterwards spoken of as " Helen of Troy ".

When Menelaus returned to Sparta and learned
that he had been betrayed by the faithless Paris,
who, in return for his kindness and hospitality,
had stolen his fair wife away from him, he was
filled with grief and anger ; and quickly gathering
together all the chief princes and lords of Greece,
he called upon them to assist him in compelling
the young Prince of Troy to restore Helen to her
home once more.

122 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Now, most of the great chiefs of Greece had
themselves loved the beautiful Helen and
when she had at length chosen Menelaus of
Sparta as her husband, the rejected suitors had
all promised to defend her and to rescue her,
should she ever be stolen away from him.

When, therefore, Menelaus now reminded them
of this old promise, they all gladly renewed their
vows to him, and agreed to join their forces and
make war upon the Trojans, should the latter
refuse to restore the fair Queen of Sparta to her
rightful lord.

Peaceful measures were tried first, however, and
ambassadors were sent to the King of Troy, de-
manding the instant return of fair Helen; and
Priam, remembering the disasters foretold at the
birth of his second son, would probably have been
very willing to comply with this peremptory re-
quest. But by this time the impetuous and daring
Paris had gained such power and influence in Troy
that he did not have much difficulty in persuading
his father to defy the princes of Greece, and to
permit him to hold the most beautiful woman in
the world against all comers; and the result was
that a desperate war began between the Trojans
and the princes of Greece, who collected their
combined forces outside the gates of Troy, and
besieged the city for ten years, during which time
many fierce battles were fought and thousands of
brave men lost their lives.

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 123

Even the gods took an active part in this great
struggle; for Juno and Minerva, still smarting
under their failure at the judgment of Paris, were
hostile to the Trojans, and did all in their power
to assist the Greek leaders, whilst Venus showed
favour to Paris and his people, because of the
award he had made to her as the Queen of
Beauty.

When Priam, King of Troy, saw the armies of
Greece outside his gates, he gathered his forces
together to defend the city and to fight against
the besiegers without; and amongst the chief
leaders of his army were his own gallant sons,
of whom the eldest, Hector, was the bravest and
most splendid of all the Trojan heroes.

Hector was a truly noble character; and but
for his dauntless courage, firmness and strength,
Troy could never have held out as long as she
did. When the courage of the besieged began to
fail, Hector, with fiery words of encouragement,
put new life and strength into them, so that they
gained fresh victories; and he persuaded them to
be patient and to refrain from petty squabbles
amongst themselves. He had much scorn for the
poor-spirited, and would scold roundly any back-
sliders; and he did not even hesitate to rebuke
his brother Paris, when he found the latter idling
in the company of fair Helen and her maidens
instead of fighting upon the walls of the city.
Yet, though so bold and warlike, and so severe

I24 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

with offenders, Hector also could be gentle and
loving; and his parting with his fair wife, An-
dromache, before going into battle, was full of
tenderness and has been most beautifully de-
scribed by Homer in the Iliad.

Many were the exploits and splendid deeds of
Hector during the great war; and as long as
he remained alive in Troy, the city could not be
taken ; and it was not until after he had been slain
that the Trojans lost heart — for though Paris,
too, fought bravely to defend the city he had
brought such trouble upon, he had not the
wonderful powers of leadership possessed by his
nobler brother.

Another of the Trojan heroes was ^neas, one
of the sons of Venus. He performed many
mighty deeds in the company of Hector, and since
he was beloved by the gods, his life was many
times saved by them.

The Greeks chose for their chief leader
Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, the brother of
Menelaus; but the greatest of all their heroes was
Achilles, who was the son of that Peleus and
Thetis at whose wedding the goddess of discord
had flung amongst the guests the golden apple to
be given to the fairest, which had resulted in the
famous Judgment of Paris.

Achilles was the bravest and most beautiful of
the Greeks, and gained great glory for them ; and
his story is full of interest. When he was a baby,

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 125

his mother plunged him into the Styx, the chief
river of the under-world, by which means he was
rendered invulnerable, with the exception of his
ankles, by which she held him, and which re-
mained, therefore, the only part of his body
where a weapon could pierce and kill him.

Having been told by a soothsayer that Troy
could not be taken without the aid of Achilles,
Thetis, fearful lest her son might come to harm
did he engage in that terrible war, sent him — dis-
guised as a girl, under the name of Pyhrra — at the
age of nine years, to the court of Lycomedes,
King of Scyros, with whose daughters he was
brought up. Later on, however, Ulysses, another
great chief of the Greeks, knowing also that Troy
could not be taken without the assistance of young
Achilles, and having learnt where the youth had
been hidden by his mother, came himself to
Scyros and. sent into the palace a quantity of
arms and weapons amongst a bundle of jewels
and maidens' apparel; and upon Achilles eagerly
snatching at the weapons, instead of at the
draperies, his disguise was thus penetrated and he
was expelled from the palace.

The crafty Ulysses, having thus gained his
desire, now took the eager youth to join the
Greek army outside Troy; and Achilles soon
became their most famous hero and performed
many mighty deeds. His mother, Thetis, realiz-
ing that it was in vain for her to attempt to hide

ia6 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

away her warlike son, now sent him a splendid
suit of magic shining armour, forged by Vulcan,
the god of fire, which flashed in the sun-
light with every movement of the young hero;
and Achilles, thus equipped, gained many battles,
and was the envy of the Trojans, whose great
leader, Hector, he at length met in battle.

The duel between the two most glorious leaders
of the Trojan War took place when the siege had
lasted for several years. After one of the fiercest
attacks on the city, at which most of the chief
Trojan warriors had been slain, Achilles met the
fiery Hector, who rushed forward to avenge the
slaughter of his companions-in-arms ; and a long
and terrible duel ensued between the pair. Un-
happily for Hector, he came to the contest weary
with the long-drawn-out battle, discouraged and
grieving for the loss of his many brave friends;
but having been lured into the presence of the
mightiest of his foes by the goddess Minerva —
who had disguised herself as one of his sisters in
order to carry out her plan, since she still sided
with the Greeks, and knew that Troy would never
be taken whilst Hector lived — he would not with-
draw from the attack, but fought on courageously,
in spite of his weariness. Then Minerva en-
couraged Achilles — who wore his magic armour
as a protection whenever he went into battle — who
was still fresh and full of hope from the victories
of the day; and, in addition to these advantages

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 127

he was also eager to avenge the death of his
friend Patroclus, who had been slain by Hector
a short time previously.

Achilles, therefore, fought like a raging lion;
and, in the end, he slew the mighty Hector, and
dragged the body of the dead hero three times
around the walls of Troy in triumph.

The Trojans were overcome with grief at the
death of their glorious leader; but Paris now came
forward and did many bold deeds in defence of
the ill-fated city. He was not afraid to meet
even King Menelaus, whom he had so deeply
wronged ; and he fought a desperate duel with the
angry King of Sparta and would have been slain
by him had not the goddess Venus — still faithful
to him because of the award of beauty he had
granted to her — suddenly appeared and carried
him off in a cloud, so that he escaped that
danger.

It is also related that the mighty Achilles him-
self was slain by Paris, but treacherously, the
story being as follows: During a short truce, the
Princess Polyxena, one of the daughters of King
Priam, went to walk one day on the walls of
Troy; and there she was seen by Achilles, who
immediately fell so deeply in love with her that
he sent messengers to ask her hand in marriage.
Priam gave his consent, and the bridal party met
in the temple of Apollo for the wedding; but
Paris, furious at the intrusion of the slayer of his

128 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

noble brother Hector, hid himself behind the
statue of Apollo, from whence he shot a poisoned
arrow into the ankle of Achilles — the only vulner-
able part of his body — and instantly killed the
brave hero. It is further said that Polyxena was
afterwards offered up as a sacrifice, in order that
her spirit might join that of Achilles in the Land
of Shades, as compensation for his treacherous
murder. Other writers, however, say that it was
not Paris who shot the fatal arrow, but that it was
aimed by the god Apollo himself; but the above
story is the one most generally accepted.

Paris, in his turn, was at length slain by a famous
archer named Philoctetes. When wounded by the
poisoned arrow, he sought out his deserted and
neglected wife, CEnone, and entreated her to heal
his hurts; but CEnone refused to help her faith-
less husband, and thus Paris died.

After the deaths of Hector and Paris, the
Greeks renewed their attack on Troy with greater
force than ever; and in spite of the fact that
their glorious hero, Achilles, had been slain they
still did not want for clever and brave leaders.
Amongst their next greatest chiefs were Ajax,
Prince of Salamis, Ulysses, King of Ithaca (who
was also known as Odysseus), and Diomedes, a
hero as greatly admired for his brave deeds out-
side Troy as Achilles himself. The magic armour
of Achilles being a greatly coveted treasure, the
Greek leaders fought for possession of it; and it

PARIS
From the statue in the Vatican Museum, Rome

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 129

is said that Ajax lost his life in the contest, and
that Ulysses won the armour.

In the story of the wanderings of Ulysses
you will read more about this hero; but at the
siege of Troy he performed many mighty deeds,
and it was owing to his cunning and cleverness
that the city was at length taken by the Greeks.

Having learnt that the Trojans believed that
they would keep their stronghold so long as a
certain ancient statue of Minerva, known as the
Palladium, remained in the city, Ulysses formed
the daring plan of carrying off this sacred trea-
sure; and, in the dead of night, accompanied
by Diomedes, he went forth to perform this
dangerous deed in secret. The two bold heroes
managed to creep into the city past the sleep-
ing guards; and having broken the Palladium
from its stand in the temple, they brought it
safely into their own camp.

Then Ulysses gave orders for the Greek armies
to embark in their waiting ships, and to sail away
to only a short distance, but to return with all
speed when a signal was given them to do so;
and by this means he hoped that the Trojans
would imagine that their enemies had at last given
up the siege, and so would be off their guard.

Before embarking, however, the Greeks left on
the shore a huge, hollow, wooden horse, which
had just been built at the command of Ulysses,
who had already concealed himself within it, to-

(0718; 9

130 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

gather with a few of his boldest warriors. Mean-
while, Sinon, a relative of Ulysses, had allowed
himself to be taken captive by the Trojans, whom
he advised to take the strange wooden horse into
the city, declaring to them that it had magic
powers, and had been left for them by the Greeks
in return for the stolen Palladium.

The Trojans very foolishly believed the story
of Sinon ; and seeing that the Greeks had indeed
taken to their ships and set sail, they dragged the
wooden horse into their city. Sinon having been
allowed to go unfettered, because of his seeming"
friendliness, then crept to the wooden horse in
the dead of night and set free the party of con-
cealed Greeks, who quickly spread themselves out
in various directions and set fire to the city.

By this time, also, the main body of the Greeks
had turned their vessels about; and having re-
landed silently, they rushed headlong into the city
through the gates, which had been opened for
them by their friends already within.

By means of this cunning plan the city of Troy
was at length taken by the Greeks after a ten
years' siege; and the famous Trojan War thus
came to an end. King Priam was slain by
Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles; and his queen,
Hecuba, and those of his children who remained
alive were taken away as slaves.

The hero, y£neas, who had fought bravely
until the end, managed to escape from the burn-

FAIR HELEN AND THE SIEGE OF TROY 131

ing city, carrying his aged father Anchises upon
his back; and for many years afterwards he be-
came a wanderer. His further adventures are
told in the story of "The Wanderings of ^Eneas".

It is said that the lovely Helen, who had been
the cause of this sad war, now showed herself again
in a faithless light, and that, in order to regain
the favour of the victorious Menelaus, she brought
him secretly to the sleeping chamber of Deiphobus,
another of Priam's sons, to whom she had been
married after the death of Paris, who was thus
slain by her treachery; but, whether by this
means or by some other plan, it is believed by
certain writers that she did actually become re-
conciled to Menelaus at the end of the siege of
Troy, and returned with him to Sparta, where
they both lived happily for many years.

Other writers, however, believe that fair Helen
was never taken to Troy at all, but that she was
captured by the King of Egypt and kept a pris-
oner by him, whilst Paris went on to Troy alone,
and that at the end of the famous siege she was
given up to Menelaus. Others again believe
that she hid herself away in some far-distant
temple, where she became immortal, and was
worshipped as a goddess; and many strange tales
have been told of her later appearances in various
parts of the world.

i32 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

The Wanderings of Ulysses

After the fall of Troy the various heroes and
princes of Greece left alive from the terrible ten
years' siege sailed back to their own lands once
more, some of them meeting with strange adven-
tures upon the return journey and wandering for
many years before reaching their homes; and
the most famous of these wanderers was Ulysses
(who was also called Odysseus by the Greeks),
who met with so many marvellous adventures and
terrible misfortunes that twenty years passed by
ere he returned to his own land once again.

Ulysses was the King of Ithaca, where he ruled
wisely and well, and lived so happily with his be-
loved wife, Penelope, that when first called upon
to take part in the Trojan War he refused to
leave his fair queen and his young son, Tele-
machus, who was at that time but an infant; and
since from his earliest years he had been renowned
for his crafty wits, he quickly formed the cunning
device of feigning madness, hoping that the princes
of Greece would thus consider him useless as an
ally, and leave him in peace.

With this idea in view, he yoked two different
beasts — a horse and a bull — to a plough, and began
to plough the sand upon the seashore as though
it were a field, and to sow salt in the furrows, de-
claring to the amazed passers-by that this was
seed from which he expected a fine crop of corn

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 133

to grow. However, Palamedes, the chief who
had been sent to Ithaca to bid the young king
join the expedition against Troy, suspected this
behaviour to be a trick on the part of Ulysses,
knowing him to be crafty; and he also thought
out a cunning device to prove this to be the
case. He took the baby prince, Telemachus,
and laid him in one of the furrows of sand on
die seashore, remaining at a little distance to
see what would happen; and when Ulysses came
by with the plough, the watcher observed that
when the royal father beheld his child in the
furrow, he turned his ill-matched beasts aside
to avoid harming the babe, thus proving beyond
all doubt that he was no madman, but possessed
of excellents wits.

His crafty ruse having thus proved unsuccess-
ful, Ulysses could no longer refuse to join the
expedition, which he had never thought of shirk-
ing from cowardice, being one of the bravest and
boldest of men, but only because he dreaded
leaving his beloved wife and child without his
protection. He therefore bade a sad farewell to
fair Penelope, who promised to remain faithful
and constant to him throughout her life, even
were he fated never to return to her; and then
he set forth for the siege of Troy.

It was well for the Greeks that Ulysses ac-
companied them; for he proved to be one of
their greatest heroes in the famous expedition

134 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

against King Priam of Troy; and it was chiefly
owing to his bravery and crafty schemes that
the siege was at length ended and the city
captured.

It is not necessary to deal here with the deeds
of Ulysses in this famous war, as these have been
related already in the story of " Fair Helen and
the Siege of Troy"; but the adventures of this
bold hero on his return journey are so full of
interest that they form the subject of Homer's
noble epic poem, the Odyssey, which is the com-
panion poem to the Iliad, and are well worth re-
lating to you.

Although Ulysses had set forth for Troy with
twelve fine ships, he started upon his return
journey with but one vessel, upon which he had
gathered his few remaining friends and a company
of sailors for navigation purposes.

No sooner had they set sail than terrible storms
arose, and the vessel was so buffeted by contrary
winds that she often wandered out of her course.
Thus Ulysses and his companions lost their way
more than once, to their great distress and dis-
comfort, since they were all wearied to death of
warfare and the hardships they had all been
called upon to endure during the terrible siege of
Troy, and longed passionately for the peace and
comfort of their pleasant homes in Ithaca. But
many weary years of wandering went by while
they strove to reach their own quiet firesides ; and

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 135

most of them never set eyes on Ithaca again,
but perished miserably on the journey.

One day it happened that the storm-tossed
vessel touched upon the shores of an unknown
land ; and seeing that this was a beautiful country,
with cool shady woods and sunny glades, where
sparkling streams rushed merrily down the gentle
slopes, gaily-coloured birds sang sweetly in the
trees and luscious fruits grew in abundance on
every side, the companions of Ulysses desired
to land that they might refresh themselves after
their weary tossing in the ocean and rest in peace
for a season before proceeding on their way.

" Let us stay here until we are rested," they
pleaded. "We are weary to death of being
buffeted by the stormy winds, and we have no
strength left in us."

Then Ulysses reminded them that they still
had far to go ere they could hope to come in
sight of Ithaca, and that if they idled now, so
much the longer would be the time spent upon
their journey and before they could greet their
beloved ones again; and he warned them also
that many unsuspected dangers might lurk in this
seemingly fair land.

But the wayfarers refused to listen to the
wise counsels of their leader; and therefore they
landed and wandered forth into the sunny glades
and verdant groves, plucking the luscious' fruits
they found growing so abundantly on every side

136 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

and drinking deep draughts from the clear spark-
ling streams.

Ulysses, however, would not join them, for his
thoughts were with his beloved Penelope, and he
was eager to continue his voyage; and as he
stood upon the beach, impatiently awaiting the
return of his companions, Mercury, the messenger
of the gods, suddenly appeared before him, being
the bearer of a message of warning from the
great goddess Minerva, who had ever shown
favour to Ulysses.

" The gracious goddess bids me tell thee, oh
Ulysses, that there is danger for thee and thy
companions in this land," said Mercury. " Rest
here if thou wilt, and eat of the fruits growing
here and drink of this sparkling water; but of the
lotus which also grows plentifully in this land, eat
not. If thou eatest of its delicious fruit, thou wilt
forget all thy beloved ones at home and wilt
care no more for their love, nor for thy country
and people, but wilt desire to remain always in
this heavily-scented land and join its sleepy in-
habitants— for this is the land of the lotus-
eaters; and if thou eatest of the lotus plant of
forgetfulness, thou wilt also become a lotus-
eater, and wilt never more behold the fair face
of thy gentle Penelope nor delight in the exploits
of thy young son, Telemachus, but wilt live and
die here, lost to glory and renown."

Having thus delivered his message of warning,

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 137

Mercury vanished; and Ulysses, knowing now
that his fears of danger were well founded, quickly
gathered together a dozen or so of the worthiest
of his companions, and, telling them of the terrible
danger they were in, besought them to assist him
in persuading all the wayfarers to return to the
vessel without further delay.

But alas! Some of the wanderers had already
eaten of the sweet lotus plant, and had even now
forgotten their homes and beloved ones; and
many others also desired to taste the magic fruits,
since the pleasantness of the land greatly delighted
them and they dreaded the dangers of the sea.
Then Ulysses was aroused to anger by their poor
spirit, and commanded his more faithful com-
panions to use coercion and to drag the laggards
to the vessel by main force.

This they did right nobly; but though they
managed to drag most of the men back to the
ship, a number of them broke away the thongs
that bound them, and, eating greedily of the lotus
fruits, were glad to remain amongst the dreamy
lotus-eaters for the rest of their days, forgetful
of love, home, and duty. Then Ulysses, having
thus gathered together with desperate endeavour
all those of his companions who had not eaten
of the plant of forgetfulness, set sail immediately
and continued his journey, offering up grateful
thanks to the goddess Minerva for having pre-
served him from this great danger.

138 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

After wandering for many more months, the
wayfarers were caught in another terrific storm,
which drove their vessel on to the shores of
Sicily; and here Ulysses and his companions were
seized by the Cyclops — a race of monster one-
eyed giants — who, though living the lives of
shepherds, devoured human beings whenever they
came their way.

Polyphemus, the King of the Cyclops, im-
prisoned Ulysses and his friends in an enormous
cave, the opening of which he closed with a heavy
rock; and in the evening he also drove into the
cave his great flock of sheep, and ate two of the
unhappy captives for his supper. Next morning,
he let out his sheep, counting each one as it
passed by, and afterwards rolled back the heavy
rock to prevent the captives from escaping; and
then Ulysses called his terrified companions
around him, and, by means of his crafty wits,
contrived a cunning plan by which they should
save their lives, and escape from their dangerous
position.

When the cannibal King of the Cyclops
returned in the evening, Ulysses offered him
some of the strong wine he had brought with him ;
and upon the monster accepting his invitation
to drink, he gave him such a large quantity of
wine that he became intoxicated. Then, growing
more friendly, Polyphemus asked Ulysses his
name; and the crafty hero gave that of " Noman".

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 139

Soon afterwards the giant fell into a heavy
slumber; and then Ulysses and his companions,
having made all ready beforehand, bored out his
one great eye — which was circular and situated in
the centre of his forehead — with a red-hot fire-
brand. Polyphemus soon began to roar like a
great lion, so that the other Cyclops dwelling
near came to enquire the cause; but upon their
chief replying that " Neman " had injured him,
they returned to their own abodes once more,
thinking there was nothing wrong.

Even now, however, the captives could not
escape from the cave, because of the heavy rock
which blocked the entrance and which their
united efforts could not stir; and so they were
compelled to wait until morning, when the blinded
giant rolled the rock away, and sat at the entrance
to count his sheep as they passed through, feeling
the woolly back of each as it went by. Seeing
this, the cunning Ulysses whispered instructions
to his companions each to cling fast to the wool
on the under side of a sheep — all the members
of the flock being of great size — and thus the
captives escaped from the cave without the know-
ledge of Polyphemus.

Quickly they hastened to their moored vessel;
and, finding that the weather was calm once more,
they hastened on board and set sail at once.
Hearing the noise of embarkation and the derisive
cheers of the adventurers, Polyphemus rushed

i4o GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

to the shore and blindly hurled huge rocks after
them; but though one of the missiles narrowly
missed hitting the vessel, Ulysses and his com-
panions quickly sailed out of reach and thus
escaped this second terrible danger.

As the wanderers navigated the islands in the
neighbourhood of Sicily, they came to the isle
where dwelt ^Eolus, the god of the winds, who
was one of the happiest of rulers. Jupiter had
given him the command of all the winds that
blow, which he kept enclosed in a mountain,
letting them out as he judged fit.

Having met with so many misfortunes upon
his journey, Ulysses landed in the isle, and en-
treated the god of the winds to deal more kindly
by him, and to give him calm sailing for the rest
of his voyage; and ^Eolus, feeling that he had
indeed tried the patience of this mighty hero
very sorely, now willingly agreed to assist him.
He therefore gave him a number of bags in
which were enclosed all the adverse winds he
would otherwise have had to meet upon his
journey; and Ulysses thanked ^Eolus for his
handsome gift, and returned to his vessel with
the precious bags. Unhappily, however, some
of the seamen, unable to repress their curiosity
regarding the strange bags brought on board by
their leader, and suspecting that they contained
some rich treasure which they were eager to
share, secretly opened the bundles — with the

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 141

result that all the contrary winds escaped, and
blew in great fury around the vessel, so that it
was nearly wrecked at that particular time; and
later on the adverse winds returned so many
times to drive the ship out of her course that
Ulysses and his companions were kept wander-
ing about from place to place month after month,
several times even approaching quite near to the
shores of Ithaca, but being driven away again
by the contrary winds into strange regions.

On one occasion they were stranded in the
beautiful island of .^Esea, which was, however,
an unknown spot to them; and Ulysses gave
commands for the vessel to be drawn up high
and dry upon the beach, and declared that they
should remain in this fair place and rest a while
until the winds and waves had abated somewhat.

They feasted that night; and next morning,
Ulysses wisely divided his companions into two
parties, one of which was to scour the country
for news of its inhabitants, whilst the other
remained to guard the ship. Ulysses, himself,
was the head of one party, whilst his great friend,
Eurylochus, was the chief of the other; and they
drew lots to decide which party should go forth
on scouting duty.

The lot fell to Eurylochus and his party, who
set forth at once upon the expedition, leaving
Ulysses and his remaining companions to guard
the vessel; and the farther they advanced into

I4a GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the country, the fairer they found it, and mar-
velled at the beauty of the flowers, the richness
of the luscious fruits and the sweet singing of
the countless birds of brilliant plumage that flew
hither and thither in the woods.

They saw no signs of human life, however,
until, quite suddenly, they came out into a fairy-
like glade, in the midst of which they beheld
a splendid palace made of polished stones of
many bright colours which sparkled in the sun-
light. It was the finest palace they had ever
seen; but instead of servants or guards, they
saw only beasts penned in the courtyard — lions,
wolves, bears, dogs, and many other creatures,
all with sad expressions in their eyes, tamely and
aimlessly wandering up and down their narrow
confines, doing harm to none.

As the wanderers drew nearer to the dazzling
palace, however, they heard the sound of such
sweet and entrancing singing that they hastened
their steps with delight, since the seductive music
instantly filled them with eager longing to greet
the singer — for this was the palace of Circe, who
was the enchantress daughter of Helios, god of
the sun, and who, though the wanderers knew
it not, was so clever a sorceress that, by means
of her magic arts, she changed into the forms of
beasts all those travellers whom her sweet sing-
ing and enticing beauty lured as victims into her
fatal palace.

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 143

The enchantress knew well that new victims
were even now approaching her abode; and
presently she left her loom, where she liked to
sit at her work singing all the day, and came forth
to bid the strangers welcome and to invite them
to enter her palace and to partake of refresh-
ments, since she always had a rich banquet spread
for unexpected guests.

So exquisite was the beauty of Circe, and so
enthralling her smiles and sweet voice, that the
wanderers, unsuspicious of evil, readily fell under
the spell of her wonderful fascination; and they
all entered the palace, with the exception of
Eurylochus, their leader, who had doubts of the
fair Queen's sincerity and refused to accept her
invitation, warning his companions to resist the
temptation also. The travel-worn wanderers,
however, laughed at his fears; and, leaving him
without, they entered the palace and eagerly par-
took of the fine feast spread out for them, Circe
cunningly pressing upon them the enchanted
meats and wines she had prepared against their
arrival, rejoicing at the ease with which she had
secured these new victims.

When the feast came to an end, however, her
alluring smiles quickly vanished; and waving her
magic wand over the revellers, she cried in harsh
tones: " Take ye on the form of swine, ye gluttons,
and begone to the sty, which henceforth shall
be your home!"

144 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Instantly the wayfarers were transformed into
swine, and were driven by the sorceress to the
sty, where they pined in misery — for, though
they had the appearance of hairy swine, they
retained their human minds, and were fully aware
of the degradation to which they had been
reduced by their own foolishly-careless conduct.

Meanwhile Eurylochus had waited in vain for
the return of his companions ; and when presently
all signs of mirth within the palace died away, and
a sudden ominous silence reigned, he knew that
magic was at work, and hastening back with all
speed to the vessel, he entreated Ulysses to leave
these enchanted shores at once, since, though he
knew not what had befallen his companions, he
believed that some trouble had come to them.

But Ulysses heeded not the entreaties of Eury-
lochus; and, buckling on his sword, he hastened
alone towards the palace of the sorceress queen,
determined to compel her to deliver up his
followers. As he hurried through the woods, he
was again suddenly accosted by the god Mercury,
who appeared thus a second time to bring him
words of warning and assistance from Minerva,
the protectress of heroes; and from the bright
messenger of the gods he learned the name and
character of the queen of the enchanted palace,
and of the transformation she had wrought in his
companions by means of her magic arts.

Ulysses was filled with woe on hearing this

CIRCE ATTEMPTS TO ENCHANT ULYSSES

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 145

bad news; but Mercury plucked up a certain
plant from the ground, which he named Moly,
and, giving it to the unhappy hero, said: " If thou
keepest this plant in thine hand, oh Ulysses,
beloved of the gods, the charms and spells of
Circe can harm thee not, and thou mayest safely
eat of the viands she offers thee; and when she
waves her wand over thee, rush upon her instantly
with thy sword and compel her to restore thy
companions."

So Ulysses went boldly to the palace of Circe;
and craftily pretending to yield to her soft entice-
ments, he allowed her to draw him into her ban-
queting-hall and feasted upon her enchanted meats,
which had no ill-effect upon him, since he kept
fast hold of the plant Moly. When, however, at
the end of the feast the sorceress raised her wand
and uttered the words of enchantment, he rushed
upon her with his drawn sword and sternly
bade her to withdraw the spell from his com-
panions; and Circe, realizing that she had met
her match and that the gods were on the side of
this bold hero, was compelled to obey his command.
Therefore she restored the hairy swine in her
sty to their true forms once more; and having
thus satisfied Ulysses, she next cunningly tried
to beguile the hero by her many fascinations to
remain with her as her husband, since she had
already fallen in love with him.

So well did Circe succeed with her allurements

(0718) 10

146 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

that Ulysses was unable to resist this gentler spell
she laid upon him; and thus he remained with
her for a year, as she desired. A little prince,
who received the name of Telegonus, was born
to the pair; and then Ulysses suddenly released
himself from the snares of Circe, and, calling his
faithful companions together once more, bade
farewell to the sorceress and boarded his vessel.

Circe, finding that her wiles were no longer
strong enough to keep this mighty hero by her
side in idleness, parted from him with friendliness,
and even warned him of a terrible danger he
would presently have to encounter upon his further
journey. This danger spot was the island of
Pelorus, where dwelt the Sirens — three lovely
sea nymphs, even more beautiful and fascinating
than Circe herself — who enticed all mariners on to
the dangerous rocks around their abode, and filled
them with such eager longing to draw nearer that
they would spring over the sides of their vessels
into the foaming sea, to perish miserably in the
waves or to die of hunger upon the barren shore.
No man once hearing the thrilling song of the
Sirens had ever yet been able to resist it, so that
travellers always endeavoured to avoid the spot;
but Ulysses and his companions had come so far
out of their course that they were compelled to
pass by the fatal island on their journey back to
Ithaca.

" But," added Circe, " thou mayest escape the

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 147

danger by stopping up the ears of thy followers
with wax, so that they may not hear the magic
music. But do not stop up thine own ears, I
entreat thee; for if but one traveller can hear
that thrilling song, and yet pass by the island
unharmed, the spell of the Sirens will be broken
for ever and they will die. Therefore, that thou
mayest benefit all other voyagers who shall come
after thee, cause thyself to be bound fast to the
mast of thy vessel with leathern thongs; and
then, though the magic singing of the Sirens
enthrals thee to distraction, yet shalt thou be
prevented from yielding to their tempting invita-
tion to destruction — and their spell will be broken
for ever."

Gladly Ulysses availed himself of the warning
and advice of Circe; and on approaching the
islands of the Sirens, he closed up the ears of his
companions with wax and caused himself to be
bound with leathern thongs fast to the mast of the
ship, having first commanded all to pay no heed
should he entreat them to set him at liberty, but
to ply their oars without ceasing until the island
faded out of sight and the fatal music could no
longer be heard.

Then, as the enchanted island came in sight
and the entrancing song of the Sirens came to the
ears of Ulysses, the hero passed through hours
of agony ; for he longed desperately to cast him-
self into the sea and to reach the three beautiful

148 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

enchantresses, whose alluring forms he could now
plainly see. But though he struggled like a wild
beast and called out furiously for release, his faith-
ful companions paid no heed to him, but plied their
oars continuously, oblivious to his cries and to the
magic strains of music, which they could not hear
because of the wax in their ears; and not until the
fatal island had faded from sight and Ulysses had
signified that he could no longer hear the enticing
music, did they unbind the exhausted hero.

Thus did the wayfarers pass safely beyond the
rocks of the Sirens, who could now no longer
lure men to destruction, since, one traveller having
heard their magic song and yet passed by un-
harmed, their doom was sealed; but many more
dangers and adventures were in store for the hero
of Troy.

So full of despair did Ulysses become, owing to
the contrary winds which still drove him away
from his own land, that he even left his ship for a
season, and made the terrible journey alone to the
under-world, in order to consult the shade of
Tiresias, who had been a famous soothsayer on
earth, whom he begged to foretell whether it was
ordained that he should ever set foot in Ithaca
again; and on learning from Tiresias that he
certainly would do so, he quickly returned to the
earth and boarded his vessel with renewed hope,
patiently enduring the many more severe trials
that beset him.

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 149

At one time the battered vessel was in danger
of being shipwrecked altogether when making the
passage between two terrible rocks known as
Scylla and Charybdis, on each of which dwelt a
fearful she-monster. Whirlpools abounded in this
spot, and the sea between the two rocks was so
narrow that the voyagers had to exercise the
greatest caution lest, whilst avoiding Scylla, they
should founder upon Charybdis; but after many
narrow escapes, they managed to steer a middle
course through this dangerous passage.

Then, unhappily, the companions of Ulysses, on
landing upon a certain shore, and being hungry,
happened to kill some oxen sacred to the god
Apollo, who, as a punishment, caused their vessel
to be shipwrecked and utterly destroyed when
next they set sail; and none escaped alive from
the wreck save Ulysses, who, not having touched
the sacred oxen, was permitted to make his escape
from the seething waves, and was cast up, ex-
hausted, upon the island of Ogygia.

This island was ruled over by a fair nymph
named Calypso, who, upon Ulysses being brought
to her abode, fell in love with him and promised
him immortality if he would marry her. But
Ulysses could not forget his beloved Penelope,
whom he still loved dearly and longed to greet
once more ; and he refused the request of Calypso,
who, nevertheless, held him captive for seven years,
that she might enjoy his society. At the end of

150 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

that time Jupiter intervened, and sent Mercury
with a command to Calypso to let Ulysses go free;
and the nymph was compelled to obey, though she
afterwards died of grief for the loss of her beloved
hero.

Ulysses now made himself a raft, and voyaged
forth once more; but his frail craft was not strong
enough to carry him far, and he was soon com-
pelled to take refuge upon the island of Scheria.
where he was rescued by Nausicaa, the princess
of that island, who, on learning his sad story and
feeling pity for him, persuaded her father, King
Alcinous, to provide the hero with a strong vessel
in which he might continue his journey with safety.
Alcinous willingly did so; and thus, owing to the
kindness of this good king and his gracious
daughter, Ulysses set forth yet once again in a
noble ship, in which, with the aid of the gentler
winds which now were permitted to favour him, he
came at last within sight of his own beloved land,
Ithaca, after having been a wanderer for twenty
long weary years.

Ulysses landed in a lonely part of the shore;
and wishing to learn the latest tidings before
revealing his identity to anyone, he disguised him-
self as a beggar, and went to the cottage of an old
swineherd, named Eumaeus, who received him
kindly, and with whom he entered into conver-
sation; and from this old man he learnt that the
palace was besieged with suitors clamouring for

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 151

the hand of his wife, Queen Penelope, who, faith-
ful to her lost husband, and still believing that
he would one day return to her, had declined to
wed with anyone else. Her refusal, however, only
made the eager suitors more clamorous still ; and
the harassed Queen now had the greatest difficulty
in keeping herself from being stolen away by one
or another of her rude admirers.

Whilst Ulysses spoke thus with the old swine-
herd, a handsome young man entered the cottage,
in company with an older man, whom the returned
King immediately recognized as his own old friend,
Mentor, a noble and faithful lord to whom he
had entrusted the affairs of his kingdom on setting
out for the siege of Troy; and he also now real-
ized with deep emotion that the splendid youth
before him was none other than his own beloved
son, Telemachus, whom he had last seen as a babe
twenty years ago.

From the talk of these two new-comers, Ulysses
learnt that Telemachus had just returned from
a long journey he had undertaken in search of his
lost father, and that the faithful Mentor had ac-
companied him as constant adviser and leader;
and, unable to repress his natural feelings any
longer, the returned hero now revealed himself as
the long-lost Ulysses, and embraced both Tele-
machus and Mentor with great joy.

After this happy meeting it became necessary
to think out a scheme for relieving the troubles of

t52 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the distressed Queen ; and on learning further from
the old swineherd that Penelope at last had been
compelled to promise her hand to the suitor who
could shoot an arrow from the powerful bow of
her lost husband, Ulysses made his way to the
palace at once, still in disguise, in order to take
part in the competition.

Meanwhile poor Penelope was in a very un-
happy position; for she felt that with no one to
protect her — the young Prince Telemachus and
the faithful Mentor being still absent — she would
indeed be compelled to give herself to one of the
rough suitors, each one of whom desired to marry
her that he might sit upon the throne as king.
For a long time she had managed to put them
off by declaring that she would select one of them
to be her husband as soon as she had finished
a robe she was making for Laertes, the aged
father of Ulysses. This, however, was only a
ruse; for every night she unravelled the cloth she
had woven during the day. For many months,
nevertheless, the suitors were deceived by this
trick, since they themselves could see the indus-
trious Queen sitting daily at her loom, weaving the
cloth, which they spoke of as " Penelope's Web";
but at last her secret was betrayed by one of her
own handmaidens, and then she was filled with
fear and knew not what to do in order to defend
herself, for she still dearly loved her long-lost
husband, believing firmly that he would return

PENELOPE
(C 718 ) After the statue by R. J. Wyatt

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 153

to her some day, and she desired to live for that
happy hour.

The ruse of " Penelope's Web " had just been
discovered the day before the landing of Ulysses;
and in order to save herself a little longer,
Penelope had agreed to bestow her hand and
the vacant throne upon that suitor who could
shoot with the great bow of Ulysses, knowing
well that none of them had the strength to bend
it and that she would thus gain a little additional
time.

Next day, however, the rough suitors all poured
once more into the courtyard of the palace, eager
to shoot with the bow of the lost King, whilst the
pale-faced, though still beautiful Penelope stood
by, trembling, to watch the result. But none of the
competitors could even bend the bow, much less
shoot forth an arrow from it; and an angry mur-
muring began to arise amongst them, which boded
ill for the unhappy Penelope, when suddenly a
stranger, clad in the torn garments of a beggar
and with a ragged cloak wrapped half across his
face, stood forth and took up the bow, slinging
the quiver of arrows over his shoulder. Lovingly
he fingered the good bow, and then, with a proud,
stern glance around, he fitted an arrow to the cord,
and pulled the mighty weapon with the greatest
ease. Away sped the arrow — into the heart of one
of the traitors who had dared to importune the
faithful Queen of Ithaca; and others quickly

154 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

followed with unerring aim, until all the clamorous
self-seekers lay dead upon the ground.

Then Ulysses flung aside his disguising cloak,
and all the people gazed with amazement upon the
noble king who had left them twenty years ago to
gain glory at the siege of Troy; and the virtuous
Penelope was quickly clasped in her long-lost
husband's loving embrace, whilst old Laertes
tottered forward to bless his beloved son once
more.

Joy now reigned in Ithaca at the return of the
honoured King; and Ulysses ruled his people in
happiness and wisdom for sixteen prosperous
years.

Then at the end of that time the mighty hero
met his death with tragic suddenness at the hands
of his own son. It will be remembered that, when
living under the alluring spells of the charmer,
Circe, the latter had borne to Ulysses a son, who
was named Telegonus; and when this prince had
grown up to be a fine youth, the enchantress
sent him forth to seek out his hero-father, that
he might join him in great enterprises. Young
Telegonus, eager also to greet his father, needed
no second bidding; but as he neared the coast of
Ithaca his vessel encountered a terrific storm and
was cast upon the shores.

Telegonus and his companions escaped injury,
and continued the journey on foot; and being
pressed by hunger, they entered the cornfields

THE WANDERINGS OF ULYSSES 155

and orchards and began to plunder these for food
as they went along.

News of the strangers who were plundering his
fields came quickly to the ears of Ulysses, the
King, who, with his son, Telemachus, hastened
out with his servants to punish the intruders, who
gave battle to them in return. In the struggle
that ensued the impetuous young Telegonus
rushed with drawn sword upon Ulysses, and,
having no knowledge of his identity or that he
was the hero-father whom he had travelled so
far to seek, ran him through the body.

Thus fell Ulysses, the mighty in battle, the
fearless in danger, the crafty in counsel, the
cunning in artifice, who was patient in adver-
sity, triumphed over evil, and who believed in
the goodness of the gods — slain, unwittingly, by
the hands of his own son; and as the bright-
ness of his fair daytime faded into the violet
duskiness of night, then came fleet-footed Mercury,
the messenger of the gods, who conducted that
dauntless spirit to the Land of Shades, there to
dwell for evermore in the Elysian fields with
those other well-beloved heroes who had also
trod the paths of undying glory on earth, and
were already waiting to greet him on the othei
side.

156 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

The Wanderings of ALneas

Next to the noble Hector, ^neas was the
greatest and most splendid of the warrior princes
who fought on the side of King Priam during
the Trojan War. His father was Anchises, one
of the handsome shepherd princes of Dardanus
on Mount Ida, his mother being Venus, the
goddess of love and beauty; and from his
birth the young hero was beloved of the gods
and honoured by men.

When war against Troy was declared by the
Greek princes, ^Eneas and his father, Anchises,
at once went to join their forces with those of
King Priam, to whom they were related, setting
up their households in the doomed city; so that,
when the siege of Troy began, they were ready
to assist in the defence. Anchises was already
too old to take any great part in the daily war-
fare; but vEneas soon proved himself worthy
in every way to be the companion leader of
the brave Hector, and many mighty deeds of
valour were performed by him during the ten
years' siege. Into every possible danger spot
of the battle the fearless hero went, righting
like a lion; and many times he narrowly escaped
death only by the miraculous intervention of
the gods, who held him under their special pro-
tection.

Once when yEneas was engaged in a struggle

THE WANDERINGS OF .ENEAS 157

with the Greek hero, Diomedes, Venus, fearful
for her beloved son's safety, suddenly appeared
and carried him off in her chariot amidst a dense
cloud. Another time, heading a sortie out of the
besieged city, he was attacked furiously on the
shore by the mighty Achilles, who was on the
point of killing him, when Neptune, the god of
the seas, arose from the waves and thrust aside
the Greek hero, so that his prey escaped him.

When, finally, after the death of gallant Hector,
Troy was taken by means of the introduction of
the Greek warriors encased in the famous wooden
horse designed by the crafty Ulysses, ^Eneas
again escaned death by miraculous means. When
the wooden horse had been drawn into the city,
the Trojans, successfully deceived into regarding
it as a sacred gift for the gods, feasted and re-
joiced for the remainder of that fateful day; and
it was not until all the revellers had retired to
rest that, in the dead of night, the imprisoned
Greeks were liberated from the hollow interior of
the great image by their spy, Sinon. He had
allowed himself to be taken captive into the city
beforehand for this purpose, and, the gates being
opened to the main host outside, the Greeks quickly
swarmed all over the city, and, setting fire to the
public buildings, lost no time in carrying out their
dreadful work of pillage and destruction.

Whilst these terrible events were happening
under cover of the darkness, y^neas was sleep-

158 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

ing in his father's house, which lay on the edge
of the city; but suddenly there appeared to
him the apparition of Hector, who warned him
to arise at once and fly, since the enemy was
within the gates.

./Eneas sprang hastily from his couch to find
the words of the spectre only too true, since
cries of despair and anguish reached him on
every side, and the light of the burning city was
already piercing the gloomy curtain of night;
and though he rushed forth madly to gather
his scattered warriors together, he quickly found
that his brave efforts were of no avail to save
the city. When he reached the palace, it was
only to behold the slaying of King Priam at
the hands of his enemies; and Queen Hecuba
and her daughters and many other groups of
wailing women and children were already being
led away as captives.

Seeing that all hope of saving the doomed
city was past, /Eneas was about to give him-
self up to despair, when his divine mother, the
goddess Venus, appeared before him and bade
him seek out his beloved ones and escape from
Troy whilst there was yet time to do so, and
to wander forth towards new scenes, since the
gods had need of his services elsewhere.

So /Eneas, ever obedient to his goddess mother's
commands, hastened back to his home with all
speed, that he might save those dependent upon

THE WANDERINGS OF ^NEAS 159

him from the terrible dangers that surrounded
them ; and, bearing his aged father, Anchises, upon
his own strong back, and leading his young son,
Ascanius, by the hand, followed by his trembling
wife, Creusa, the unhappy hero threaded a difficult
way through the burning streets, and at length
reached safely a sheltered spot outside the city
gates.

Then as he set down his living burden upon
the ground, ^neas discovered, to his horror, that
his beloved wife was missing, having evidently
been separated from him by the crowds of despair-
ing folk they had encountered, who were also
making frantic efforts to escape; and, distracted
with grief, he rushed back into the burning city
to seek for her. As he called out her name in
agonized accents, the shade of Creusa — who had
already been slain by the foe — appeared before his
despairing eyes, gently bidding him to cease his
useless search, since it was the will of the gods
that she must even now depart to the under- world.
Then, further prophesying that her beloved hero-
husband would eventually find a safe haven in the
fair but distant land of Hesperia — later on called
Italia — where he would be the founder of a mighty
kingdom, the apparition vanished as the grief-
stricken beholder vainly endeavoured to embrace
the ethereal shape.

So -^Eneas returned with a heavy heart to the
sheltered vale where he had left his aged father

160 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

and little son, and where he now found that a
large number of other Trojan refugees had also
assembled; and placing himself at the head of
the company as their leader, he first of all led
them forth to find a temporary refuge amidst the
sheltered groves of Mount Ida, where they passed
the winter. Then, finally, in the spring-time they
all set forth in goodly vessels to seek adventures
and new homes in foreign lands.

The first shores touched by the homeless wan-
derers were those of Thrace, a country formerly on
friendly terms with Troy; and here yEneas gave in-
structions to his followers to begin the building of
a city, forgetful, for the moment, that it had been
ordained by the gods — as foretold to him by his
wife's spirit on the night he left Troy — that he
was to be the founder of a mighty nation in dis-
tant Hesperia; but being warned by the spectral
voice of one of the dead Trojan princes speaking
to him from the roots of a myrtle bush having
leaves and boughs from which blood oozed forth,
to fly from a land in which crime was rife — the
unhappy prince himself having been done to death
in that spot — the hero quickly departed with his
forces from those ill-fated shores, and set sail once
more.

./Eneas now sought advice from the oracle at
Delos, which confirmed the prophecy of his wife's
shade, that he should found a great nation in the
land from whence his earliest ancestors had sprung;

THE WANDERINGS OF .ENEAS 161

and after consulting with Anchises, ^neas came
to the conclusion that Crete must be the promised
land, and forthwith he and his friends voyaged to
this fair island. Here, also, they began to lay the
foundations of a city ; but soon a terrible pestilence
came amongst the workers, which warned them
that this land was not intended to be their resting-
place.

JEneas then learnt definitely, by means of a
vivid dream, that Italia was the country where
the gods had ordained that he should settle
down, and where the descendants of his race
should become the greatest nation of their time;
and therefore the travellers embarked once more,
intending to sail for that then scarce-known land
in the west. Owing to contrary winds, the vessels
were several times driven inshore; and various
adventures befell the voyagers on landing.

Once when they had spread a meal for them-
selves upon a lonely shore, where they had taken
temporary refuge, their food was snatched away
from them by the Harpies — three horrible mon-
sters, half women and half birds of loathsome
appearance — who suddenly swooped down upon
them. When, after spreading out a fresh meal,
the Harpies were seen about to swoop down a
second time, the refugees succeeded in beating
them off; but one of the thwarted monsters croaked
out a dismal prophecy from a neighbouring rock,
declaring that though the wanderers should cer-

(0713)

162 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

tainly establish a famous city in Italia, it would
not be until they had suffered such dire famine
as would compel them to devour their tables as
well as the food placed upon them — all this be-
cause they had refused food to the winged mon-
sters.

Alarmed by this unpleasant incident, ^neas
and his companions left that ill-omened shore as
soon as the storm would permit them to do so;
and, with foreboding of ills to follow, they pro-
ceeded gloomily upon their way.

At Epirus, their next stopping-place, however,
they were greatly cheered by finding that a Trojan
king ruled there, whom they presently recognized
with joy as Helenus, the soothsayer son of King
Priam; and here, also, they found the Princess
Andromache, the widow of noble Hector, who
had now become the Queen of Helenus, with
whom she had been taken as a slave to Epirus,
the death of the King having since resulted in
the pair of royal exiles being chosen to rule the
land.

As the voyagers drew nearer to the coast of
Italia, they touched upon a lonely part of the
shores of Sicily, where, after having rescued a
man of Ithaca, who had been left there acciden-
tally by Ulysses and his companions, they were
attacked by Polyphemus and the other Cyclops
who dwelt there, who plunged into the sea and
hurled great rocks and stones at their ships.

THE WANDERINGS OF .ENEAS 163

They escaped from these fierce giants, how-
ever, without harm; and then, whilst resting for
a short time at Drepanium, in the west of the
island, a new trouble awaited /Eneas, for here,
bowed down with his weight of years and troubles,
the aged Anchises fell ill and died.

After the funeral games in connection with the
death of Anchises had been celebrated, /Eneas
and his followers once more continued their
journey; and then, as they were at last drawing
near to the sunny shore of Italy, disaster met
them again. The goddess Juno had no love for
/Eneas, since she had ever favoured the Greeks
and troubled the Trojans; and besides this, she
did not desire the Trojan hero to found a city
in Italia, since she knew that if that city were
founded, it would gain such mighty power that it
would even subdue the famous city of Carthage
on the coast of Africa, which city the goddess
specially favoured, and where she was worshipped
with peculiar honours. The jealous Juno there-
fore persuaded /Eolus, the god of the winds, to
assist her; and, at her request, the latter caused
such a terrific tempest to arise that the vessels
of /Eneas and his followers were driven roughly
out of their course and turned towards the coast
of Africa, several of them being dashed to pieces
on the rocks. Then Neptune, who loved ^neas
well, rose in wrath from the depths of the ocean,
and prevented further disaster from overtaking

164 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the unhappy Trojans by sternly commanding the
contrary winds to return to /Eolus, and by thus
calming the mountainous waves; and as the
storm subsided, the battered vessels were steered
to the nearest shore — which happened to be that
of the famous city of Carthage, beloved by Juno —
and here the wanderers flung down their weary
bodies to rest, thankful to have escaped from this
last terrible danger.

Having recovered somewhat from the buffeting
they had received, /Eneas and his companions set
forth to enter the noble city of Carthage; and on
the way from the shore the beautiful goddess
Venus appeared again before her son with words
of comfort and encouragement, promising him a
kindly reception in the land where he had now
taken refuge.

Hearing of the arrival of the strangers in the
city, Dido, the beautiful Queen of Carthage, came
forth from her palace to meet them and to bid
them welcome to her shores; and after giving
instructions for the wanderers to be cared for in a
generous manner, she herself led /Eneas to lodge
in her own gorgeous palace, where she entertained
him with the utmost honour and favour.

When he had rested for a few days and had
recovered from his recent alarms and hardships,
/Eneas was taken into the presence of Dido, who
invited him to relate to her the story of his adven-
tures at the siege of Troy, and also of all that had

THE WANDERINGS OF AENEAS 165

befallen him since he set forth upon his wander-
ings; and as the fair Queen listened with rapt
attention to the glowing tales told by her visitor,
her heart went out to the splendid hero who had
performed so many glorious deeds, and she grew
to love him so dearly that she could not bear to
think of the time when he must leave her to follow
the destiny ordained for him by the gods. She
endeavoured, therefore, to interest him in her
city, and to entertain him with constant feastings
and delightful pastimes, hoping that he would at
last become so attached to this pleasant resting-
place that he would be willing to reign there
with her as the King of Carthage.

But though ^neas was for a long time well
content to sit at the feet of beautiful Dido and to
relate to her the stories she loved so well to hear,
and to show pleasure in the many signs of affec-
tion and favour which she showered upon him,
he was not permitted to forget the wishes of the
gods; and at last Jupiter, growing impatient of
his chosen hero's dallying amidst the soft pleasures
of love and peaceful luxury, sent his fleet-footed
messenger, Mercury, to command him to leave
the bright abode of Queen Dido and to set forth
once more upon his journey to Italia.

When ^Eneas heard the command brought by
Mercury, all his eagerness to become the founder
of a mighty city returned; and, forgetful of the
words of love he had spoken to the beautiful

166 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Queen of Carthage, he gave orders for his ships —
which had been repaired whilst in the harbour of
the famous city — to be prepared for departure on
the morrow.

However, when Dido knew of her beloved
guest's decision, she was filled with despair; and
after, in her anger and disappointment, first
upbraiding him for his cruelty in thus attempting
to desert one who loved him so dearly, she next
implored him to remain with her as her king.

It was with conflicting feelings, therefore, that
yEneas retired to his couch that night; and he
might even yet have yielded to the dictates of his
heart had not Mercury again visited him, bidding
him now to set sail at once before the dawn, since
the Queen of Carthage would endeavour to prevent
his departure on the morrow.

So tineas crept stealthily out of the palace
in the dead of night, and joined his companions
already gathered upon the vessels waiting for day-
light to appear ; and he then commanded them to
loose the cables, and thus left the shores of Car-
thage without further delay.

When the lovelorn Dido next morning beheld
the quickly-vanishing vessels of the Trojans upon
the horizon, she was filled with such grief and
despair that she determined to live no longer,
since her lover had thus deserted her. She there-
fore caused a funeral pyre to be built, upon which
she mounted, clad in the same robes which she

THE WANDERINGS OF .ENEAS 167

had worn when first she beheld ^Eneas; and,
plunging a sword into her breast, the unhappy
Queen expired, with her beloved hero's name upon
her lips.

Although JEneas had played by no means
a noble part in this last adventure, his future
exploits gained him much glory and renown.
After meeting with further troubles on his journey,
as the Trojan hero once more approached the
shores of Italia, he was visited one night by a
strange dream, in which he beheld the shade of
his father, Anchises, who commanded him to seek
out a certain prophetess, or soothsayer, known as
the Cumsean Sibyl, who would foretell to him his
future and also conduct him to the under-world,
where Anchises himself would speak with him
again upon many important matters.

No sooner had he touched upon the shores of
Italia, therefore, than yEneas sought out the Sibyl,
who dwelt in a cave on the rocky cliffs of Cumse,
adjoining the splendid temple of Apollo; and here
he found the prophetess, who was beautiful but
wild and unearthly in her appearance, and who,
inspired by the god Apollo, foretold to the Trojan
hero that he would yet have to overcome many
foes, fight a number of battles, and suffer famine
and further hardships before he had fulfilled the
command of the gods.

^Eneas declared that he was prepared to endure
whatever the Fates had in store for him, and

168 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

announced his willingness even to descend into
the Land of Shades in order to carry out the
wish of his dead father, who had further reve-
lations to make to him. The Sibyl agreed to
accompany him thither, but sent him first to
visit the shores of the gloomy Lake Avernus,
where in the dark woods that bordered that black
pool there grew a certain strange tree upon
which flourished a single golden bough, with leaves
and twigs of the same precious substance, which
he was to pluck, that he might take it as a gift
to Proserpina, the Queen of the Under- world.

yEneas, nothing daunted by the difficulties in
his path, went boldly to the shores of Lake
Avernus, where, in the woods adjoining, he found
the magic tree, from which he plucked the golden
bough. There he was joined by the Cumsean
Sibyl, who, after dismissing his companions, led
him to a certain black cavern near by, into the
mouth of which they plunged, and soon found
themselves in a gloomy passage from whence
strange shadowy shapes appeared, and which led,
by long devious ways, to the Land of Shades
where the dark King Pluto reigned with his
beautiful queen, Proserpina.

Before actually entering the Under-world, they
had to cross over the black river Styx in the boat
of the ferryman, Charon, whose duty it was to
ferry across the departed spirits to their everlast-
ing home. Many were the awful sights they

THE WANDERINGS OF AENEAS 169

beheld and were compelled to pass; and on
reaching the gateway to the abode of Pluto, they
had first to appease the ferocious three-headed
dog, Cerberus, who guarded the gates day and
night, and would never have allowed the mortals
to pass by had not the Sibyl come prepared for
his opposition. She gave ^neas a certain
soaked cake to offer to the terrible dog; and
when her companion had thrown this sop to
Cerberus, they both passed through the gateway
in safety.

Had JEneas not possessed a stout heart and
fearless courage, he could never have endured the
horrors of the Under- world, even with the friendly
Sibyl at his side; but though he beheld many
sights that wrung his heart, he refrained from
giving way to fear, and thus safely passed
through all the dangers and woes of Tartarus,
the place of punishment for the wicked-doers.
In the Fields of Mourning, also, he beheld the
shade of Dido, the unhappy Queen of Carthage,
who, when he approached to greet her, broke
away from him with horror and loathing, and
poured wild upbraidings upon him because he
had repulsed her love on earth.

It was a pleasant relief, therefore, to pass on
into the Elysian fields, or Abode of the Blest,
where he met many of the departed heroes who
had fought at the siege of Troy, or had gained
glory elsewhere. Here, also, he met the shade of

170 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Anchises, who now gave him the further instruc-
tions and information he had promised.

In the palace of Pluto y£neas laid at the feet
of Proserpina the golden bough he had brought
as an offering for the fair Queen; and after
bidding farewell to the shade of his father, the
Trojan hero was brought back safely to the
upper world once more, where the Cumsean
Sibyl left him.

After many further adventures, in which the
hero and his followers suffered dire famine,
/Eneas embarked again, and at length reached
the eastern shores of the river Tiber, where he
landed in Latium, the country of a king named
Latinus, whose daughter, Lavinia, had been
destined by an oracle to become the bride of
a wandering prince ; and upon the arrival of the
Trojans, their leader, /Eneas, was declared to
be the stranger foreordained to become the
husband of the princess.

Amata, the Queen of Latium, however, had
promised her daughter to Turnus, the neighbour-
ing King of Rutuli, who, recognizing a rival in
the Trojan refugee, declared war against Latium.
/Eneas fought bravely on the side of King Latinus,
being the hero of many battles; and finally,
having overthrown and slain the rival suitor,
Turnus, he was married to the Princess Lavinia.

In accordance with his destiny y£neas now
founded and built a fine city in that district,

THE STORY OF ECHO AND NARCISSUS 171

which he named Lavinium, in honour of his
wife; and it was from the descendants of ^Eneas
Sylvius, his son by Lavinia, that the mighty
and famous city of Rome was believed to have
been founded, as so long foretold and desired
by the gods.

Ascanius, the son of ^neas by his first wife,
Creusa, also built the city of Alba Longa, and was
regarded as the ancestor of the famous Roman
family to which Julius Csesar belonged.

y^neas had to engage in constant warfare with
the Rutulians, by whom he was at length slain;
and thus, after a long life of weary wanderings
and warfare, did the Trojan hero find comfort and
reward in the Elysian fields of the under-world,
there at last to dwell in peace and everlasting
companionship with the shades of the mighty.

The Story of Echo and Narcissus

You will remember, in the introductory chapter,
I told you that most of the higher gods and
goddesses of the ancients were attended by lesser
female divinities, known as nymphs; and many
stories are told of the adventures of some of these
beautiful beings.

There was one dainty nymph named Echo,
who was such a great chatterbox that she was

172 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

seldom silent; and her love of talking was the
means of bringing a sad misfortune upon her.

Echo was one of the nymphs attending upon
Jupiter, the great god-king of Olympus; and it
fell to her lot to prove herself of considerable
service to her glorious master, although at the
same time she brought trouble upon herself.

Jupiter was a great lover of beauty; and it was
one of his chief delights to hold converse with the
various lovely maidens with whom he came in
contact.

This was the cause of much trouble in the
abode of the gods; for the beautiful goddess
Juno, the Queen of Olympus, was of an exceed-
ingly jealous disposition, and it made her very
angry when her lord's roving fancy caused him
to wander from her side and to take pleasure also
in the beauty of certain dainty nymphs and fair
mortal maidens.

One day Jupiter had wandered to the valleys
below Olympus, to talk to his nymphs and to join
in the merry games they loved to indulge in; and
as soon as Juno knew of this, she determined to
go down into the valley also and to scold her
truant lord should she find him enjoying the
company of the nymphs of whom she was so
jealous.

When she reached the entrance to the valley,
however, she was met by the pretty nymph,
Echo, who, guessing what the angry goddess

THE STORY OF ECHO AND NARCISSUS 173

had come for, and good-naturedly wishing to
save her companions from trouble, held Juno in
conversation, in order to give the other nymphs
time to escape and hide themselves.

For quite a long time Echo talked to Juno,
chattering like a magpie of everything that came
into her mind; and it was no hardship for her
to do this, since she dearly loved the sound of
her own voice and was never at a loss for some-
thing to talk about. It was in vain that Juno
tried to pass on; for Echo had so many interest-
ing things to say and talked so incessantly that
it was not possible for anyone to interrupt her.
So when at last the kindly chatterbox came to
a stop for sheer want of breath, and the Queen
of Olympus seized the opportunity to rush past
her, the valley was found to be deserted; for
all the nymphs had managed to escape by this
time, and Jupiter himself had vanished also.

Then when Juno realized how she had been
tricked, she was full of wrath, and determined to
punish the Hninty luile nymph who had detained
her so long at the entrance to the valley with her
endless chatter; and so she caused the unfor-
tunate Echo to lose the gift of her proper speech,
only permitting her to retain the power to repeat,
in a faint, far-away voice, the last words of
sentences which she heard other people utter.

Thus did Echo, for her well-meaning deed of
kindness, receive unjust punishment; and her

174 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

sorrow was very great, for it had always been
a delight to her to talk and to hear the sound
of her own pretty voice. Now she could no
longer chatter merrily to her friends, and she
had to be contented merely to repeat the last
two or three words of their sentences when they
spoke to her from a distance. But her friends
were very kind to her, and would often call
out a greeting from the hillside; and then Echo
would look up from the valley where she had
chosen to dwell since her misfortune, and gladly
repeat the last words of their greeting, full of
joy at thus hearing the sound of her own beloved
voice once more, faint and unreal though it was.

But a worse sorrow yet was in store for poor
Echo; for it was also her sad lot to fall in love
with someone who did not return her affection.

There was a certain beautiful youth named
Narcissus, said to be the son of the river-god
Cephisus and the nymph Liriope, .who was pos-
sessed of such wonderful graces and such dazz-
lingly fair looks that every maiden who gazed
upon him loved him. But, strange to say, Nar-
cissus himself had a cold heart, and was quite
incapable of feeling any love in return for the
warm affection bestowed upon him by his
numerous admirers; and he did all in his power
to escape from them, since he had no desire
for their kind attentions and had no love to
bestow upon anybody but himself.

THE STORY OF ECHO AND NARCISSUS 175

Now it happened one day that the lovely
nymph Echo met Narcissus as she roamed in
her valley, and no sooner had she beheld the
marvellous beauty of the youth than she straight-
way fell in love with him so deeply that she
felt she could not bear him to be out of her
sight. Therefore she followed him about wher-
ever he went; and since she could not declare
her love, for lack of the power of speech which
had been taken away from her by the goddess
Juno, she clung about him, and twined her
dainty arms around his neck, and tried to entice
him to kiss her.

But these unmistakable signs of love only
made Narcissus full of anger, since the charms
of the pretty nymph were nothing to him; and
he would thrust her away from him quite roughly,
and rush from her presence, unkindly calling out
to her to keep out of his way. The unhappy
Echo, fondly repeating his last words in her faint,
sad voice, would, nevertheless, still follow the
beautiful youth, only to be repulsed again when
she succeeded in entwining her clinging arms
around him once more.

At last the love-sick nymph, realizing that her
tender love was quite in vain, hid herself in the
woods, and, overcome with hopelessness, gradually
wasted and pined away with grief, so that at
length, nothing remained but her voice, which
still repeated the last words of greetings called

176 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

out by the shepherds and wanderers on the hill-
sides and in rocky places. Even now if you call
out a greeting from the valley beneath any hillside,
the last words of your sentence will be repeated
in the faint, far-away voice of Echo, the unhappy
nymph who pined away and died of grief because
of her hopeless love for the beautiful youth Nar-
cissus.

Strange to say, the cold-hearted Narcissus him-
self came also to a sad and lonely end, meeting
almost precisely the same fate as that which he
had caused to befall the pretty nymph whose love
he had despised, and whom he had cast from him
with scorn; and this fate was sent upon him by
Nemesis, the Goddess of Reward and Punishment,
because of the selfishness of his heart.

It happened that, one dav, being overheated in
the chase, Narcissus made his way to a deep pool
of water in order to quench his thirst; and as he
stooped down to drink, he suddenly caught sight
of his image reflected in the clear water -below,
and was so overcome with surprise and delight
at the sight of his own marvellous beauty that he
could not take his eyes off the fair picture that
met them.

The longer Narcissus gazed into the pool, the
more fascinated he became; and at length he fell
so passionately in love with his own beautiful face
that nothing could tear him away from the spot.
He who had turned aside with disdain from all the

k\

NARCISSUS FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIS OWN IMAGE

THE STORY OF ECHO AND NARCISSUS 177

pretty maidens who had pursued him, and had
scorned the adoration of the loving nymph, Echo,
now felt the pangs of love himself for the first
time, and he longed passionately to clasp the
object of his affection in his arms. Only a little
water separated him from those lovely features,
and he was just about to plunge into the pool
to s.eize his prize, when he suddenly realized that
he was gazing upon the image of himself, and that
he had fallen in love with his own beautiful face.

But although he fully realized the utter foolish-
ness of his strange, mad passion, he could not
conquer it ; and, disregarding the pangs of hunger
that presently began to assail him, and forgetful
of everything save the love that consumed him,
Narcissus remained beside the pool, gazing with
rapture upon the reflection of himself in the water
below, and sighing with despair because he could
not clasp that elusive shadow in his outstretched
arms.

So deep was this passion for his own fair looks,
and so strong the power of love, that he could
not resist it; and so, by degrees, Narcissus the
beautiful — like the dainty nymph whom he had
scorned — gradually wasted and pined away, dying,
alas, for love of himself.

Then when the fair youth had breathed his
last, the gods, in pity for his sad fate, renewed
life in him by transforming his wasted body into
a beautiful, sweet-scented flower that ever after-

(0718) 12

178 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

wards bore his name, and which blossomed year
after year on the banks of the pool of water into
the clear depths of which he had gazed so long
at that lovely reflection of himself which had
brought him to so sad an end.

Atalanta's Race

In the beautiful land of Arcadia there dwelt
a king named Jasus, who was not happy. Al-
though he ruled over the fairest of lands, where
it was always so warm and sunny that flowers,
fruits, and corn grew in plenty, and where the
people were full of contentment as they lived
the simple lives of shepherds, there was yet
one thing that made him sad.

He had no son to reign after him; and it made
King Jasus very unhappy to think that when he
died a stranger might come to rule over his be-
loved people.

At last, however, a little child was born to
Queen Clymene of Arcadia; but instead of be-
ing pleased, the King was more aggrieved than
ever, because the royal baby was a girl, in-
stead of the boy he had desired.

Having made up his mind that a prince was
the only child he would have, the disappointed
King determined not to allow the little girl born

ATALANTA'S RACE 179

to him to remain in the palace; and, therefore,
one dark night he carried away the baby prin-
cess— who had already been given the name of
Atalanta — far out into the wildest part of the
country, and left her alone on a hillside, hoping
that he would never see her again.

As he turned aside, however, the moonlight
shone brightly upon the little maid, and he saw
that she was very fair to look upon; and though
he endeavoured to drive out all recollection of
her as the months and years went by, he never
could do so, since the picture of her pretty face
and the sound of her plaintive cries seemed con-
stantly in his mind.

After a while he wished he had not been so
cruel as to cast her out, and longed intensely
to find her again; but for many years he had
to live without his child, and so grew more
melancholy than ever, as he felt she must have
perished.

But all this time the Princess Atalanta was
alive and well; for she had been found on the
hillside by a friendly she-bear, who had carried
away the royal baby to her cave to be brought
up with her own little cubs.

Atalanta soon grew to love the baby bears,
and used to play merry games with them as
soon as she could walk; and she remained in
the cave with these strange companions and
protectors for several months. Then she was

i8o GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

discovered by some shepherds, who took her
away from the cave; and she lived with these
kindly country folk for many happy years.

Atalanta grew up to be a very beautiful maiden ;
and she was so strong and such a swift runner
that she often went out hunting with her simple
friends. There was no one more fleet of foot than
Atalanta in all the countryside ; and it was one of
her greatest joys to run races with other maidens
and youths, since no one could outstrip her in the
foot-race.

So confident was Atalanta of her powers of
running that she even ventured to take part in
the Calydonian boar-hunt, the story of which is
as follows: King CEneus of Calydon, having
offended Diana, the goddess of Hunting and
Purity, the latter sent a terribly fierce wild boar
to ravage his land; and such havoc was wrought
that the King's son, Meleager, organized a mighty
hunting-party in order to catch and slay the cruel
beast, many of the most famous heroes of Greece
joining in the chase. With them also came the
fearless maiden Atalanta, who did excellent ser-
vice in racing after the monster, and was the first
to succeed in wounding it. After an intensely
exciting chase, the boar was finally captured and
slain by Meleager, who presented its hide to
Atalanta as a reward for having been the first
to wound it — he having fallen in love with the
maiden, who, however, did not return his affection.

ATALANTA'S RACE 181

Strange to say, one day, soon after the famous
boar hunt, Atalanta was again seen by King
Jasus, who at once recognized her as his long-lost
daughter, and was filled with joy at thus recover-
ing her; and then Atalanta had to bid farewell to
her shepherd friends, and went away with her
royal father to dwell in his palace and to take
her rightful place as the Princess of Arcadia.

But though the royal maiden now had great
riches, she did not at first enjoy her new luxurious
life so much as her father had hoped she would;
and many times she felt melancholy and wished
to return to the hills and countryside once more.

The splendid palace and the crowds of richly-
dressed courtiers made her afraid to dance and
sing as she had done so freely in the presence of
her simple shepherd friends; and she was so shy
and reserved that when the gay lords and ladies
came up to speak to her, she would often run
away from them. Or, if the King bade her remain,
she would droop her head and shake down her
long sunny hair, so that her fair face was quite
hidden from view; and it was only after a great
deal of coaxing that anybody could get her to talk
at all.

Naturally, this conduct did not please the gay
young lords and gallant princes who visited the
court, many of whom were in love with her and
wished to marry her, since she was the most
beautiful princess of her time ; and, consequently,

i8a GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

when they found that Atalanta tried to hide her-
self away from them, they promptly sought the
King and asked his help in the matter.

" The beautiful Princess Atalanta is so disdain-
ful that she will not listen to us when we tell her
that we love her," they complained, in aggrieved
tones. " Many days we do not even get a glimpse
of her, because she keeps to her chamber, or plays
with little children in her garden; and if we do
happen to meet her outside, she runs away at
once, and is so fleet of foot that we cannot ever
catch her."

" Be patient with her, my sons," replied King
Jasus. " The maiden is shy and afraid of strangers,
having lived with simple shepherd folk so long.
But it is my desire that she should marry; and,
therefore, I will speak to her, and bid her choose
one of you as her husband."

But when Atalanta knew that her father wished
her to marry one of his courtiers, she was filled
with alarm, and cried out in distress: " Oh no, no,
no, my dear father! I will run away from them
every time they seek me, and they shall never
catch me."

Instead of being angry on hearing this, the
words of Atalanta gave a sudden bright idea to
the King; and he said: "Since thou art so skilful
in the foot-race, my daughter, suppose thou runnest
races with these eager suitors? If one of them
should win, then thou shalt promise to marry him ;

ATALANTA'S RACE 183

but if thou art the winner thyself, then shait thou
remain free. Does this plan satisfy thee, my
child?"

"Oh yes, yes, my royal father!" cried Atalanta
gleefully, clapping her hands, and now all smiles
again. "It is quite safe for me to agree to thy
suggestion, for I know that there is no youth in
the world so fleet of foot as I am. Let who will
come forward to race with me ; but I know already
that none of the competitors will win me as a
prize, since I cannot fail to outstrip them all."

But the King of Arcadia had also thought out
another cunning scheme, since he really wished
his daughter to marry; and, therefore, in order to
make the young men run more swiftly than they
had ever done in their lives before, he commanded
that each competitor who lost the race should be
put to death, since he declared the prize — the hand
of the beautiful Princess Atalanta — to be worth so
great a risk.

But in spite of the danger to which they thus
exposed themselves, a number of rash young lords
and princes came forward to enter themselves as
candidates for the foot-race with Atalanta; for her
beauty had won their hearts, and her proud reserve
only made them all the more eager to win her as
a bride.

And when Atalanta came forth now, ready to
meet the bold competitors, she no longer hid her
face, but met each suitor fearlessly, feeling con-

184 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

fident that he would never become her husband,
since her quick light feet would soon take her
out of his sight ; and she would even throw a kiss
behind her as she sped past the winning-post at
the end of the race.

Though always full of joy that she had won the
race and was still a free maiden, she would often
plead for the life of the unhappy loser to be
spared; but the King was inexorable and would
never go back from the stern condition he had
imposed, since he only wished the very swiftest
runners to race with his daughter, always hoping
that one would be found sufficiently fleet footed
to outrun her at last.

Thus many noble youths lost their lives; for
nearly every day a race took place, and Atalanta
always won.

Finally, however, there came a certain young
lord named Milanion, who loved Atalanta more
deeply than any of the others ; but although this
suitor had determined to race with the disdainful
princess, he did not wish to lose his life by failing
to win in the contest. He believed, moreover,
that Atalanta secretly returned his love, since she
had smiled graciously upon him more than once,
and had even allowed him to speak to her; and
he felt that if only he could be victorious in the
race and marry her, a life of great happiness would
be in store for them both.

Therefore he went to Olympus to seek advice

ATALANTA'S RACE 185

from Venus, the goddess of beauty and love; for
he realized that Atalanta was more fleet of foot
than he, and wisely admitted that he could not
hope to be victorious in the race with her without
assistance of some kind, or by means of strategy.

When she had listened to what Milanion had
to say, Venus placed three bright golden apples
in his hand, and said: "Though thou art not so
fleet of foot as Atalanta, yet thou mayest win this
race if thou wilt but use these golden apples in
the way I shall tell thee."

Venus next told the ardent suitor exactly how
he was to make use of her gift; and then Milanion
went away to the palace and announced his willing-
ness and earnest desire to race with the Princess
Atalanta.

" Art thou ready to lay down thy life shouldst
thou lose the race?" asked the King; and Milanion
replied boldly: " I am ready even to pay that dire
penalty if needs be, since I love the fair princess
so devotedly that my life is worthless to me if I
may not marry her. But I do not expect to be
called upon to lay down my life; for it is my
ntention and earnest desire to win the race and
thus gain the priceless award offered."

The King was well pleased with these bold
words; and he gladly led Milanion forth to race
in the meadows with his daughter, for he liked
the looks of the strong, handsome young man and
felt hopeful about his running powers.

i86 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Now when Atalanta saw who the new-comer
was, she was filled with sadness, for she liked him
more than any youth she had ever seen before;
and it made her sorrowful to think that he must
shortly die, since she believed he could not win
the race, because, in spite of her real regard for
him, she nevertheless meant to run her swiftest,
still feeling too shy to wed even with one whom,
in her secret heart, she knew she loved.

So, for the first time in her life, Atalanta began
to run with a heavy heart; and perhaps that was
the reason why she did not run her fastest at
the beginning of the race, but carelessly allowed
Milanion to get some distance ahead of her,
confidently feeling that she would quickly over-
take him a little later on.

A great crowd of people had come with the
King to watch the race; and when they saw that
Milanion was leading, they began to clap their
hands and to cheer him, hoping that he would
win.

The sound of the cheering made Atalanta
quicken her steps, so that she soon began to
overtake the youth in front; but just as she came
within a few yards of passing him, Milanion let
fall one of the bright golden apples given him by
the goddess Venus, and it rolled to the feet of the
princess, who at once stooped to pick it up, being
delighted with the beauty of the dazzling fruit,
which flashed so invitingly in the sunshine.

ATALANTA'S RACE 187

Meanwhile Milanion sped on quickly; and
when Atalanta at last looked up from the tempt-
ing apple in her hand, he was already a long wav
ahead.

Once more the princess ran her swiftest; but
just as she drew near to him a second time,
Milanion threw down another golden apple, which
rolled past Atalanta, who was again so pleased
with its beauty that she turned back to pick it
up. Never before had she seen such wonderful
fruit as the bright golden apples thrown to her
by Milanion; and she carefully held one in each
hand as she continued the race.

She saw that Milanion was now a long way
ahead of her, and though still feeling sure that,
even yet she could easily win the race, since she
was so much fleeter of foot than he, she hurried
on once more. Milanion heard her light steps
behind |him ; and in spite of the fact that he was
now not far from the winning-post, he trembled
lest she should pass him after all, and thus be
the victor.

However, not despairing yet, the youth took
out the third golden apple given him by Venus
and threw it high up in the air behind him; and
as the apple shot up in the bright sunshine, it
twinkled like a fiery golden star, so that Atalanta
was more dazzled by its beauty than by the
charms of either of the others in her hands.

Although she already had two golden apples,

i88 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the young princess felt that she must have this
third one also, and so ran after it at once; but
in stooping to pick it up, she dropped the other
two, and quite a long time elapsed before she had
the three treasures safely within her grasp.

Then, to her amazement and consternation, she
saw that Milanion — who was an excellent runner
and had never once stopped for a single moment
— was nearly out of sight; and though she now
ran more swiftly than she had ever done in her
life before, her competitor had secured such a
good start ahead that she could not possibly
overtake him, and thus the panting youth shot
past the winning-post first, whilst she was still
several yards behind.

Thus, by means of the three golden apples
given to him by the goddess Venus, did Milanion
win the great race ; and his prize was the hand of
the beautiful Princess Atalanta, who now willingly
became his bride, since a deep love for him had
indeed come into her heart.

The fickle goddess Venus, however, did not
long bestow her favours upon the happy pair;
for it is said that because the lovers shortly
afterwards offended her, she transformed them
both into lions, and compelled them to draw
her chariot when she went abroad.

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 189

The Labours of Hercules

The greatest and most famous of all the Greek
heroes was Hercules, the strongest man who had
ever lived upon the earth, whose mighty deeds
are even now looked upon as being symbolic of
the tremendous difficulties which beset the path
of all seekers after true greatness, which can only
be achieved by battling with, and overcoming,
the giants and terrible monsters of vice and
wickedness.

By means of his mighty strength and power
to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles,
Hercules, by his own efforts, actually attained to
divinity. He was not at first a god, and, therefore,
entitled to immortality by birth, for though his
father was Jupiter, the mighty King of Olympus,
his mother, Alcmene, was only a mortal maiden
of the earth ; but he longed from his earliest days
to dwell for ever in Olympus, and to be wor-
shipped as the mighty god of strength, who had
secured immortality by means of his own great
deeds.

Jupiter also greatly desired that his noble son
should join the immortals in Olympus ; and know-
ing of the earnest wish of Hercules, he said to
him in his early youth: "It is within thine own
power to become as one of the gods, my son, but
only by going through much pain and tribulation;
for the way to greatness and glory is not easy,

igo GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

and he who would attain to the best must give of
his best. Thou hast the mightiest strength and
greatest powers of endurance of all my children;
and if thou wouldst become one of the gods of
Olympus, thou must perform many severe tasks,
and not be afraid."

" I wish for the best, and will gladly give of
my best," cried young Hercules. "Tell me what
I must do, oh my father, and I will not be afraid
to obey thy will."

Then Jupiter told his son that he must be
ready to overcome every evil thing sent against
him, and to rid the earth of many terrible
monsters that preyed upon mankind, and that,
later on, he would have to serve as a slave a
certain greedy and powerful king, Eurystheus of
Mycenae, for twelve years, and to perform what-
ever seemingly-impossible tasks his royal master
might choose to set him; but the stout heart of
Hercules never quailed for an instant at the
prospect before him.

Most of the gods were eager for the brave
young Hercules to be their companion in Olym-
pus, for they hoped that his wonderful strength of
body and mind would add to their own glory;
and therefore they presented him with many
useful gifts to aid him in the performance of his
tasks. He received from Minerva a helmet and
coat of mail; from Apollo a bow and arrows;
from Jupiter a shield; from Vulcan a golden

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 191

cuirass, brazen buskins, and a brazen club; from
Mercury a sword; from Neptune a horse.

But although so greatly favoured by the gods,
Hercules had one powerful enemy in Olympus,
whom he had to contend with throughout his
entire life. This was Juno, the goddess- wife of
Jupiter, who was so exceedingly jealous of her
lord's love for Hercules that she constantly
endeavoured to harm the latter, hoping thus to
prevent him from attaining to immortality; and
instead of assisting him to overcome his dif-
ficulties, she compelled the greedy Eurystheus
to set the dauntless hero such terrible tasks that
no one would have thought it possible for a
mortal to perform them. In spite of this opposi-
tion from the powerful Queen of Olympus, Her-
cules, nevertheless, did not fear to undertake any
task that was set him; for he felt that his mighty
strength, stout heart, and tireless powers of
endurance would help him to overcome all, if
onV he used patience and wisdom.

Even when still but an infant he had been
able to prove his strength and courage ; for when,
one day, two fierce serpents attacked him as he
lay in his cradle — having been sent thither to
destroy him by the jealous Juno — he caught them
both in his little chubby hands and crushed the
life out of them.

The more that Juno sought to do harm to the
infant hero, however, the more persistently did

i9a GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Jupiter endeavour to assist his growth towards
glory. In order that Hercules might be prepared
for the difficulties he would have to contend with
later, he was given the usual training of a hero
of old, and was taught by the best teachers how
to fight fearlessly, to shoot an arrow straight, to
drive a chariot, and to excel in all athletic games
and warlike pursuits, being also taught the gentle
arts of music and singing; and he went to the
school of the famous centaur, Chiron, and had as
friends and companions the greatest heroes of his
time, of whom he himself eventually became the
mightiest. He afterwards joined his fellow pupils
in some of their future enterprises, being one of
the bold heroes who sailed with Jason on the
quest of the Golden Fleece. It is said also that
when his hero training was over, he retired to
a solitary district for a time, where he was put
under severe temptations, being visited by the
spirits of Pleasure and Virtue, both of whom
appeared before him as lovely maidens. The
ravishing Pleasure enticed him with alluring
smiles to follow in her flowery paths; but Virtue
earnestly invited him to choose a life of labour
and self-control, promising him the crown of
honour and immortality as his reward. After a
mighty struggle, Hercules decided to follow in
the paths of Virtue; and forthwith he applied
himself to the performance of noble deeds for
the benefit of mankind.

-*

ATALANTA STOPS FOR THE THIRD GOLDEN APPLE

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 193

The hero first of all slew a terrible lion that
had long ravaged his own native district on the
outskirts of Thebes; and after this deed, on his
entry into Thebes he found the people suffering
under an unjust and heavy tax imposed upon
them by a neighbouring tyrant king, whom he
promptly made war upon and overcame in battle.
For these splendid services, the King of Thebes
gave him his daughter, the Princess Megara, as
his wife, and permitted him to govern his king-
dom for several years.

Then Eurystheus, King of Mycenae, sent an
insolent message to the already-renowned hero,
bidding him to present himself at Mycense to
serve the twelve years of slavery appointed by
the gods; but Hercules at first resented the
tyrant's command, and haughtily declined to serve
one whom he regarded as ignoble. This refusal,
however, enraged the goddess Juno, who was
eager for his time of trial and suffering to com-
mence; and as a punishment she caused him to
become mad for a while, in which unnatural state
of mind he had the misfortune to kill his own
children, whom he dearly loved.

Upon recovering his reason, Hercules was filled
with grief and remorse for his terrible deed, and
hid himself away from all his friends for some
time; but at length he received comfort and for
giveness from the gods, and realizing at last thai
part of his trial of strength and character must be

(0718) 13

194 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

to serve one whom he despised as his inferior, he
now went boldly to Mycenae, ready to perform
every stupendous task and to endure with forti-
tude whatever suffering might be imposed upon
him by gods and men.

Then Eurystheus, encouraged thereto by the
still jealous Juno, seeing so mighty a warrior and
hero coming thus to him as a slave, and fearful
lest he might prove an enemy in years to come,
commanded him to perform certain arduous tasks,
requiring such superhuman powers to achieve that
they have since become known as the Labours of
Hercules.

The story of these famous labours is as fol-
lows : —

(i) Hercules was first of all commanded to kill
the Nemean lion, a terribly fierce and huge beast
which dwelt in the wild woods of Nemea, and
which roamed forth at dusk to devour the shep-
herds and other country folk of the district.

This lion was believed to have dropped out of
the moon, and therefore could not be harmed by
any weapon made on earth. Hercules, having
received weapons from the gods, might have used
these with effect; but when he came face to face
with the ramping lion, he found it necessary to
grapple with it at once, and, flinging away his
sword and club, he strangled the king of beasts
with his own powerful hands. When he had thus
slain the fierce lion by means of his own mighty

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 195

strength, he stripped off its fine skin, which he
afterwards wore as his chief garment He then
carried the huge carcass of the beast back to
Mycenae; and King Eurystheus was so amazed
at the sight of it, and at the wonderful strength
and courage of Hercules, that he commanded him
never to enter the gates of the city when he
returned from his adventures, but to await his
further orders without the walls. The craven King
even made himself a huge brazen vessel into
which he retired whenever Hercules returned.

(2) The Fight with the Lernean Hydra. This
monster was a frightful dragon which had nine
heads; and it dwelt in the swamps bordering the
Lake of Lerna, in a dismal and lonely district
known as the Field of Argos. Hercules took his
friend lolaus with him on this adventure; but
when they arrived at the Lake of Lerna, and the
horrible hydra came crawling out of the slimy
black swamp where it lived, his companion's cour-
age vanished, and he ran away at once to hide
behind a bush, so that the hero was left alone in
his hour of need.

The scaly body of the dragon was as huge as
the largest haystack ever seen; and each of its
nine fearful heads had a gaping mouth full of
pointed teeth, and a sinuous neck as long as the
longest serpent — and the sight of it made even
brave Hercules tremble. But the noble son of
great Jupiter would not shrink from the task that

196 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

had been set him ; and when the first long snaky
neck of the hydra stretched out its fierce head to
snap at him with its fearful jaws, he boldly at-
tacked it and struck it off with one mighty stroke
of his brazen club.

Then, to his horror and amazement, two more
heads sprang out upon the severed neck of the one
he had just struck off; and the same thing hap-
pened every time he aimed a blow. For each
head of the hydra he struck off two more sprang
out to take its place; and Hercules began to lose
heart, as he felt that his great strength would be
of no avail in this impossible task, with so many
frightful heads hissing, snarling, and bellowing
around him.

Then, in his agony, he called upon Minerva, the
goddess of wisdom, who caused a sudden bright
idea to come into his mind; and he called out to
his concealed friend to come forth and build up
a fire of wood and make his sword red hot in
the flames, promising to protect him from the
monster. lolaus, encouraged once more, quickly
came forth to do his bidding, whilst the hero
kept the monster at bay ; and when the sword had
been made red hot, Hercules struck off another
of the hydra's heads and passed the glowing steel
over the wound, thus preventing any more new
heads from springing forth. In this manner he
was able to strike off all the heads of the hydra,
one by one, until at last the terrible monster

MINERVA

From the statue in the Capitoline Museum, Rome

Photo. Alinari

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 197

rolled over, dead ; and after having dipped all the
arrows in his quiver into the poisonous gall of the
dragon, to render fatal the wounds they should
afterwards inflict, Hercules returned victorious
to his taskmaster, who now commanded him to
perform a third labour.

(3) Capture of the Arcadian Stag. He was to
bring alive into the presence of Eurystheus the
fleet-footed stag of Diana, the goddess of hunting,
a stag famous for its golden antlers, its brazen feet,
and its incredible swiftness, and which no mortal
had ever yet been known to draw nigh unto. The
animal dwelt in the district of CEnoe; and Her-
cules spent a whole year in its pursuit. But
though the hero grew weary many times, he would
not give up his quest; and at last, by slightly
wounding it, he was able to capture the stag, and
brought it alive to the palace of Eurystheus.

(4) Capture of the Erymanthian Boar. This
was a wild beast so big and fierce that no one had
ever dared to hunt it before; and Hercules not
only chased the boar through deep snow, and at
last caught it in a net, but held it tightly bound in
his own iron grasp, and brought it thus, alive, to
show to his royal master, who was so terrified at
the sight of it that he hid himself in his brazen
vessel for several days in fear and trembling, and
refused to venture out until the hero had slain his
prize.

(5) Cleansing the Augean Stables. Augeas,

x98 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

King of Elis, had a herd of three thousand oxen,
the stalls of which had not been cleansed for
thirty years; and Hercules was now commanded
to cleanse them in one day. This stupendous task
he succeeded in performing by altering the courses
of the Rivers Alpheus and Peneus, so that their
waters rushed through the Augean stables and
washed them clean in one day.

(6) Destruction of the Stymphalian Birds.
There were a flock of fierce vultures, dwelling
near Lake Stymphalus, which ate human flesh,
and employed their own brazen feathers as arrows
which they could shoot down upon their in-
tended victims; and no one had yet succeeded
in slaying any of them. When Hercules was
bidden to destroy these fearful birds, he took
out his bow and quiver, and shot at his foes
with his poisoned arrows, which, by means of
his great strength and skill, he was able to shoot
with such wonderful swiftness that he killed most
of the flock before the creatures could swoop
down upon him.

(7) The Capture of the Cretan Bull. A large
and beautiful bull had long ravaged the island of
Crete, being a terror to the people, and Hercules
was commanded to capture and tame the creature ;
and the hero not only performed the task, but
carried the great bull away on his shoulders.

(8) Capture of the Mares of Diomedes. The
wicked tyrant King Diomedes of Thrace kept

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 199

a herd of man-eating mares; and Hercules was
ordered to bring these unnatural steeds to Eurys-
theus and to destroy their wicked owner. The
hero first flung the tyrant King into the midst
of the herd to be devoured by them — this having
been the sad fate to which he had himself con-
demned many unhappy strangers to his land —
and then with the aid of a few of his friends,
he captured the fierce mares and led them to
Eurystbeus, who sent them to Mount Olympus,
where they were devoured by other wild beasts.

(9) Seizure of the Girdle of the Queen of the
Amazons. The Amazons were a race of fierce,
warlike women, who lived near the river Ther-
modon; and Hercules was bidden to make war
upon their queen, Hippolyta, whom he defeated
and from whom he succeeded in taking the famous
jewelled girdle she wore, which was the finest
in the world.

(10) The Capture of the Oxen of Geryon.
Geryon, King of Gades, was a terrible, three-
bodied monster who kept a flock of oxen which
he fed upon human flesh; and by means of his
mighty strength, Hercules slew the monster and
brought away the flocks, as he had been com-
manded to do.

(n) Fetching the Golden Apples of the Hes-
perides. The Hesperides were three fair nymphs
who dwelt in a beautiful garden at the foot of
Mount Atlas, in North-west Africa, where they

200 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

were the guardians of a wonderful tree which
bore golden apples; and to assist them in their
charge, a terrible fiery dragon lay coiled at the
foot of the tree. Hercules was bidden to gather
the golden fruit of this magic tree and bring
the spoils to Eurystheus; but as he was given
no information as to the whereabouts of the
Garden of the Hesperides, he spent a long time
upon this labour. As he rested one evening
in a quiet valley, however, he beheld a number
of pretty dryads and other nymphs sporting at
a little distance; and making friends with these
dainty beings, he learned from them that the
only person who could tell him of the where-
abouts of the Hesperides' abode was Nereus, one
of the chief marine divinities who, because he
dwelt at the bottom of the ocean, was known
as the Wise Old Man of the Sea. Before he
could hope to secure any information from Nereus,
however, Hercules was told that he would have
to bind him fast with thongs, since, otherwise,
he would reveal nothing; and the hero continued
his journey with renewed hope, ready for the
struggle in store for him. At length he came to
a cave on the seashore, where he found the Old
Man of the Sea asleep on the sands, having
been lulled into a deep slumber by the sweet
singing of the pretty mermaids who danced in
the shallow waves or sat upon the rocks comb-
ing out their long hair.

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 201

Quickly Hercules sprang upon Nereus and
bound him with the thongs he had brought;
and immediately the Old Man of the Sea awak-
ened and began to practise the magical gifts he
possessed, by changing himself first into one
wild beast and then into another, hoping thus to
terrify his captor into flight. But Hercules re-
mained undaunted, and clung fast to his captive,
no matter what alarming shape he assumed ; and
at length Nereus owned himself conquered and
gave the hero the information he demanded.

Then Hercules set free the Old Man of the
Sea; and by following the directions given him
by the latter, he at length came to Mount Atlas
and entered the Garden of the Hesperides. No
sooner did he approach the tree with the golden
apples than the monster dragon rushed out upon
him breathing forth fiery flames and gnashing its
terrible teeth ; but after a mighty struggle, Hercules
slew the monster and gathered the golden apples,
which he took to his royal master. Eurystheus,
however, returned the fruit to his mighty slave,
and Hercules gave the golden apples to the
goddess Minerva, who afterwards replaced them
upon the tree in the Garden of the Hesperides.

(12) Fetching Cerberus from the Under-world.
For his twelfth labour, Hercules was commanded
to bring the three-headed dog Cerberus from
the under-world. This was the most difficult
task of all; for the way to the Land of Shades

202 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

was full of dangers, and the fierce Cerberus,
the guardian of the palace gates of the King of
the Under- world, was the most terrifying and
the strongest beast ever known. Pluto, how-
ever, was so astonished at the dauntless courage
of Hercules in making the journey to his gloomy
abode that he not only permitted him to release
two of his hero friends who were captives in the
under-world — Theseus and Ascalaphus — but gave
him leave also to take away Cerberus for a short
time, on condition that he used no weapons but
only force in binding him, and that he brought
him back safely after showing him to the King of
Mycenae. Hercules cheerfully agreed to the con-
ditions imposed upon him; and after a terrible
struggle with the three-headed dog, he succeeded
in binding him. Then he took the fearful beast
away from the Land of Shades and showed him
to Eurystheus, who, full of terror, bade him take
the fierce dog back again at once.

With the return of Cerberus to the under-
world, Hercules had now completed his twelve
mighty labours, and his service with Eurystheus
thus came to an end.

In addition to these famous tasks, Hercules
also performed many other wonderful deeds of
strength and met with strange adventures in
many distant lands, always overcoming all the
difficulties he encountered with fearless courage
and endurance, as became a mighty man of

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 203

valour. Once or twice, however, he yielded to
temptations, and acted unworthily; and for a
short time he fell a victim to the wiles of Om-
phale, Queen of Lydia, who enticed him to for-
get the constant duties of a hero, and instead
to waste his hours in idleness and soft pleasures.
Happily, however, his better nature triumphed
in the end, and he returned to his splendid
exploits with renewed zest.

Hercules was married to a princess of Calydon,
named Deianira, whom he greatly loved, but by
whose fault his marvellous career came to an end ;
for, during one of his absences from home, she
sent him a tunic which she believed to possess
the magic power of preserving his love to her for
ever, but which, in reality, was soaked with a
deadly poison.

When Hercules received this tunic, he was
about to offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving to
Jupiter in celebration of one of his victories;
but immediately he donned the fatal garment
he became so convulsed with agony that he
flung himself upon the burning pyre and per-
ished in the flames.

Because of the mighty deeds he had done in
ridding the earth of so many monsters and tyrants,
and because he had faithfully fought with evil and
conquered, Hercules, the mightiest of all the heroes
of ancient times, had gained for himself immor-
tality; and he was carried away in great glory

204 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

amidst thunder and lightning, to dwell amongst
the gods in Olympus for ever.

The Story of Alcestis

It was a sad day for the people of Thessaly
when they heard that their good King, Admetus,
was dying; and all the land was filled with woe.

The noble Admetus had ruled his people wisely
and well, and was so dearly beloved by them that
they could not bear to think that he should be
taken away from them whilst still young; and
many were the prayers that went up to the gods
that the good King might be spared to them for
many more years to come.

The saddest heart of all was that of the wife
of Admetus, the beautiful Queen Alcestis; and
she could not restrain her tears when she knew
that her beloved one must soon leave her for the
Land of the Shades.

And the dying King himself, though too brave
and noble to fear what might be in store for him
in the gloomy under-world where Pluto reigned,
yet could not keep back his own tears when he
saw the grief of his fair wife, and knew that he
must soon be parted from her.

It happened that the glorious sun -god, Apollo,
was the friend of Admetus, who had been kind to

APOLLO

i the statue in the Vatican Museum, Rome

THE STORY OF ALCESTIS 205

him and had treated him courteously when he had
been sent forth from Olympus to dwell upon earth
for a certain time because he had offended the
gods by slaying one of the Cyclops. He had
kept watch over the flocks of Admetus during
this time of banishment ; and the pair had become
good friends and had learned to love one another
well.

It was Apollo who had helped Admetus to win
the Princess Alcestis, by sending him to woo her
and to carry her away from her home in a car
drawn by a wild boar and a lion, in accordance
with the conditions imposed by her father, that
she might know her lover to be so strong and
fearless that he could even make the wild beasts
obey him; and so there was always a glad
welcome for the god of music and the arts in
the land of Thessaly.

But when it chanced that Apollo came into the
royal palace on the day when the sad news had
become known that the beloved King was soon to
die, he found gloom on every side; and the weep-
ing Queen begged for his assistance in this trouble.

"Alas! I cannot help in this matter, greatly
though I wish it," replied Apollo sadly. " The
Fates — those three most mighty sisters, who
measure the span of human lives, and to whom
all men must bow — have said that Admetus must
die now; and since they have asked for a life,
they must be given a life. Yet, because of the

206 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

love I bear to Admetus, have I visited the Gray
Sisters, and have drawn from them one hope of
saving this beloved life they ask — but so poor
a hope is it that it is but wasting time to speak
of it."

" Nay, nay, good Apollo, that cannot be!" cried
Alcestis eagerly. " I prithee, tell me of this hope.
What do the mighty Fates ask?"

"They say," said Apollo, "that if another life
be offered to them in the place of that of Admetus,
they will accept it and will permit the beloved
King to live on still for many years. Is not this
a poor hope? Surely no mortal is likely to take
up such an offer and be willing to leave this
sunny world of brightness for the gloomy Land
of Shades, from whence none may return?"

" Say not so; for even that will I do with glad-
ness!" cried Alcestis, with joy ringing in her voice
once more. " How can I show my love better
than by dying for him I love? Oh, Admetus,
my beloved king, thou shalt yet live for many
years longer to rule over thy people; for I will
go to the Land of Shades in thy stead."

It was in vain that the sick King refused to
allow his Queen to die in his place, declaring
nobly that he could not retain his own life at
the price of hers, for Alcestis only wept the more
at his refusal; and Apollo now said: "Thou must
take the gift that is offered thee, oh King; for the
Fates have even now heard that thy Queen will

THE STORY OF ALCESTIS 207

give her life for thine, and they will accept her
sacrifice and are satisfied."

And thus Admetus had to bow to the will of
the gods and his fair Queen, and live on for the
well-being of his people; and the beautiful Alcestis
sank willingly and gently into the sleep of death,
and passed away into the Land of Shades.

But the King, though restored to health once
more, was so overwhelmed with grief at the loss
of his beloved wife that no one could comfort him ;
and the royal palace was still full of gloom, and
the lords and ladies of the court could not speak
for the sadness of their hearts.

It chanced that Hercules, the famous strong
man of the ancient Greeks — of whose wonderful
deeds of strength many strange tales are told — was
also a friend of Admetus, and happened to come
to the palace at that time; and, not knowing of
the death of Alcestis, he called for the King and
asked for a feast and merry pastimes.

Admetus, like all truly noble men, was full of
kindness; and seeing that Hercules was tired and
hungry, he unselfishly put aside his own grief for
the time being and sat down to feast with his
friend, calling for music and mirth, and perform-
ing all the offices of true hospitality as was his
usual custom ; and it was not until the hero-guest
had retired to rest that he learned from the
servants that the fair Queen was dead and that
he had come to a house of mourning.

208 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Hercules was then so overcome with distress
that he should have unwittingly been the cause
of feasting and merriment at such a sorrowful
time, that he could not rest at all, but tried instead
to think out some plan of bringing comfort to
Admetus ; and, when all was quiet, he crept softly
out of the palace in the dead of night, and was
soon lost in the darkness.

Without the least fear — for he was the strongest
and bravest man that had ever been known — he
journeyed swiftly to the Land of Shades, where
he boldly commanded Pluto, the dark King of the
Under- world, to restore Alcestis to her sorrowing
husband. He had a great struggle with the King
of the Shades; but he won by his boldness and
mighty strength, and at last brought forth Alcestis
to the upper world once more, alive and well.

Then he took her back to the palace of Admetus,
and gave her into the arms of the amazed King,
saying: "Because thou receivedst me with kind-
ness and joy and showed hospitality to me when
thine own heart was full of sadness, I have brought
back to thee thy beloved Alcestis, who will quickly
fill thee with real joy once more."

Thus was Alcestis restored to her loving hus-
band; an,d the good King and his fair Queen lived
happily together for many more years.

THE STORY OF CUPID AND PSYCHE 209

The Story of Cupid and Psyche

Who has not heard of Cupid, the mischievous
God of Love, the son and constant companion of
Venus, the Goddess of Beauty? You must often
have seen him pictured with his fair mother —
a merry little boy with chubby face, golden
wings, with no other covering upon his rosy body
save a golden quiver full of arrows, and carrying
a bow, with which he was ever ready to shoot
forth his arrows of love into the hearts of gods
and mortals alike.

It is not known whether the father of Cupid
was Jupiter, Mars, or Mercury; but he quickly
proved himself to be more powerful than these
great gods, since even they could not resist
the power of love when " Cupid's darts " entered
their hearts.

Young Cupid was full of mischief, and de-
lighted to upset the careful plans of gods and
kings by means of his well-aimed arrows; and it
was a joy to him to cause the strangest people to
fall in love with one another.

Because the victims of his fiery darts could
never see the faults in each other's characters,
the ancients declared that Cupid was either blind,
or else went about his business with his eyes ban-
daged; and often their artists represented him
as blindfolded. Others, however, represented
him as a fully - armed conqueror, since Love

(0718) 14

aio GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

carries all before him and is the subduer of
the universe.

In the very earliest representations of Cupid
he was shown as a perfect model of beautiful
youth; and a very charming story is told of his
own love for the dainty Psyche.

A certain king had three daughters, the two
elder of whom were only of moderate beauty;
but the youngest, Psyche, was as lovely as a
goddess, as airy-fairy as a sprite, as light and
graceful as a butterfly, and, withal, as pure and
fresh as a newly-opened rosebud.

So lovely was Psyche, indeed, that she was
often mistaken for Venus, and even adored by
certain mortals as that fair divinity; and this so
offended the goddess of beauty — who was ever
jealous of her charms — that she commanded her
son Cupid to visit the audacious princess who
dared to rival herself in beauty, and, by shooting
one of his unerring darts into her heart, to inspire
her with love for some monster, or other unworthy
object.

Away flew the golden-winged young Cupid,
ever ready to obey such commands from his fair
mother, and rejoicing at his own magic power
as he eagerly fitted the fatal arrow to his bow,
but when he arrived at his destination and beheld
Psyche, the exquisite mortal maid whom he had
come to wound, her wonderful beauty so entranced
him that he fell in love with her himself on the

THE STORY OF CUPID AND PSYCHE 211

spot. He therefore returned the fatal arrow to its
sheath, and withdrew to make plans for winning
this lovely maid for himself.

Meanwhile the King desired to see his beauti-
ful daughter wedded; but on learning from an
oracle that she was destined to become the bride
of a destructive monster, he commanded that she
should be conveyed to a mountain top, and left
there alone upon an altar of rock to await her
fate.

But as the unhappy Psyche lay upon the
mountain top alone, Zephyrus, the west wind,
gently transported her to a secret bower of
delight; and here she was visited every night,
as soon as darkness set in, by Cupid, whose love
she quickly returned, even though he was unseen
by her and unknown.

For the rescued Psyche a short time of perfect
happiness now followed, which might have long
continued had not the fair princess herself broken
the spell. During the daytime she roamed about
in a wonderful garden of roses, decking herself
with the gay, sweet-scented blossoms, and flitting
hither and thither after the myriads of gorgeous-
hued butterflies that danced in the glowing sun-
shine— herself as light and dainty as any insect
there ; and one day as she stood weaving a wreath
of rosebuds upon the edge of this fair paradise
of flowers, her two sisters happened to pass by,
to whom she related the story of her rescue from

212 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the cold altar upon the mountain top, and of the
glorious unknown lover who visited her every
night after darkness fell and whom she loved so
tenderly.

The two elder princesses, always envious of
their younger sister's exquisite beauty, were now
jealous of the happiness which had fallen to her
lot; and, therefore, anxious to bring her dream of
bliss to an end, they endeavoured to sow distrust
in her mind by declaring that the lover whose
caresses she delighted in, so far from being the
handsome youth she so fondly imagined, was
probably the horrible monster for whom she had
been destined and from whom she would flee in
disgust could she but behold him.

As doubt of her beloved one thus entered the
heart of Psyche, the first cloud appeared upon the
horizon of her happiness; and that evening she
determined to behold for herself the real features
of her mysterious visitor. In the dead of night,
therefore, when Cupid had fallen asleep, she arose
from her bed of roses, and lighting a lamp, bent
over the couch of her lover, in fear and trembling
lest some hideous shape should appear before her
eyes; and her surprise and relief were so great as
she beheld a youth of surpassing beauty that, in
the excitement caused by her admiration and de-
light, she let fall a drop of hot oil from the lamp
upon the rosy shoulder of Cupid, so that he
instantly awakened.

THE STORY OF CUPID AND PSYCHE 213

Deeply wounded that his beloved one should
thus, even for a moment, have entertained mis-
trust of him, Cupid fled away from her presence
at once; and Psyche, full of grief and despair at
this dire result of her foolish doubts, wandered
forth in every direction seeking her lost lover.
After having vainly endeavoured to throw herself
into a river — being prevented by miraculous means
from thus destroying herself — she struggled on
from temple to temple, hoping to hear news of
the radiant being she adored, and for whose loss
she was inconsolable.

At length she came to the temple of Venus;
and the jealous queen of beauty, recognizing her
rival in the downcast wanderer, took her in, de-
termined to punish her for presuming to match
a goddess in fair looks.

A time of severe trial had now to be endured
by the unhappy Psyche; for Venus kept her in
close attendance upon her whims, treated her
harshly as a slave and laid upon her the hardest
and most trying of tasks, which the drooping
maiden could never have lived through had she
not here discovered her lost lover, Cupid. For
the gentle god of love had already forgotten his
brief anger for her doubt of him; and since he
still tenderly loved her, he revealed himself and
secretly assisted her in all her labours, and com-
forted her in every trouble.

Even when, in the performance of her last

214 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

dangerous task, at the command of Venus, she
descended into the Land of Shades and brought
away a box of cosmetics used by Queen Proser-
pina, which Venus desired to possess in order
to enhance her own beauty, her eager lover saved
her from terrible dangers; and when Psyche,
having succeeded in the adventure and been
bidden by her task-mistress to open the casket,
fell lifeless to the ground, overcome by the deadly
fumes that issued forth from it, she was quickly
restored to life again by Cupid, at the touch of
whose magic arrow her numbed senses awakened
to new life.

The heart of Venus was quite melted by
this last proof of a lover's devotion; and the
gentle submission of Psyche to the harsh treat-
ment meted out to her, having conquered her
jealousy entirely, the beautiful goddess no longer
offered opposition to her adored son's wooing,
but became reconciled to the lovely pair.

At the command of Jupiter, Psyche was made
immortal; and she was united to her beloved
Cupid with great rejoicings, all the gods attending
her marriage. The envious sisters, however, did
not rejoice; and they were so jealous of the final
happiness of fair Psyche that, in their rage and
disappointment, they flung themselves over a
precipice.

This beautiful story is probably intended to
illustrate the triumph of love over hatred and

PYRAMUS AND THISBE 215

jealousy, and to prove that true happiness can
only be secured at the cost of much pain and
suffering. The name Psyche denotes the soul;
and in works of art Psyche is always represented
as a dainty maiden of ethereal loveliness and
grace, with the wings of a butterfly.

Pyramus and Thisbe

In ancient Babylon there dwelt a beautiful
maiden named Thisbe, who loved, and was be-
loved by, Pyramus, a gentle youth who lived in
the house adjoining her own home; but though
these fair lovers were equal in beauty, age, social
position, and fortune, their course of true love was
doomed from the first to run awry, because of an
unhappy blood feud which had existed between
the two families for many ages past.

Yet, as the Fates would have it, Pyramus and
Thisbe had begun to love each other from their
cradles, when, on being lifted up in their nurses'
arms one day, they had first exchanged smiles
through the opened casements of opposite win-
dows; and since their homes adjoined, their love
arose from their close proximity, grew greater by
their mutual play, and was perfected by their
singular beauty of body and mind.

This early-implanted love increased with their

216 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

years, so that when they had at length grown out
of childhood and were of a marriageable age —
Pyramus a handsome, lusty youth, and Thisbe
a fair, tender maiden — they entreated their parents
to give consent to their speedy union; but, to
their great sorrow, this request was sternly refused.
The parents would not renounce their ancient
blood feud, and were filled with anger that their
children should even dare to think of being
united; and in order that the audacious lovers
should not have the opportunity of attempting to
wed against their parents' will, they were for-
bidden to speak together or even to behold one
another.

And now what could the love-sick Pyramus do?
And how was the weeping Thisbe to bear separa-
tion from her beloved one? Their case was sad
and desperate — yet did Love find out a way.
There was a partition wall between the two
houses, in which wall there happened to be a
small chink that had never been noticed by any
of the servants throughout the years that had
gone by, so that it was almost hidden with dust
and cobwebs; and one day as the lovers passed
drearily up and down on either side of the wall,
they discovered this narrow chink, and, carefully
removing the cobwebs, found, to their joy, that
they could hold communication with one another
by means of it.

Every day thereafter Pyramus and Thisbe met

PYRAMUS AND THISBE 217

at the chink in the wall and held sweet converse to-
gether, without arousing any suspicions in the minds
of their harsh parents ; and with this small com-
fort they had fain to be content for a time, since
it helped them to bear their cruel separation some-
what better. Their loving words and sorrowful
sighs went through the friendly chink; but their
sweet kisses could not pass through, which, when
they parted each day, they imprinted passionately
on each side of the wall.

But the fatal rapturous love thus preserved and
cherished in their hearts by means of this tiny
breach in the wall could not long be content to be
confined within such narrow limits; and at last
the lovers resolved to act more boldly, and, in
defiance of their parents' wishes and commands,
to enjoy that liberty abroad which was denied
them at home. They agreed to make their escape
next evening at twilight into a neighbouring lonely
wood, and to meet beneath the shade of a certain
large mulberry tree which grew beside a fountain,
a spot well known to both the plotters.

Next evening, therefore, as twilight was deep-
ening, Thisbe managed to elude the watchful vigi-
lance of her attendants and escaped from the
house with a beating heart; and once safely with-
out the gates of her prison-home, she fled with
the swiftness of a deer to the woods; for Love
lent her wings, since Cupid's fatal arrow lay deeply
embedded in her heart

2i8 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

In breathless haste the maiden came first to the
appointed meeting-place beneath the mulberry
tree ; and here she quickly found herself in danger,
for a lioness suddenly bounded forth, fresh from
the rending of an ox, to drink at the fountain.
Affrighted, the beautiful Thisbe fled away from this
unexpected peril; and in her haste she dropped
the filmy gauze veil in which she had enveloped
herself to avoid possible recognition.

When the lioness returned from quenching her
thirst at the fountain, she found this veil upon the
ground, and savagely rent it in pieces with her
blood-stained jaws; then, letting it fall again, she
bounded away to her own distant lair.

A few moments later Pyramus arrived breath-
less upon the scene, impatiently looking around
with a lover's eagerness for the object of his affec-
tion; and presently beholding the imprints of a
wild beast's feet in the dew-soaked ground, he was
filled with alarm, which increased to intense horror
as, suddenly spying Thisbe's torn and blood-
besprinkled veil, he seized it in a trembling grasp
and gazed upon it with terrified eyes.

His already-excited imagination at once causing
him to jump hastily to the conclusion that his
beloved Thisbe had been carried off and devoured
by some savage wild beast, Pyramus grew dis-
tracted as he hastened to the mulberry tree, only
to find that no fair Thisbe waited beneath its
friendly shade; and full of despair, and caring no

PYRAMUS AND THISBE 219

longer to live since the darling of his heart was
dead, as he now fully believed, he flung himself
upon his drawn sword, and fell dead upon the
ground.

Meanwhile the gentle Thisbe had recovered
somewhat from her fright, and, timidly creeping
back to the appointed place on tiptoe, she ap-
proached the mulberry tree once more ; but seeing
a man writhing upon the ground in a death agony,
she ran back again in fresh alarm. Then turning
and, to her horror, recognizing in the dying man
the features of her beloved Pyramus, she rushed
back in frantic haste, and clasped the gasping
youth in a passionate embrace, mingling her tears
with his blood, imploring him to live yet for her
sake and to answer when his Thisbe called to him,
being almost distracted with grief as she lamented
the misfortune that robbed her of her lover. But
the unhappy Pyramus was already beyond en-
treaty; and with a last tender look of love, he
expired in the arms of Thisbe, who, beside herself
with despair, tore her hair and beat her breast in
a paroxysm of grief, unable to account for the
calamity that had befallen her.

Presently, however, she beheld her own blood-
stained veil in the cold hand of Pyramus; and then
understanding at last the reason for his death,
and no longer desiring to live on without him,
she calmly withdrew the sword from the body of
her lover and plunged it deeply into her own

220 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

breast. As she dropped back, dying, she fell,
accidentally, upon the bosom of the dead youth;
and by a mighty effort, she gave him one last soft
lover's kiss, and then expired beside him.

Thus perished the fair unfortunate lovers, Pyra-
mus and Thisbe; and it is said that the mulberry
tree, being warmed with the blood of the slain
youth and maiden, became sensible of their mis-
fortunes and mourned for their untimely deaths.
Its berries, which, before, were white, became first
red with grief for the death of the gentle Pyramus ;
and then, when lovely Thisbe also died, the berries
became black and dark, as if they had put on
mourning for loss of the fair maiden of Babylon.

Midas and the Magic Gold

When Midas, King of Phrygia, was but a babe
in the cradle, a soothsayer came to the palace of
his father, King Gordius, and prophesied that the
infant prince would possess untold wealth when
he had reached to manhood, because, one day, a
swarm of ants had been seen dropping grains of
corn into the open mouth of the child. This
latter incident was regarded as a sure sign that
the royal child was born to be rich; and therefore
no one was surprised when, some years later, on
succeeding to the throne of Phrygia, Midas quickly

MIDAS AND THE MAGIC GOLD 221

became the richest king in the whole world. So
rich was he that he had great store-rooms full of
gold and jewels ; and he was never tired of count-
ing out his wealth and of glorying in the mighty
power that it would give him.

So eager was King Midas to amass a great
hoard of gold that he might have become a
wretched miser had there not been another trea-
sure in the world that he valued even more
than riches — and this saving grace was the tender
love he bore to his little daughter. So de-
votedly did King Midas love his daughter that
he longed above all other things to make her
happy; and since he believed that if he made
her the richest princess in the world, she could
not fail to be happy, he never relaxed his efforts
to gather together an enormous hoard of gold
for her later use, thus foolishly blinding himself
to the fact that it was the love he bestowed
upon his child that brought her happiness, not
the riches he lavished upon her, and that many
of the happiest and most contented people in
the world were quite poor.

However, King Midas spent nearly all his
time in hoarding up wealth for his pretty little
daughter; and it was one of his greatest de-
lights to gaze upon his bulging bags and large
caskets of gold and dazzling jewels, and to think
of the fine fortune he was gathering together.
Then one day there came an unexpected inter-

222 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

ruption to the usual doings of the miser king;
and by means of a strange adventure Midas was
taught a very wise lesson.

Bacchus, the god of wine and the inventor
of the occupations of vine-growing, tilling the
earth, and many other useful arts, was specially
favourably disposed to the people of Phrygia;
and one time when he was travelling through
that country, his tutor and companion, Silenus,
a merry old satyr, became lost, and eventually
wandered to the court of King Midas, from whom
he craved assistance and hospitality.

Midas at once left off counting out his gold
and jewels and received old Silenus very kindly,
entertaining him with a splendid feast; and then,
after his guest had sufficiently rested himself,
he set forth with the gay satyr and helped him
to find his august master. After considerable
trouble, the pair at length came across the god
Bacchus in the midst of a splendid vineyard
which he had helped the Phrygians to plant;
and the merry god of wine was so pleased and
grateful for the kindness shown to his beloved
old tutor by Midas that he desired the latter
to name a reward for himself, promising to
grant any wish he might give utterance to.

Midas, though he had willingly offered hospi
tality to the wandering stranger without thinking of
reward, now did not hesitate to accept one when
offered to him; and, as usual, unable to resist

MIDAS AND THE MAGIC GOLD 223

the dictates of his ruling passion, he desired
the god of wine to grant that everything he
touched might be changed to gold.

" Thou hast not chosen wisely, oh Midas,"
said Bacchus, when he heard this audacious re-
quest. " Boundless wealth does not of necessity
bring happiness, and the power of turning every-
thing thou touchest into gold may prove incon-
venient. Yet I will not go back upon my word.
Therefore, return to thy palace, and when the
morrow dawns, thou wilt find that thy request has
been granted, and the desire of thy life fulfilled.
But do not blame me if thou art not satisfied."

Then King Midas returned to his palace, full
of delight at the thought of the wonderful gift
that had been promised to him; and so excited
was he about the matter that he scarcely enjoyed
a wink of sleep all night. When the rosy dawn
at length appeared, he sprang up eagerly from
his luxurious couch; and, to his amazement and
joy, he found that everything he touched was
instantly changed to gold. The silken threads of
his royal garments became transformed to woven
webs of dazzling gold; and in spite of the
wearisome heaviness of his new and valuable
attire, Midas danced for joy. And as he danced,
the floor of his bedchamber became a block of
solid gold; and when he drew back the curtains
from the doorway, stiff draperies of gold clashed
behind him.

224 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Overjoyed at the prospect of unlimited wealth
before him, the excited King ran out into the
palace garden, leaving golden footprints wherever
he trod; and unmindful of the exquisite colouring
and sweet perfume of the roses and other lovely
flowers growing there, he enthusiastically trans-
formed them all, together with the leafy trees
at various points, into solid carved models of
the precious yellow metal, the dazzling glare of
which in the brilliant sunshine made his head
ache and nearly blinded him. Instead of the
cool greenery which before had been such a
pleasant relief from the hot rays of the sun,
the stiff trees of gold reflected a stifling glow
on all around.

Midas, however, was cheerfully willing to en-
dure this slight inconvenience for the sake of
the marvellous wealth he now possessed in his
palace garden ; but his rejoicing received a sudden
check when his little daughter presently appeared
before him weeping bitterly because there were
no pretty-coloured, sweet-smelling roses for her
to pluck.

Midas now felt for the first time that his won-
derful golden gift might not turn out to be the
unmixed blessing he had at first been so ready
to imagine; but comforting his weeping child
as best he could, the pair of them went indoors
to partake of their morning meal.

And now another disillusionment awaited the

KING MIDAS SPRINKLES THE GOLDEN PLANTS WITH
THE MAGIC WATKR

MIDAS AND THE MAGIC GOLD 225

King; for as he eagerly helped himself to the
dainty food temptingly displayed before him, be-
ing hungry after his early morning labours, he
was dismayed to find that as soon as the food
touched his mouth, it hardened into gold, and
since he could not eat solid lumps of yellow
gold, however precious, he realized that the gift
granted so readily at his own foolish request
was certainly a most uncomfortable and undesir-
able one after all, since it was likely to bring
him to starvation.

How he now envied his child as she enjoyed
the fruit and milk served out to her; and at that
moment he would gladly have changed places
with the humblest peasant in his land, who
could at least eat his meagre crust with relish.

Seeing how distressed her father looked, the
little princess ran up to him with loving concern
and flung her arms around his neck; and King
Midas, thankful for her sweet sympathy, returned
her caresses gladly, and folded her in a tender
embrace. Even as he did so, he felt the little
form stiffen and grow rigid in his grasp, and,
filled with horror, he gazed upon her, to behold
an inanimate golden statue in his arms.

In despairing accents Midas frantically en-
deavoured to restore his beloved child to life
once more; but finding all his efforts in vain, the
distracted King ran in haste to the vineyard where
Bacchus was again instructing the Phrygian

,0718) 15

226 GREEK AND ROMAN MCTHS

husbandmen in the new art of vine-growing,
and besought the god to take back his golden
gift, since it had proved but a snare and woeful
curse to him, so that he had even lost the dearest
treasure of his heart — his beloved child — and star-
vation also was before him.

Bacchus now saw that Midas had learnt the
lesson he had desired to teach him — that
riches alone cannot bring true happiness; and
since he had thus become a wiser man, the
merry god had pity upon him, and resolved to
remove the burden he had laid upon him at
his own request. He therefore ordered the
King to bathe in the river Pactolus, which
flowed through his palace gardens, when the
golden gift would depart from him; and also,
if he cared to sprinkle some of the same water
of the stream upon the various objects he had
converted into gold, the magic spell would thus
be removed from them, and they would appear
in their natural colours and substances once more.

Humbly thanking the kindly god for his gracious
assistance, Midas hastened to the shores of the
river Pactolus, and plunging into the sparkling
waters, was soon relieved to find that the spell
was broken and that his touch no longer had the
power of transforming objects into gold. But the
golden gift of Bacchus was not lost, although it
had departed from Midas; for it now fell harm-
lessly upon the river Pactolus, in the sandy bed of

MIDAS AND THE MAGIC GOLD 227

which glittering grains of gold were to be found
ever afterwards.

But the gold in the river no longer had power
to interest or tempt King Midas, who had now
learnt the meaning of true riches; and hastily
filling a vessel with water from the stream, he
hastened into the palace and sprinkled the still-
golden form of his child with it. To his joy,
the dull-yellow metal instantly vanished, and the
pretty pink and white colouring came back into
the face of the little princess, her wondering blue
eyes opened wide once more, her silky hair flut-
tered in the breeze, and her soft flesh became
warm and alive.

Never in his whole life had Midas felt so happy
as at that moment when his beloved daughter ran
laughing into his arms and prattled merrily to him
as of yore; and, taking her by the hand, he went
round the palace garden with her, and together
they sprinkled the magic water upon all the stiff
golden flowers and trees that dazzled their eyes.
In a short time gaily-coloured roses and sweet-
scented blossoms of all kinds nodded in the soft
breezes, and cool green leafy trees threw a grateful
shade here and there; and King Midas breathed
a deep sigh of relief and thankfulness that he
had at last learnt the wonderful lesson that the
amassing of riches does not bring the greatest
happiness, but that the marvels of beautifui
Nature and the sweetness of human love are

228 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

more precious gifts than all the jewels and
golden wealth to be found in the world.

The Myths of the Flute and the
Pandean Pipes

In the story of Orpheus the myth relating to
the origin of the lyre, or harp, was described ; and
very interesting tales are also told of the dis-
covery of the other two musical instruments of
the ancients, the flute and the Pandean pipes.

The earliest simple flute was believed to have
been first discovered by Minerva, the goddess of
wisdom. Wandering one day upon the bank of
a stream, the lovely goddess happened to pluck
up a long straight reed from the marshy earth
beside her; and as she continued her walk, she
held the reed between her lips and carelessly
whistled through its hollow tube. To her amaze-
ment and delight, she discovered that this whistling
of her breath through the reed caused a very
pleasant sound ; and exercising her natural powers
of invention, by the addition of a few notches in
the hollow tube she was soon able to make sweet
music, and even to play tunes.

This reed, therefore, was the first wind musical
instrument ever made; and Minerva was so
pleased with her accidental invention that, for

MYTHS OF FLUTE AND PANDEAN PIPES 229

a short period, it became her greatest joy and
entertainment to wander out into the woods and
make music upon her new treasure, which she
gradually improved and became a skilful per-
former upon.

Then, during one of her rambles abroad, Minerva
happened to behold her own reflection in a stream,
as she sat piping on the bank above; and, to her
dismay, she saw that the action of blowing through
the reed caused her cheeks to bulge beyond their
usual limits in a most unbecoming manner, so that
her beauty, for the time being, was spoiled. Now
filled with anger that her lovely face should ever,
even for a moment, have taken on an ugly look,
the horrified goddess flung the reed away from
her in disgust; and because the innocent instru-
ment had thus offended her, she laid a curse upon
it, declaring that whoever should pick up the
fallen reed should suffer pain and sorrow and
come to a woeful end.

Nor did the curse prove an idle one; for in
due time the prophecy came true.

It happened that, shortly after Minerva had
returned to Olympus, a satyr named Marsyas
came walking along beside the stream in which
the fair goddess had beheld her temporarily-un-
pleasing reflection; and observing the discarded
reed lying upon the ground, he picked it up, and,
by blowing through its hollow tube, discovered
that he also could make sweet sounds.

230 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Delighted with the treasure he had found,
Marsyas returned to his woodland haunts, and
now spent all his days in perfecting the pipe, or
flute as it was afterwards called; and he learned
to play delightful music upon it. So skilful did
he become, in fact, that at length he was so
daring as to challenge the glorious Apollo to a
contest, since he believed his newly-discovered
pipe to be a finer musical instrument than the
sun-god's famous lyre.

Apollo, who until now had been regarded as
the king of music, was by no means pleased to
learn that another musical instrument had been
discovered which might prove a rival to his own
precious harp; and he only agreed to enter into
a competition with the presumptuous satyr on
condition that the Muses — the nine goddesses
of poetry and the sister arts — were the judges,
and that, should he himself prove to be the
winner, he should be at liberty to do exactly
as he pleased with his defeated rival.

So proud was Marsyas of his new pipe and so
certain of his powers to produce a better musical
effect with it than the sun-god could produce by
means of the lyre, that he very foolishly agreed
to the dangerous conditions laid down by Apollo;
and the two competitors therefore repaired to
Mount Parnassus, the chief home of the Muses,
and requested the nine fair goddesses to act as
judges between them.

MYTHS OF FLUTE AND PANDEAN PIPES 231

The Muses had the greatest admiration for the
glorious sun-god, whom they had always held in
the highest favour; and they were, consequently,
very desirous of awarding him the palm of victory
in this contest. But the sweet music made by
the clear and lovely notes which issued from the
satyr's pipe — an instrument which they now heard
in wonder and surprise for the first time — filled
them with undisguised delight, so that they
realized, most unwillingly, that this new reed
instrument had even a greater charm than the
already well-known lyre; and since they were
desirous of exercising justice in the matter, it is
quite possible that, in spite of their admiration for
the sun-god, they would have declared Marsyas
the victor in the contest, had not Apollo, seeing
that they were about to decide against him,
suddenly commenced to sing to the accompani-
ment of his harp. The gloriously-rich voice of
the sun-god held the Muses entranced; and the
nine goddesses now declared that the natural
voice and the harp together still made the most
beautiful music in the world, and thus announced
that Apollo was the victor in the contest

The curse of Minerva, therefore, fell upon the
unfortunate Marsyas; for Apollo remorselessly
followed out the conditions agreed upon, and, as
a punishment for having presumed to rival the
powers of a god, he first of all flayed the satyr
alive and then transformed him into a river.

*32 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

Yet in spite of the fact that Minerva had
rejected it, and that Marsyas had come to a woe-
ful end through its defence, the humble pipe was
not allowed to fall into neglect or obscurity; for
many other musicians showed themselves in favour
of it, and later on, when it was improved upon,
and had become better known as the flute, it grew
to be a favourite musical instrument, beloved by
all lovers of sweet sounds.

After a number of years had gone by, several
tubes or pipes were put together to form a more
elaborate instrument ; and another very interesting
tale used to be told about the origin of this in-
strument, which was said to have been invented
by Pan, the chief god of shepherds and flocks.

Pan was the son of Mercury, and had the ugly
form of a satyr — that is, a being having the upper
part of his body in the shape of a man, but with
the ears, limbs, hoofs, and tail of a goat; and
he is usually pictured with a goatskin flung across
his shoulders, and carrying a shepherd's crook.
Like all other satyrs — of whom he was the king —
he was very wild, rude, and boisterous in his con-
duct ; and it was one of his chief delights to terrify
people by appearing suddenly in their midst, or
bv uttering unearthly shrieks when they least
expected such a disturbance. So frightened were
his victims by these sudden appearances and un-
expected noises that they would often completely
lose their heads, and fly away in all directions;

PAN

From the sculpture by Henry A. Pegram, A.R.A.

MYTHS OF FLUTE AND PANDEAN PIPES 233

and this kind of terror became known as "panic
fear ", and is an expression still used to describe
a state of unreasoning, sudden fright.

In spite of this disagreeable characteristic, how-
ever, Pan was greatly beloved by the shepherds
and country folk, who worshipped him as the
protector of their flocks, although they knew him
to be full of mischief and to delight in playing
tricks upon them.

Besides the mischievous delight he took in
giving unwary people bad frights, Pan also dearly
loved music; and it was whilst he was carrying
out one of his merry tricks of "panic fright" that
he accidentally discovered a wonderful new musical
instrument.

As the jolly god of the shepherds sat on a hill-
side one day, guarding some flocks, he noticed
a water nymph sporting on the bank of the river
below; and so dainty and fresh did the pretty
sprite appear that she completely charmed the
satyr king, who promptly determined to secure
her as a prize for himself. He therefore ran
down the hillside, and suddenly appeared beside
his charmer, uttering a loud and wild shout; and
so terrified at his unexpected appearance was the
pretty nymph — whose name was Syrinx — that
she fled away at once in an undoubted "panic
fear ". So frightened, indeed, was she, that she
had not even the presence of mind to jump into
the water, which was her natural element, but

234 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

ran like a coursed hare along the bank of the
stream, so that Pan, giving instant chase, soon
began to gain upon her, and, in a few moments,
would have caught her in his long, hairy arms.

Then Syrinx, fearful of falling into the clutches
of the satyr king, called wildly upon her sister
nymphs to save her; and the water sprites, not
having time to drag her into the stream, did the
next best thing they could by magically trans-
forming her into a bunch of reeds just as her
pursuer was about to seize her.

When Pan found that, instead of the pretty
Syrinx, he held but a bunch of broken reeds in
his eager grasp, he was so angry and disappointed
that he rushed madly up and down the river bank
in a mighty rage; and as he ran, strange to say,
the soft breezes began to blow lightly through the
hollow tubes of the reeds in his hand, so that they
gave forth sweet musical sounds of different tones.

Immediately the shepherd god's anger vanished ;
and forgetting all about his loss of the pretty nymph,
he began to wave the broken reeds in the whistling
wind, and found that each different length of tube
made a different sound. This gave him a happy
idea for the invention of a musical instrument;
and by carefully cutting a number of reeds into
various lengths, and joining these together with
a binding of wax, he was able to make a set of won-
derfully-tuneful pipes with which, in a very short
time, he was able to produce most beautiful music.

MYTHS OF FLUTE AND PANDEAN PIPES 235

So delighted was Pan with his new instrument
that he sat on the hillside and played all day long
upon it; and he named it the " syrinx ", in memory
of the dainty nymph who had been the means of
his inventing it, though, later on, it became better
known as the " Pandean pipes ".

The shepherds and country folk were equally
delighted with the sweet music produced by means
of the syrinx ; and they would come and sit around
Pan in a circle, enjoying and admiring his perfor-
mance, and declaring that his new instrument was
a much finer one than Apollo's lyre.

Pan himself was of this opinion; and, after
a while, he determined to challange the sun-god to
another contest in his favourite art of music. So,
after he had perfected his performance upon the
syrinx, the satyr-king went boldly to Apollo and
challenged him ; and the sun-god again agreed to
enter into competition with a musical rival, and
suggested, as before, that the Muses should act as
judges. Pan, however, would not agree to this,
since he remembered the fate of the unfortunate
Marsyas and the fact that the Muses always
favoured their beloved Apollo; and at length he
persuaded the sun-god to agree to abide by the
decision of a judge having but little knowledge of
music, who would thus be more likely to make
the award fairly, since he would naturally declare
in favour of the music that pleased him best.

Apollo, still believing his own instrument to be

236 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

the better of the two, agreed to this; and finally
Midas, King of Phrygia, was chosen to act as
judge in the contest.

Now Midas was very anxious to be a fair and
careful judge, and therefore made the competitors
play before him many times; and it must have
been a strange and wonderful scene as the contest
took place — Apollo, the sun-god, in his bright
beauty; Pan, the satyr, with his ugly and wild
looks, and the gorgeous King sitting as judge
between them.

At length the competition came to an end; and
as the two competitors eagerly awaited the deci-
sion of their judge, Midas said: " The lyre maketh
sweet music; but the pipes make sweeter music
still, and throughout the ages yet to come will hold
their own against the instruments with strings."

On hearing this, Pan danced wildly and shrieked
with joy because he was thus declared the winner
in the contest ; but Apollo was exceedingly angry
that his beloved lyre had been placed lower
than the recently-invented syrinx. Declaring that
Midas had no proper knowledge of music and no
ear for beautiful sounds, he seized the King by the
ears and cried: "Since thou hast but the judg-
ment of an ass, henceforth thou shalt wear the
ears of an ass!"

So saying, the angry god, to show his scorn for
the judge who had awarded against him, caused a
pair of ass's ears to grow upon the head of the

MYTHS OF FLUTE AND PANDEAN PIPES 237

unfortunate King; and Midas returned to his
palace full of dismay, wishing that he had never
accepted the office of judge in the contest, since all
he had gained for his trouble was a big pair of
ass's ugly long ears.

So ashamed of his altered appearance was King
Midas, and so afraid that people would laugh him
to scorn for having been declared by the great god
Apollo to have the judgment of an ass, that he
made up his mind to hide his deformity from the
sight of all ; and, consequently, he had a cap of a
peculiar shape made which completely covered his
head and so disguised the fact that he had ass's
ears, and since he wore this cap constantly, his
secret was well kept for a certain time.

There was one person, however, whom he was
obliged to take into his confidence; and this was
his barber, who, on coming to cut his hair — which
he had allowed to grow very long, but was com-
pelled to have sheared at last — could not be kept
in ignorance. King Midas made this servant
promise never to reveal to any person the fact
that his royal master had ass's ears, threatening
him with death should he ever break his word ; and
the barber agreed faithfully to keep the secret, for
which promise he received a valuable gift of gold.

For a very long time the barber never revealed
the thing he had promised to keep hidden; but
after every fresh visit to the palace to shear his
master's locks, the secret weighed more heavily

238 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

upon him, until at last he felt he could not keep
such a strange piece of information to himself any
longer, but would certainly die unless he revealed
it at once.

Therefore, after one of his visits, he crept out in
the dead of night, and making his way to a lonely
spot in the palace garden, dug a deep hole in the
ground near the bank of a stream ; and then, stoop-
ing down, he whispered into the hole: "King
Midas has ass's ears!"

Having thus relieved his mind of the heavy
burden it had carried so long, he filled in the hole
again, and returned to his home, feeling much
better now that he had repeated the secret once.

But, nevertheless, this was not the end of the
matter; for in that particular spot of the palace
garden into which the barber had whispered his
weighty secret, there were some seeds which, by
and by, grew up into a bunch of reeds. Then, as
these reeds swayed gently to and fro in the soft
breezes that played upon them, they whispered
faintly to each other: " King Midas has ass's ears!
King Midas has ass's ears!"

Thus did the secret become known to all; and
the unfortunate King of Phrygia soon found him-
self the laughing-stock of the whole world, because
he had presumed to judge against the musical
powers of the great god Apollo.

And yet the award of Midas was the correct
one after all; for as the ages have gone by and

DAMON AND PYTHIAS 239

musical instruments have gradually developed and
many new ones have been invented, it has ever
been found that the pipes or wind instruments
make the finest music. The stringed instruments
which have been developed from the first harp of
seven strings, such as the various kinds of violins
and the piano, are doubtless very fine, but the
most glorious and the noblest of all musical in-
struments is the organ, developed gradually from
the simple shepherds' Pandean pipes.

Therefore, in spite of the fact that Apollo chose
to deck him with ass's ears in scorn for his musi-
cal judgment, the award of King Midas in the
famous contest was the correct one after all.

Damon and Pythias

Damon and Pythias were two noble young men
of Syracuse, who loved one another so devotedly
that they have since been held up to admiration as
one of the most perfect examples of true friendship.
They trusted one another so implicitly that no-
body could ever have persuaded one that the other
was faithless, even had such a state of things been
the case; and the following story shows how
severely their constancy was tried, and proves be-
yond all doubt what a beautiful thing the love of
these two real friends was.

240 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

It happened that Pythias had, quite unjustly,
been accused of treason against Dionysius, King
of Sicily, for which supposed offence he presently
found himself in a position of great danger. This
Dionysius was a famous tyrant, who, from having
been born in humble circumstances, had, by means
of his wonderful talents and keen ambition, gained
a throne and mighty power for himself; and since,
in his early days, he had had to submit to the
haughty commands of those above him in station,
as soon as he himself attained to a high position,
it was his great delight to flaunt his mighty power
by behaving in a very tyrannical manner to his
unhappy subjects and to all strangers and enemies
who were so unfortunate as to fall into his clutches.

Therefore, when Pythias of Syracuse was falsely
accused of treason against him, Dionysius con-
demned him to death ; but when the dismayed pris-
oner entreated first to be permitted to return to
his own city in order to settle his domestic affairs
before his heavy and unjust sentence was carried
out, so many people pleaded his cause and added
their entreaties to his that at last the hard-hearted
tyrant relented so far as to agree that his request
should be granted, on condition, however, that he
left behind him a hostage, who should certainly be
put to death in his stead should he fail to return
within a certain stated period.

At once Pythias thought of his friend Damon,
and unhesitatingly sent for him in this hour of

DAMON AND PYTHIAS 241

dire necessity, never thinking for a moment that
his trusty companion would fail him. Nor did he;
for Damon hastened with all speed to the court of
King Dionysius — to the amazement of the latter
— and gladly offered to become hostage for his
friend, in spite of the dangerous condition attached
to his service; and therefore Pythias was per-
mitted to return home to settle his earthly affairs
before departing to the Land of the Shades, whilst
Damon remained behind as captive to the tyrant
in his stead for a certain time.

When Dionysius asked him if he did not feel
afraid lest Pythias might take advantage of the
opportunity thus afforded him and not return at
the end of the allotted time, when he, Damon,
would certainly be executed in his stead, the will-
ing prisoner replied instantly with a cheerful smile:
" There is no need for me to feel afraid, oh Diony-
sius, since I have perfect faith in the word of my
beloved friend and know that he will certainly
return at the appointed time, unless, to be sure,
death or captivity overtakes him first. Yet it is
in my heart to wish that the noble Pythias might
indeed be held a captive somewhere that I might
be so blest as to die in his stead!"

Such devotion and perfect faith as this was
indeed, marvellous in the eyes of the friendless
tyrant; yet, though he could not help admiring
the true nobility of his captive, he nevertheless
determined that he should certainly suffer death

(C718) 16

242 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

should Pythias not return at the appointed time.

And as the Fates would have it, by a strange
course of events, many quite unexpected impedi-
ments detained Pythias a much-longer time than
he had imagined would be the case; and though
he never for one single moment intended to evade
the sentence of death to which he had been so
unjustly committed, and, consequently, to sacrifice
his beloved friend, he was at one time in despair,
as first one accident and then another kept him
from proceeding on his return journey, j When
finally, after superhuman efforts, he at last sue
ceeded in clearing himself of all the impediments,
he rushed with all speed along the remaining few
miles of his journey; but his heart was almost
bursting with grief and fear lest he might arrive
at the palace of the tyrant too late.

Meanwhile, when the last day of the allotted
time arrived, Dionysius commanded that the place
of execution should be got ready at once, since he
was still ruthlessly determined that if one victim
escaped him, the other should not; and entering
the chamber in which Damon was confined, he
began to utter words of sarcastic pity for the latter's
"foolish credulity" as he termed the faith which
the young man of Syracuse had in his friend.

In reply, however, Damon merely smiled, since,
in spite of the fact that the eleventh hour had
already arrived, he still believed that his life-long
companion would not fail him; and when, a short

DAMON AND PYTHIAS 243

time later, he was actually led out to execution,
his serenity remained the same.

The greatest excitement reigned amongst the
crowd assembled to witness the execution, all the
people having heard of the compact between
the two friends; and, as the captive was at length
brought out, expressions of pity and sympathy
were heard on all sides mingled with wonder at
his composure in such a moment of danger.

But presently the excitement grew more in-
tense still as a swift runner was now seen ap-
proaching the palace courtyard at an astonishing
speed ; and wild shrieks of relief and joy went up
as Pythias, breathless and exhausted, rushed pell-
mell through the crowd, mounted the scaffold, and
flung himself into the arms of his beloved friend,
sobbing with relief that he had, by the favour of
the gods, arrived in time to save his life.

This final exhibition of devoted love and as-
tonishing faithfulness was more than even the
stony heart of Dionysius the tyrant could resist;
and as the surrounding spectators melted into
tears as the friends embraced, the King approached
the pair and, declaring Pythias was now pardoned
and his death sentence cancelled, humbly desired
to be admitted as a third into their beautiful bond
of friendship.

Thus did the two friends of Syracuse, by the
faithful love they bore to each other, conquer the
hard heart of a tyrant king; and in the annals of

244 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

true friendship there are no fairer names than
those of Damon and Pythias — for no man can do
more than be willing to lay down his life for the
sake of his friend.1

The Sword of Damocles

Dionysius, King of Sicily, a ruler famous for
the harsh treatment he meted out to his subjects
and others unfortunate enough to fall into his
power, went in daily fear of his life; for since
he held his mighty power by inspiring terror,
he was well hated, and many would have slain
him gladly had an opportunity presented itself.

Dionysius, however, was well aware of this
fact, and securely guarded himself accordingly;
but since, besides being of a tyrannical nature he
greatly enjoyed intellectual society, he managed
to surround himself with a very brilliant court of
men famed for their skill in science, letters, and
the arts in general — though many of the courtiers
held their offices in fear and trembling.

Like all tyrants also, Dionysius had a great
number of flatterers, who sought to gain favour
with him by means of their constant adulation

1 It is now believed that the name Pythias is a misnomer, and that the
faithful friend of Damon was one named Phintias ; but as the story has
become so well known under the title of "Damon and Pythias", I have
retained the latter name, though erroneous, for this short account

THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES 245

of his undoubted talents ; and the most celebrated
of these foolish folk was Damocles, a courtier
who was for ever lauding the happiness and
divine gifts of kings in general and of Dionysius
in particular.

" How glorious it must be to live the life of
a king, and to be so marvellous and mighty a
wise monarch as our admirable Dionysius!" he
would frequently exclaim within hearing of his
master. " Surely there can be no greater happiness
in the world than to sit upon the throne of Sicily."

Had Dionysius been a weak and vain king,
he might have been pleased with such fulsome
flattery; but, fortunately for his own ambitions,
he was not to be deceived by abject fawning of
this kind. Being also possessed of a sense of
humour — though of a somewhat grim kind — and
having become thoroughly sickened with the
continual flatteries of Damocles, he resolved at
last to amuse himself at his expense, and at the
same time to teach his foolish courtier a wise
lesson he would never be likely to forget.

He therefore said to the obsequious Damocles
one day: "Since thou art so constantly singing
the delights of sitting upon a throne, I will give
thee a taste of that happiness thou laudest so
greatly. To-morrow I give a banquet to a fine
company of princes and lords who are my vassals ;
and thou shalt sit upon the throne in my stead
throughout the feast and experience for thyself the

246 GREEK AND ROMAM MYTHS

delights of being a king. Methinks at the end of
the entertainment thou wilt be well content to resign
thy seat and become a plain subject once more."

But Damocles declared more fulsomely than
ever that this would not be the case, and that,
on the contrary, he would be grief-stricken on
leaving the throne at the end of the feast; and
he awaited the morrow in the greatest of excite-
ment, vainly boasting to his companions of the
wonderful honour the King was about to bestow
upon him by thus permitting him to occupy his
throne for a few hours.

When the time of the banquet arrived next
day, and the highborn guests had all assembled,
Damocles, clothed in royal robes, was bidden by
the King to ascend the throne; and a golden
crown was then placed upon his head, whilst all
the guests were commanded to render him the
same honour and deference as they would have
done to Dionysius himself.

Although the heaviness of the crown soon
made his head ache, and it was somewhat irri-
tating to have to await the tasting of every dish
offered to him by the royal tasters, for fear it
might be poisoned, Damocles at first greatly
enjoyed his unusual position, and found the
deference and flattering words of his servile
companions extremely pleasant; and then, quite
suddenly, he received a most terrible shock, and
would instantly have vacated his seat of honour

THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES 247

with gladness had not Dionysius sternly bade
him to remain where he was.

As, in his vanity, he tossed his head high, and
tilted his nose in the pride of the moment, the
temporary king presently beheld, to his horror,
a keen-edged naked sword suspended from the
roof by a single hair exactly over his own head;
and realizing that if the slender hair broke — as it
seemed very likely to do — he would be instantly
killed, and filled with terror at the thought, he
entreated the tyrant to permit him to take a lower
seat at the board.

" Not so," said Dionysius, with a cruel smile,
and greatly enjoying the discomfiture of the
flatterer. "It is true that the naked sword
suspended above thee may fall at any moment;
but, on the other hand, it may not. Nevertheless,
I intend thee to sit throughout this banquet in
that same utmost danger, with death hanging
over thy head thus, that thou mayest learn how
foolish it is to sing of the happiness of kings and
others placed in high positions who, in truth, go
in constant fear of their lives, and never know,
in spite of their seeming glory, when evil will
befall them. Brave of heart and greatly to be
admired of men are those who can smile and
appear happy and at ease under such circum-
stances. Therefore, I prithee, chat carelessly
and smile, good Damocles, and let me see if thou
hast a brave heart."

a48 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHS

But the now-wretched Damocles was a coward
at heart ; and so paralysed with fear was he that
he could not eat another morsel of food, and did
nothing but gaze upwards at the naked sword
hanging above him by its slender thread, every
moment expecting it to fall upon him.

In vain he called upon the tyrant to release
him from his, terrible position; for Dionysius
sternly refused his request each time, and com-
manded the guards to prevent his victim from
moving, that he might suffer to the full the pangs
of abject terror, as a punishment for his foolish talk.

At length, however, after several hours had
gone by, the banquet came to an end; and then,
since the naked sword had never fallen after all,
Damocles was commanded to remove his tem-
porary crown and robes of office, and to come
down from the throne once more.

Damocles needed no second bidding, but gladly
returned to the humbler paths of security, having
learnt well the wise lesson that boundless wealth
does not necessarily bring happiness and satisfac-
tion, since, though a high position has its honour
and glory, it also has its dangers, and that he
who would gain mighty power and" greatness
must be strong and of a good courage, caring
naught for the vain words of foolish flatterers.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.

APR 19 19*

AUG 27 1993

no

Access

11830 Unlvenstty
Box 951575

Form L9 03 ArtO&tOA, CA

4WKAPR05K

• REC'DC.LNARU'<
WON RENEWABLE

JUL 27 ps
DUE 2 WKS FROM DfTE RECEIVED

315

RY

, C

T n^; ANGELES

3 1158 00464 1287