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MANUAL OF MYTHOLOGY.

Frontispiece.

M ^L N TJ A.
OF

MYTHOLOGY
GREEK AND ROMAN,
NORSE, AND OLD GERMAN, HINDOO AND
EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY.

BY

ALEXANDER

MURRAY,

S.

DEPARTMENT OF GKKEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES, BRITISH MfSKl

iPDition, Kr=tonttrn, anfc Consitirrabljj

WITH FORTY-FIVE PLATES.

LONDON

ASHER AND
13,

BKDFOKI) STREET,
1874.

CO.,

COVENT GARDEN,

M.

Watson

&

Hatell, Printers.

London and Aylcsbury.

PREFACE.

THE

rapid sale of the

MYTHOLOGY

"

was so

signal

every effort has been

standard

The

text-book.

an assurance of

made

to render

added,

in

smaller

memorable

works of

art

represented.

Among

the

those of the labours

greatly

enlarged.

ffcrttc* favour,

it

now

is

called

as

efficient

type,
in

an

end of each has

the

at

account

of

which each deity

legends

of

the

the
is

Greek

most

or

made more

new

illustrations.

was

heroes,

of Herakles have been re-written and

The

chapters

on

the

Eastern

Northern Mythology arc entirely new, and have been

ther

deities
descriptions of the Greek

have been largely re-written, and

been

THE MANUAL OF

"

second edition, which

that in preparing the

for,

of-

edition

first

and
fur

the addition of
readily comprehensible by

PREFACE.

VI

With these

now

to

for

it

is

owes

Welcker.
them,

hoped

to be

as

Preller,

and

Welcker.

to

the

splendid

less

On

the

but this time

contrary,

as

been an assistance which

it

masters
it

is

models to copy with exactness.

MANUAL

that the

trustworthy

This much

Mythology.

be no longer described

Petiscus,
it

claim

its

justify

class-book

alterations,

it

and

may

will

complete

also

claim

founded on the works of

Not

that

in

researches

of

owes more

its

new form

Preller

than

whose works

and

ever to

have rather

a pride to
acknowledge, than

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION

GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

The

Creation of the World

.22

26

Deities of the Highest Order

Inferior Deities
I

....
....

.129

)emigods or Heroes

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY

200

309

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS

The Vedic Gods
The Brahmamc Gods

328
.

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT

INDEX

-337

.341

-353

LIST

AMAZON

xxxiii.,

ANDRO.MKDA

n RODITE

OF PLATES.

DEMETER (CERES)

xxxii., 216.

(VENUS)

viii., ix.,

DIONYSOS

xi.,

75,

viii.,

xxviii.,

ERATO

120.

EUTERPE

xi., xii.,

FENRIS

88, 94.

xxxii., 216.

SARASWATI

268.
167.

xxvii.,

xxix.,

xxviii.,

See DEMETER.

CHI.OKIS (FLORA)

xxi.,

See TYCHE.

xxxvii., 314.

FREYR

xxxix., 317.

(i

151.

320.

xl.,

See CHLORIS.

FREIJA:

FRIC.G

xlii.,337.

CF.RES.

xxiv., 159.

FORTUNA.

See DIONYSOS.

with

FLORA.

See Eos.

BELLEROPHON

5.

xxix., 189.

EROS (CUPID)

xxxi., 178.

BRAHMA,

xxxiii.,

168, 189.

AIHKNE (MINERVA):

BACCHUS.

1 1

xiv.,

xv., 160.

ERINYS

ARTKMIS (DIANA): xiv., 109.

ASKLEPIOS
(AESCULAPIUS)

AURORA.

Eos (AURORA)
xvi.,

xv.,

(BACCHUS)

DIOSKURI

68.

ARIADNE:

109.

88.

ARES (MARS):

56.

vi.,

DIANA OF EPHESUS

\\viii., 75, 83, 168.

APOLLO

See EROS.

CUPID.

268.

xxxvi., 315.

ANY MI .DKs

HADES.

xxviii.,

SeePLum.

68.

LIST OF PLATES.

HEBE xxvi., 162.

HECATE vii., 70.

MERCURY.

HELIOS (SoL)

viii

iv., v.,

46, 50

HERAKLES (HERCULES):

xxx.

200.

x., xvii.

121, 132.

OXf/xTTO?.

PAN

HYGIEA

PEGASOS

HYMEN

Isis

xxxi., 178.

xxvi., 162.

JANUS

xvii.,

KALLIOPE

xxiii.,

KAMADEVA
KLIO

xxii.,

KRONOS
KURETES
LAOKOON

LATONA.

i.,

PSYCHE

158.

xxxi.,

xxxii.,

178,

56.

vi.,

xliii.,

xxiv., 159.

RHEA

339.

SATYR
SIREN

70.

xxxiv., 283.

LETO (LATONA) xviii.,

MARS. See ARES.
:

xxviii.,

i.,

v.,

153.

29, 33.

ii.,

xlv.,

157.

350.

xx., 149.

SIVA:

xliii.,

SOL.

See HELIOS.

339.

TERPSICHORE
THALIA xxii.,

268.

xxix.,

xix., 136.

SERAPIS

29.-

MELEAGER xxxiii.,
MELPOMENE: xxii.,

189.

See LETO.

151.

xxi.,

50.

157.

vii.,

POSEIDON (NEPTUNE)
PROSERPINA vi., 56.

132.

See ZEUS.

JUPITER:

347.

136,

xix.,

PLUTO

See HERA.

JUNO.

Frontispiece,

xliv.,

POLYHYMNIA:

350.

xlv.,

216.

329.

xli.,

OSIRIS

PERSEUS:

xxvi., 162.

200.

HESTIA (VESTA) vi., 56.

HOR.E xxv., xxxi., 160, 178

IRIS

See POSEIDON.

NIKE (VICTORIA) xxx.,

NILE GOD xliv., 347.
NIOBE xiii., 100.
ODIN: xxxv., 313.
:

HERMES (MERCURY)

INDRA

xxiii..

158.

NEPTUNE.

75, 121.

HERA QUNO)

See ATHENE.

MUSES, MOTHER OF

88.

xi.,

HEPH^ESTOS (VULCAN)
x.,

See HERMES.

MINERVA.

THEMIS:

THESEUS

xviii.,
:

xxv., 160.

157.
153.

xxxiv., 283.

168,

OF PLATES.

THOR

NITY)

xli.,

TRITONS

(HINDOO

TRI

329.

xx., 149.

TYCHE (FORTUNA) xxi., 151.

URANIA xxiv., 159.
VENU& See APHRODITE.
:

See HESTIA.

VESTA.

xxxviii., 315.

TKIMURRTI

\i

VICTORIA.

VISHNU
VULCAN.

See NIKK.
xlii.,

See

337.
HEPH.K>I">.

ZEUS (JUPITER)
35-

ii.,

iii.,

33,

INTRODUCTION.
is

J-

is

a charm in the

name

of ancient Greece

every page of her history

glory in

cination in the remains of her literature,

there

is

there

a fas

and a sense of un

is a spell in
approachable beauty in her works of art; there
We
her climate still, and a strange attraction in her ruins.
our poets
arc familiar with the praises of her beautiful. islands
;

sing of her lovely genial sky.

There

is

not in

all

the land a

that
mountain, plain, or river, nor a fountain, grove, or wood,
of
names
The
tale.
is not hallowed by some legend or poetic
her
her artists, Pheidias, Praxiteles, Apelles, and Zeuxis ; of

Homer, Pindar, yEschylus, Sophocles, Euripides of her

the names of her states
philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Epicurus
;

poets,

men and

and Demosthenes

orators, Pericles

Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon

of her historians,

of her mathematicians,

Archimedes and Euclid, are familiar to us as household words.

We look back over a period of more than two thousand years
with feelings of wonder at her achievements on the battle-field

and

We

in the arts of peace.

always confess to failure

lation,

we

How

are

far

still

ready

we may

emulate her in

many

ways, but

and when we have no desire of

in

most cases

emu

to admire.

find just cause for admiration or the coni

INTRODUCTION.
remains to be seen.

trary with regard to her religion

ever

way

it

be,

we

the intense hold

shall at

any

rate find

But which

abundant evidence of

had upon the great mass of the people, and of

it was calculated to exercise on their

it

the important influence

civilization.

For

it

was

in the firm belief of his interests being

husbandman sowed

the special care of a deity that the

and watched the

vicissitudes of

its

growth

his seed,

that the sailor

and

and property to the capricious sea. The

mechanic traced the skill and handicraft which grew uncon
trader entrusted

sciously

life

upon him by

practice to the direct influence of a god.

Artists ascribed the mysterious evolution of their ideas,

the inspiration of their song, to the

bread and daily

same superior

and poets

cause.

Daily

the joy and gladness that circulated at

life,

were duly acknowledged as coming from the

Everywhere in nature was felt the presence

festal gatherings,

same high source.

of august invisible beings

clouds

on the

the earth, with

sea, with
its

in the sky, with

its

luminaries and

on
changeful movements
It seemed
plains and rivers.

its fickle,

lofty peaks, its

man himself, and everything around him, was upheld by

Divine power ; that his career was marked out for him by a
rigid fate which even the gods could not alter, should they
wish it on occasion.
He was indeed free to act, but the con

that

sequences of

These
trusted

all his

deities

were,

it

to

actions were settled beforehand.

whom

the affairs of the world were

en

was believed, immortal, though not eternal

in their existence, as

we

shall see

when we come

to read the

In Crete there was

even
concerning
a story of the death of Zeus, his tomb being pointed out ;

legends

their

birth.

and, further, the fact that the gods were believed to sustain
their existence by means of nectar and ambrosia, is sufficient

proof of their being usually deemed subject to the infirmities

INTRODUCTION.
were next, as a consequence,
Being immortal, they
Their physical
omniscient.
and
be
omnipotent
supposed to
under
sometimes
earth
the
shaking
strength was extraordinary,

of age.

their

moved
time.

Whatever they did was done speedily.

tread

They

They were

exceptions.
to

They

of a moment of
through space almost without the loss
knew all things, saw and heard all things with rare

men.

wise,

They had a most

and communicated
strict

their

wisdom

sense of justice, punished

it is true
crime rigorously, and rewarded noble actions, though
Their
latter.
the
punish
that they were less conspicuous for
till
as a rule ; but even if late, even if not
ments came

quickly,

the second generation,

who escaped

still

they came without

retribution in this

life

was sure

fail.

The

to obtain

it

sinner
in the

unrewarded enjoyed the

lower world while the good who died
To many this did
life.
next
fruit of their good actions in the
human
affairs, and
a
way of managing
not
;

satisfactory
appear
the absolute justi.v
hence there frequently arose doubts as to
These doul
lives.
their
of
the
even
sanctity
of the gods, and

>ts

men like
which, to the indignation of
the
of
one
that
or
gods as
the poet Pindar, represented this
to
believed
were
as
they
offence or other, such
guilty of some
these
stories,
to explain
Philosophers endeavoured
punish.
as allegories under
others
the
of
brain,
fictions
ae as mere
mass of the people
which lay a profound meaning. But the
believed in the
nevertheless
and
accepted them as they came,
human wickedthat
the gods, being satisfied
perfect sanctity of
was detested and punished by them.
were reflected in

stories,

whole of man
Whether the gods were supposed to love the
It would
lives, is not certain.
kind, or only such as led good
of offering s* rificc
m, however, from the universal practice
that they were beand expiation on the occasior of any wrong,

INTRODUCTION.

endowed with some deep feeling of general love,

which even sinners could touch by means of atonement. At
lieved to be

all

events they were merciful.

among

individual men,

Satanic power of leading

written laws of right

They hated

them

into sin.

and wrong

in the

and engagements were under

duties

excessive prosperity

and would on such occasions exercise a

They implanted un
human breast. Social

their special care, as

were

also the legislative measures of states.

There were

tales of

personal

visits

and adventures of the gods

among men, taking part in battles, and appearing

They were conceived to possess the form of human
to be, like

subject to love

and

in dreams.

beings,

and

pain, but always charac

men,
by the highest qualities and grandest form that could be
To produce statues of them that would equal this
imagined.
terized

high ideal was the chief ambition of artists ; and in presence

of statues in which such success had been attained, the popular

mind

felt

an aw

But while

as

if

in

some way

the deity were near.

was the case with regard to the renowned

of
examples
art, such as the statue of Zeus at Olympia, by
it
was equally true with regard to those very ancient
Pheidias,
this

rude figures of deities which were believed to

from heaven, and were on that account most

have

fallen

carefully pre
served in temples, the removal or loss of such a
figure being
considered an equivalent to the loss of the favour of the

deity
time,

whose image
owing

it

was.

to the vast

This was idolatry.

At the same

number of beautiful and grand

statues

of gods, there gradually arose a

feeling of the deification of man,
and a struggle to become more and more like these
beings of
nobler human form and divine
For
is
it
one
of the
presence.

advantages of having gods possessed of

kind can look up to them with the

human form

feeling of having

that

man

something

INTRODUCTION.

in

common, and

the assurance of pity

This was a

and favour.

Greek

religion, and led more than any

other to the extraordinary piety of the Greek race, in spite of
all the awkward stories which we are accustomed to ridicule.

powerful element

It

in the

would seem that the gods were not looked on,

any rate

at

Perhaps the mass of

popularly, as having created the world.

the people cared nothing for speculation as to the origin of

what actually existed, their chief thoughts being concentrated

in the changes that took
place in what existed and directly
In this

affected their interests.

spirit

they looked on the gods

maintaining and preserving the

as only

existing

order and

Hence

system of things according to their divine wisdom.

was that the Greeks never arrived

eternal

God, though they very nearly approached that idea

the case of Zeus,

who

in

the

management

to polytheism

who presided

of the world.

may have been

in particular depart

Their natural tendency

ne,

much

by the peculiar
It has been sug

further aggravated

circumstances of their early history as a race.

gested with

in

occasionally exercised control or sove

reignty over the other gods

ments

it

at the idea of one absolute

plausibility that a

number of

their deities, as

Hera, Gaea, and Demeter, resemble each other so

much

as to warrant the reasonableness of the conclusion that their

separate existence in the mythology was due to a coalescence

>me

remote early time of distinct

tribes of the

Greek

race,

each possessing beforehand a god or gods of their own, with

separate

names and

slightly different attributes,

main capable of identification and a

probable

that, in

common

in after times, as

positions,

worship.

in the
It

is

consequence of such amalgamation, some of

the earliest gods have disappeared

altogether

who

though

may have

in

while

others,

the case of Dione, held subordinate

originally

been deities of the

first

order.

INTRODUCTION.

At

the time with

which we are here concerned, the Greek

nation inhabited the country

though

its

still

known by the name

of Greece,

present population has small claim to be descendants

of the ancient race.

was spread also in colonies over the

and Mediterranean, along the coasts

It

islands of the Archipelago

Minor and the Black

of Asia

of

its

on the north

Sea, in the Crimea,

and on the south coast of France.

coast of Africa,

features the

In

many

mainland of Greece may be compared with

England, both having the same comparatively vast extent of sea

few parts of the country being out of sight of the

coast, very

Both are well supplied with mountains that invigorate the

In both cases it may
climate, and stir the spirit of adventure.
sea.

be that

this

proximity of the greater part of the population to

the sea, with

its

yond

desire of

its

horizon tempting young minds to penetrate be

ever-receding line, was the main cause of the general

commerce and

At any

distant colonization.

rate, the

natural features of Greece, her beautiful bays, the vivid lines of

her mountain peaks, her delightful groves and valleys,

made

deep impression on the people and colonists, wherever they

spread, retained the warmest recollection of them of snow-clad
;

Olympos, where the gods lived; of the lovely vale of Tempe; of

the smiling banks of the Peneios; of the sacred grove at Delphi;
of peaceful Arcadia, with

Olympia, with

its

its

pastoral

life

innumerable temples,

houses of costly presents to the gods

of the broad plain of

statues,

We

But

its

its flag

ancient cita

by Cadmus of Eleusis, and many other places.

now to examine more particularly the religious
;

propose

belief of the

the

treasure-

of Corinth, with

that ruled the sea; of Athens; of Thebes, with

del founded

and

way

Greeks and Romans, with the view of preparing

for the descriptions that follow of the

first

of

all

let

us

explain

the

gods individually.

meaning of the word

INTRODUCTION.

"

mythology."

from the Greek

According to its derivation
and logos, an account, it would mean an account
"

mythos, a

of

tale,

the tales in this case being confined

tales,"

to the origin,

of
the ancient gods, to the origin
character, and functions of
world.
visible
the
condition of

mankind, and the primitive

understand these stories we must

try to

understand the circum

must endeavour
stances under which they were invented, and
of a nation in
to comprehend the condition and circumstances
the early stage of

its

existence.

For

this

can
purpose we

com

of the
to the gods of other nations,
pare the early tales relating
or we
other
the
;
Indian on the one hand and the German on

may

races at present in an un
compare the condition of
the
From these, sources it would seem that
state.

also

civilized

at
like that of an individual, is the period
youth of a nation,
in
is
pro
greatest
which the activity of imagination and fancy
The mystery of surrounding
is least.
as

knowledge

portion

nature strikes forcibly on the mind,

There

a feeling of alarm

is

its

phenomena on

when thunder

the senses.

crashes on the ear,

terror in the darkness

of gladness in the warm light of day, of
The
of death.
darkness
of night, and of a strange dread at the
of
rest
the
and
repel
accidents of daily life bind men together,

the animal creation, over which the

Men

becomes known.
they

know nothing

stin. ts.

palms,

learn to

superiority

know each other when

They know

else.

human

their

own

passions

soon

as yet

and

in-

feet, paces,
They measure everything by themselves, by
the
measure
or
fathom
and ells and when they seek to
;

employ
imagine

the

phenomena

of nature they have

no standard

hand, except themselves. They mi-ht,

form of
the cause of the thunder under the

it

is

to

true,

at

visible lion

but

in that

case they could not

for pity, as they are

implore the thumlerer

commune
moved to

great

in

with and
do.

He

INTRODUCTION.

like a

must therefore be conceived as fashioned

man, endowed

As knowledge
become higher and

with the highest imaginable qualities of a man.

and

civilization advance, those

seems probable that the first phenomena that ap

mind were those of the change of weather, of

It

higher.

qualities

to the

pealed

seasons, the revolving day

and the revolving

year.

At any

rate,

we can trace them, appear to be

movements of the celestial sphere.

the earliest deities, as well as

those

who

We

presided over the

seem

to recognise the influence of such

the chief characteristics of

existence
fatality,

might

mankind

the sense of order

and

in

stage of

regularity, the feeling of

the conviction that whatever temporary disturbances

arise,

the course of

coming with bright

light,

human

life

and departing

obeyed some fixed law,

in darkness,

commence another day of happy life

that the name of the highest god of the
"light

phenomena

in a primitive

of the

world,"

in a literal sense.

elsewhere.

but only to

We know

ancients signified the

In time, as the per

ceptive faculties expanded, and the wants of men multiplied,

the other phenomena of the world became the subject of inquiry,

and were,

The
is,

as usual, ascribed to the direct influence of deities.

singular part however, of this process of inventing deities

that having,

at

the

commencement, obtained one great

powerful god, they did not simply extend his functions to all the
departments of nature, instead of finding a new god to preside
It may be that the apparent conflict frequently
over each.
observed between the elements of nature was hostile to such an

on the contrary nothing was more readily imaginable

than a quarrel among different gods as the cause of such pheno
mena. By a similar process the combination of different ele

idea, while

ments,

as, for

example, warmth and moisture, was appropriately

human point of view as a prolific union or

described from the

INTRODUCTION.

marriage of t\vo
brother and

The sun and moon were

deities.

Another opinion, somewhat

primitive stage of

all

suc h a belief,

god

religions
is

it

said,

became, they

at variance with this,

is

is,

that the

a universal belief in one great

being as natural to

But

use of his arms and legs.

belief

called

sister.

this earliest

say, in course of time

man

as the

and pure form of

debased into a belief

many gods, originating in such a method of

as we have described.
c-xplaining the phenomena of nature
On the other hand, the oldest religious records we know of

in the existence of

in the
speak of hosts of divine beings; while
American Indians the Great Spirit is
primitive religion of the
surrounded by a crowd of lesser spirits, who represent the

the

Yedas

various

phenomena

of nature.

notion of one god did arise,

opposed
till

and

to the other

It
it

would seem that when the

was of the one true God as

false gods,

and

this

a high stage of civilization was reached.

of Greece, no doubt,

thinking

did not take place

In the best times

men acknowledged

but one

of other gods as
supreme being, and looked on the crowd
from our
different
in
sense
no
and
really
merely his servants,
idea of angels.

In due time the religion of the ancients became a polytheism

and
;
every phase of nature, sky, sea,

on a very extensive scale

earth, every

phase of

human

life, its

habits, accidents,

and im

a special guardian and controlling

pulses, being provided with
In all the varying circumstances of life men turned to
deity.

one or other of these divine persons in gratitude or for help.

were erected to them everywhere,
iples, sanctuaries, altars,
another
being worshipped with special favour here, and
of
the
season
one
at
favour
with
one
there
year, another
special
and worknown
were
of them
at another season.
only
;

Many

INTRODUCTION.

10

shipped

in particular localities

among people connected

as, for instance,

marine deities

Others belonged to
This limitation,
particular periods of the national history.
with the sea.

however, with regard to local differences, applies only to the

vast

number of minor

come down

deities

to our times

gods was the

common

whose names and

attributes

for a belief in the superior order of

property of the whole nation, whether
;

learned or unlearned, and of whatever occupation.

teries of Eleusis

The mys

united the people in honour of Demeter

national festivals united

Zeus at Olympia.

have

them

the

honour of other gods, as of

in

Every one believed

in the oracular

power

of Apollo, in the might of Poseidon, in the grim character of

Hades, that Hera was the wife of Zeus, that Athene was his
daughter, that Aphrodite was the goddess of love, Artemis of
the moon, and Ares the god of war.

was believed that these higher deities inhabited Olympos,

living together in a social state which was but a magnified
It

reflection of the social system

on

earth.

Quarrels, love passages,

mutual assistance, and such incidents as characterize human

It must however be borne in mind
life, were ascribed to them.
that these human attributes, and the stories connected with them,
whether they represent admirable qualities or the reverse, were

not in the

make

first

their

instance ascribed to the gods out of a desire to

resemblance to

man more

complete, but were the

natural result of identifying the gods with the elements of nature

over which they were supposed to preside, of conceiving and

representing the combination or conflict of elements visible in
nature as the result of the combination or conflict of invisible
beings of

human

form.

greater refinement,
tions of natural

when

In later times of higher civilization and

the origin of the gods as personifica

phenomena was

lost sight of,

many

of these

1 l

INTRODUCTION.

stories

came

to

be viewed as disgraceful, and by being made

ridicule in plays tended largely to uproot

the subject of public

the general faith in the gods.

them

way

as allegories.

Others,

Philosophers attempted to explain

did not themselves see their

who

to believing them, yet advised that the

But we who

should not be disturbed.

popular

faith in

live in other times,

them

having

since passed away, and de

religion that has long
and deep
its origin and the source of its long
siring only to trace

no need of a

influence

mood.

on a great nation, may look at them in a calmer

and not to
It is our part to admire as far as possible,

condemn without

taking into account every extenuating

first

circumstance.

and ceremonies by which the Greeks

on
and Romans expressed their belief in and entire dependence
sacri
of
the
to
first
call
attention
offering
the gods, we would
These were of two kinds, one consisting of fruits, cakes,
fices.
Turning now to the

rites

altar
and wine; the other of animals, which were led to the
decked with garlands and ribbons, after various ceremonies
slain,

and part of the

smell of

flesh

consumed upon the

altar fire, the

It

to rise agreeably to the gods.

being supposed
for this purpose should
necessary that the animals selected
it

the
be spotless and healthy, that the persons participating in
no
tor
and in mind
inony should be cleanly in person
to the
costliness could make the offering of a sinner acceptable
;

gods.

The

and sex of the animal were determined

colour, age,

to the deity for whom it

by the feeling of appropriateness
The time chosen for the ceremony was the morning
slain.

was

of the
the case of trie gods of heaven, the evening in the CESC
To these latter deities the victim WAS
da Of the lower world.

always ottered entire,

could share

in a feast in

it

WOS not deemed

company

\\

ith

|.os>ible

men. The

lire

that they

on the

altar

12

INTRODUCTION.

was considered holy, and special care was taken that it should
be fed with wood that gave a pure flame. In
early times it
would seem that even human beings were offered as sacrifices to
certain

the

victims in such cases

gods,
being occasionally, to
judge from the instance of Iphigenia, closely connected by ties of
blood and affection with the person
to make the sacrifice.

required

But these were, perhaps,

mostly cases in which the will of the
gods was specially communicated through a seer or prophet
whereas sacrifice generally was a
spontaneous gift to the gods,
;

either for the purpose of

expressing gratitude for the blessings
bestowed by them, or of atoning for some sin of which the
person sacrificing was conscious.
Sacrifices were not

presented

intermittently
offered,

and

at

mere

pleasure, but regularly

when occasion

when the fruits of the fields and

The herdsman sacrificed the firstlings

as at harvest time,

gardens were gathered in.

of his flock, the merchant

gave part of his gain, and the soldier

a share of his
in
war.
The gods to whom all prosperity
booty

and worldly blessings were due

expected such offerings,
thought, and punished every instance of neglect.

it

was

There was, however, another class of

sacrifices, springing from
a different
motive, and with a different object in view ; for ex
ample, to obtain by means of an examination of the entrails of
an animal an
augury as to the issue of some enterprise, a form
of sacrifice which was held of
great importance at the commence

ment of a

battle

or to sanctify the ratification of a

treaty, or

some important bargain between man and man or to obtain

purification for some crime.
In this last case it was supposed
that the victim took the sin
upon its own head, and that both
perished together.
Hence no part of such victims was eaten.
;

How

the gods were

supposed to partake of the

sacrifices allotted to

them

is

not always

clear,

though

share of

in the case

INTRODUCTION.

may be imagined

of burnt offerings they

with the smell that rose in the

aroma of the wine.

with the

13

air,

and

the belief that the

blood of the victim,

satisfied

in the case of libations

With regard

deities of the lower world,

honour of the

have been

to

if

it

to the sacrifices in

seems

to

have been

poured into a hole in

be acceptably
ground, would sink down to them, and
In the same hole, or near by, were buried the ashes
received.
the

that

remained on the

The

portions assigned to

on which the victim was consumed.

altar

marine or river deities were sunk

in

perform the ceremony

of

deep water.
was the duty of the

It

offering

up the

The

were.

sacrifices

brought to the gods in whose

ceremony was to take a basket con

service they

part of the

first

taining the sacrificial knife,

and

to pass

altar

from

it,

left

priests to

some

corn,

and perhaps

also flowers,

along with a vessel containing water, round the

The

to right.

water was next purified by dipping

Thereupon the people who had

sprinkled themselves and the altar, and

a brand from the altar in

it.

brought the sacrifice

taking a handful of corn from the basket, scattered

head of the victim as

it

approached.

The

shearing a lock of hair from the head of the animal,

buting

it

among

nminanded

the bystanders to

silence,

able to the god,

it

on the

priest then, after

and

distri

be thrown on the altar

fire,

prayed that the offering might be accept

and slew the

victim.

The

blood, except in the

of the deities of the lower world, as has been observed,

and the

entrails,

placed upon

The

the

strung

were mixed with wheat, wine, and incense, and

fire.

feelings

of piety,

consciousness Of guilt, which gave

rise also to a universal

un

all

gratitude,
rise to

dependence,

or

such oik-ring^, gave

habit of prayer, and a desire to frequent

possible occasions the temples and altars of the gods.

INTRODUCTION.

14

Morning and evening,

the

at

beginning of

meals, at the

opening of business in the courts of justice and public assem

blies, a prayer was offered up, now to one god, now to

another,

or, if no particular deity

for

appeared to be an appropriate guardian

the time and occasion, to the
gods generally. There was

this peculiarity in the

Greek prayers, which we must not omit

on a deity by his usual name a

to mention, that after calling

clause was

added

to save the suppliant

pleasure of the deity at the

know

name of a god

the true

from any possible dis

name employed

for

how

could

man

We

have an example of such a

in
prayer
^schylus
Zeus, whoever thou art, and by what
ever name it please thee to be
named, I call on thee and pray."
?

"

In praying to the gods above

to

lift

it was the custom of the Greeks

and turn the face towards the east of the

the hands

Romans,

to turn towards the north.

gods stretched out

suppliant of the sea

hands towards the sea, and a suppliant

of the gods of the lower world beat the earth with his hands.
his

When

a prayer was offered up in a

temple the rule was to
turn towards the sacred
In cases of great distress the
image.
suppliant would

twined round

it,

carry an olive branch, or a rod with wool

throw himself on the ground before the sacred

image,

and embrace

them.

Here

its feet.
Pythagoras, the philosopher,
taught his followers to pray with a loud voice ; but loud prayers
do not appear to have been
On the contrary, it
customary.
happened not unfrequently that the prayers were written on
tablets, sealed and deposited beside the image of the god, that
no human being might be aware of the
request contained in

usual form

is
"

Zeus, our lord, give unto us whatever

whether we ask
us,

even

if

a specimen of what seems to have been the

it

we ask

of thee or not
it

of

thee."

whatever

is

evil

keep

is

good,
from

far

INIKODUCTION.

Besides sacrifice and prayer there

<

is

another class of

still

which we recognise the deep piety of the

the custom of consulting oracles, especially that

cremon ies,

Oreeks

15

in

first,

of Apollo at Delphi, in times of great perplexity

the universal

practice,

in

cases

of

less

and secondly,

more sudden

or

emergency, of trying to interpret the will of the gods by means

Sometimes
of augury or divination in t a vast variety of ways.
the augury was taken from the direction in which birds were
observed to

fly

overhead.

If to the right of the augur,

who

luck would attend the

stood with his face to the north, good

At other
enterprise in question ; if to the left, the reverse.
times an animal was slain, and its entrails carefully examined,
the propitiousness of the gods being supposed to

healthy and normal condition of these

were also believed to communicate their

depend on

the

But the gods

parts.
will to

men

in

dreams,

by sending thunder and lightning, comets, meteors, eclipses,

earthquakes, prodigies in nature, and the thousands of unex
pected incidents that occur to men.

As few persons were

to interpret the bearing of these signs

employment

a large class of people

for

able

and wonders, there was

who made

this their

particular business.
Finally,

we must not

forget to

mention as a proof of the wide

spread religious feeling of the Greeks the national festivals, or

games, as they are called, established and maintained in honour

While these

were being celebrated

it was necessary to suspend whatever war might be going on
between separate states, and to permit visitors to pass unmo

of certain gods.

festivals

lested even through hostile territory.

in

number

The

These

festivals

the Olympian, Pythian, Ncmcan,

were four

and Isthmian.

first-mentioned was held in honour of /ens. on the plain

of Olympia, in

Flis.

It

occurred every

fifth

year,

and the usual

INTRODUCTION.

method of reckoning time was according to its re-occurrence,

by Olympiads, as we say. The games with which it was cele
brated consisted of running, wrestling, boxing, a combination of
the two latter, horse-racing, either with chariots or
only with

The

riders.

prize of victory

was simply a wreath of olive, and

and travelled great

yet athletes trained themselves laboriously

distances to compete for

Kings % sent

it.

their horses to run in

and counted a victory among the highest honours of

lives.
The fellow-townsmen of a victorious athlete would

the races,
their

raise a statue in his honour.

Occasionally writers, as

we

are

told of Herodotus, took this occasion of a vast

assemblage of
their

countrymen

to read to

them

part of their writings.

The

Pythian games were held in honour of Apollo, in the neighbour

hood of Delphi, and occurred every fifth year, there being com
athletics.
The prize was a
At the Nemean games, which were held in
honour of Zeus, the prize was a wreath of ivy. The Isthmian
games were held in honour of Poseidon, on the Isthmus of

music as well as in

petitions

in

wreath of

laurel.

Corinth,

and occurred every

third year

the prize was a wreath

of pine.

remarkable and surprising that, with all the piety

and religious ceremonies of the ancients, there existed among
It

is

them no established means of

instruction for the

mass of the

people, as to the character and functions of the gods

whom

There was, indeed, a regular priesthood,

they worshipped.
whose duty it was to conduct the public ceremonies, to offer

up sacrifices, and to perform other offices peculiar to the god in

whose service they were. But there their duties ceased. These
ceremonies had been handed down from time immemorial,
and

that

make

was perhaps

sufficient

guarantee of their importance to

the ordinary Greek assiduous in his observance of them.

INTRODUCTION.
not traceable to a clear and

At any

rate,

explicit

knowledge of the character of the gods derived from

this

assiduity

public instruction.

is

In regard to

due

existed was unquestionably

influence of poets like

Homer and

to the exertion of the persons

Delphi.

The

whatever unanimity

that,

in

the

first

instance to the

Hesiod, and in the second,

connected with the oracle at

effect of this state of things

was a great amount

of confusion in the popular mind, and not only in the popular

mind, but also

in the

minds of men like Socrates, who confessed

or two, and

know whether there was one Aphrodite

wondered why Zeus, who was believed to be one
he did not

many names.
The preceding remarks,

it

god, had so

should be here observed, apply

the most part only to the mythology of the Greeks,

for

and do not

extend to that of the Romans, except so far as they refer to the

most primitive class of myths, such as those concerning the

logies

For the practice of identifying the mytho

Both
of those two nations has no foundation in fact.

races,

it is

origin of the world.

the

belonged to one and the same great branch of

family, and from that source derived a common

true,

human

kernel of religious belief.

But before

this kernel

had developed

far the two nations parted, and formed for themselves distinct
and isolated settlements in Europe. In the long period of

isolation, that followed, the

common seed

of religious belief with

which both started grew up, was propagated under quite

ent circumstances, and assumed a very different aspect.

Romans

in

The

the early period of their history a pastoral, agri

cultural, simple,
of

differ

and more or

less united

people

had no need

a various multitude of deities, such as the Greeks found ne.

cessary, scattered

and separated as they were

tribes with a variety of occupations.

into a variety of

INTRODUCTION.

l8

From

among

this,

other causes,

happens that many, even

Romans.

it

of the very early Greek myths, were quite foreign to the

To

myths that describe the

sons
Kronos devouring his

this class belong, for instance, the

conflict

between Uranos and

his

children to escape, as he thought, being dethroned by them,

and Zeus placing

No

his father,

Kronos, in durance in Tartaros.

Greeks were those accounts of

less strictly peculiar to the

the gods, wounds,

and occasionally the banish

on earth. To these

quarrels

among

ment of

certain gods to a period of service

we may add

the carrying off of Persephone by Pluto,

With regard

several other stories.

to the ceremonies

and

which

accompanied the worship of certain gods, we observe the same

great difference between the two nations, and would cite as an
example the wild unrestrained conduct of those who took part
Dionysos, remarking that when in later times
of luxury a festival of this kind was introduced into Italy in
honour of Bacchus, the Roman equivalent for the Greek Dio
in the festivals of

new festival was forbidden, and those

who took part in it were viewed as persons of unbridled desires.
Nor did Mercury ever obtain the wide-spread worship and
honour paid to Hermes in Greece and even Saturnus, in
nysos or Bakchos, the

spite of the

Roman

poets,

was a very

different

god from the

Greek Kronos.

At

the time

when the Roman poets began

to write,

"

Greece

Greek literature
captured was leading her captor captive."
was the usual means of education ; Greek philosophy, Greek
art,

everything pertaining

to

the Greeks,

principal pursuit of educated men.

the Greek than their

ing their

poems

own language

constituted

the

Many would rather employ

in writing.

placed the names of gods that occurred in

Poets, construct

Greek models, re
the Greek originals

often in close imitation of

INTRODUCTION.

some similarity of char

by names of native deities possessing
native Italian god ; or,
a
of
a
Greek
acter, and told
story
At
Latin form.
employed the Greek name in a
two
the
of
the same time no real adaptation or coalescence
failing such,

religious

systems ever took place.

The Roman ceremonies

and forms of worship remained for the most part distinct from
the Greek, and peculiar to the race. In modern times, however,
the literature (especially the poetry) of the ancient Romans
was more familiarly known than the facts relating to their

ceremonies and forms of worship.

familiarly

of

upon

known than
the latter, the

the literature

was more early and

of Greece, and instead

It

modern notions

were founded on the statements of the

arose

a confusion

which

of the last century, only

this

by

confusion

we

our

own

of Greek mythology

Roman

Hence

poets.

especially

poets,

those

made worse confounded.

To meet

Roman

equivalent

shall give the accredited

the side of the Greek gods, throughout our descriptions, and

between them.
point out as far as possible the differences
to the mytho
confined
Thus far our observations have been
the Greeks and
logy and religious ceremonies of
pecially of the

former.

We

have had

little

Romans,

to

say

es

of the

in their
Romans, because, though equal perhaps to the Greeks
been
have
to
very
in
the
gods, they appear
piety and trust

deficient

invent

in

that quality

some divine

of imagination which could readily

for every phenomenon of

personification

nature that struck the mind.

to include a description,

even

As, however,
if

attention here to the fact,

these

human

is

our intention

of
very brief, of the mythology

the Indian and Teutonic or Germanic races,

call

it

now

it

may be

well to

that
clearly ascertained,

common

or

family
sprung from the same
stock to which he Greeks and Romans belonged, and

races

are

20

INTRODUCTION.

that at least certain ideas concerning the origin

condition of the world are

From

all.

this

were arrived

Germanic
distinct

it

and primitive
them

to the mythologies of

reasonable to conclude that these ideas

is

at previous to the separation of this great

as

family,

and

common

it

is

called,

and

its

Indo-

development into

as we find it at the dawn of

From the Ganges to Iceland we meet with
common early belief that the wild features of the
isolated nations,

historical times.

traces of a

earth
flict

had been produced by some long past convulsive con

of Titanic beings,

elements of nature
within these limits

men

the

same

still

whom, though

We

obeyed.

invisible,

find that

the stormy

everywhere,

of space and time, there existed

sensitiveness to the

among

of nature,

to
phenomena
rain
and
heat
and
to
and
to
to
darkness,
cold,
light
drought,
storms and peacefulness,
and the same readiness and power

of imagining invisible beings of

human

form, but loftier at

To these beings
cause of these phenomena.
actions and habits of life were ascribed, such as were sug
tributes, as the

gested by the

and

phenomena which they were supposed

no

to

con

should be borne in mind, was any

case,
;
or
of
immorality intended to be conveyed.
feeling
morality
trol

in

it

For instance, when we find the natural process by which the

clouds pour out their rain upon the earth, and are again filled
from the

sea, described as

the cattle (clouds) of Apollo,

idea of criminality which

it

Hermes (the god of rain) stealing

we cannot attach to the story the

at first suggests.

Similar interpre

tations we must be prepared to seek throughout the mytholo

gies of the Indo-Germanic races.
It

may now be

asked, from what source

rived of the mythology of the ancients

is this

To

this

knowledge de
we reply, from

the works of ancient writers, poets, historians, philosophers,

and

J
21

INTRODUCTION.

countrymen was a
and whose writings have survived to
subject of great importance,
the representations of gods
our times in the second place, from

others, to

whom

the religious belief of their

number of ancient
and mythological scenes on the immense
works of

art that

marble and

still

exist,

whether

in the

form of statues

in

or coins.
bronze, painted vases, engraved gems,

and without becoming

These are the sources of our knowledge,
to under
is
it
perhaps impossible
more or less familiar with them
and
contrariwise,
stand fully the spirit of these ancient myths
at its real worth the beauty of ancient
to be able to
;

appreciate
or in
works, whether in literature

art, it is

necessary to

become

and the religious spirit which

acquainted with the mythology
be not sufficient temptation
that
if
and
guided their authors;
deities and heroes of
various
to follow our descriptions of the
ancient times,

we can

still

appeal to this

that a great part of

works of art can only be

our grandest modern poetry and
those who know the ancient mythology.
intelligible to
as we are now, to the details of our subject,

Drawing near,
we become anxious
in

to guard against all feelings of impropriety

would there
to relate.

We

what we may have occasionally

fore

of interpretation which
remind the reader of the principle

we have endeavoured

to explain in the preceding pages.

We

do with a system of
would also repeat that
its
whatever
apparent or real shortcoming
religious belief which,
education
exercised enormous influence on the

we have here

may have

to

been,

of at least two of the

most

civilized nations of the earth.

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.

N

thinking of the origin of the world in which they lived, the

Greeks

for the

most

it

part,

would appear, were

satisfied

by the poet Hesiod, that in the

beginning the world was a great shapeless mass or chaos, out of
which was fashioned first the spirit of love, Eros (Cupid), and
with~ the explanation given

f*
*

%e

broad-chested earth,

Nyx,

From a union

night.

then

Erebos,

darknqss,

and

of the two latter sprang ./Ether,

The earth, by virtue of the

day.
power by which it was fashioned, produced in turn, Uranos,
firmament which covered her with its vault of brass, as the

the c i ear
L~

Gaea

s k Vj

poets called

ancj

it,

Hemera,

to describe

its

appearance of eternal duration,

the mountains, and

Eros, the

began

to

Pontos, the unfruitful sea.

Thereupon
oldest and at the same time the youngest of the gods,
agitate the earth and all things on it, bringing them

and making pairs of them.

First in importance of
and earth, who
were
heaven
and
Uranos
pairs
Gaea,

together,

these

peopled the earth with a host of beings, Titans, Giants, and

Kyklopes, of far greater physical frame and energy than the
races

who succeeded them.

It is

a beautiful idea, that of love

making order out of chaos, bringing opposite elements

and preparing a world to receive mankind.

together,

Another apparently older and certainly obscure notion, is

by Homer, which ascribes the origin of the world

that expressed
to

Okeanos,

the ocean.

How

the earth

and heavens sprang

mi: ckK.vnnx OF THE WORLD.

23

as co-existing with
from him, or whether they were conceived
numerous ancient
The
told.
not
we are
him from the

beginning,
which new generations
concerning floods, after
however,
stories,
the innumerable fertilizing
of men sprang up, and the fact that
believed to come from the
were
earth
the
of
rivers and streams
river
to return to it, and that all the
ocean, as they were seen
the
of
pre
Okeanos,
suggest
the offspring
gods were accounted
the
of
the
to
origin
valence of such a form of belief with regard
ocean
the
that
are told
world in times previous to Hesiod. We
and was a region of
a
stream,
with
earth
great
encircled the

wonders of

Tethys

all

kinds

that

Okeanos

lived there, with his wife

the gardens
that there were the islands of the blest,

and ambrosia on which

of the gods, the sources of the nectar
Within this circle of water the earth lay spread
lived.
the
gods

from it, and the vault of

out like a disc with mountains rising
This
all round.
heaven appearing to rest on its outer edge
water
the
that
so
outer edge was supposed to be slightly raised,
The space between
not rush in and overflow the land.
might

was seen to be occu

the surface of the earth and the heavens
and above the clouds was supposed t
pied by air and clouds,
and stars moved. The
be
ether, in which the sun, moon,
>

pure
tinsun rising in the eastern sky in the morning, traversing
the
in
at
evening
celestial arch during the day, and sinking
is

the guidance of a god in a chariot

thought to be under

into Okeanos.
drawn by four splendid horses. After sinking
the night
sailed
and
during
took
he
ship
was supposed that
new
a
be-in
to
day.
be
ready
round t the east, so as to
it

In the region of

air

above the clouds

moved

the higher

council or inter
ttd when, for the sake of
order oi
was the summit of one ot
they met together, the meeting place
in the clouds, but
those lofty mountains whose heads were hid
I

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.

24
chief of

the inaccessible

all,

highest point of

which he

sat in

Olympos

Round

in Thessaly.

the

was the palace of Zeus, with the throne on

it

majesty to receive such

visits as

those of Thetis

(Iliad
498) when she came to plead for her son. On plateaus
or in ravines lower down were the mansions of the other gods,
i.

provided, as was thought, with the convenience of store-rooms,

stabling,

The

and

all

that

who

deities

was usual in the houses of princes on

were styled the Olympian

do

not,

it is

earth.

thus inhabited Olympos, and for that reason

may be

gods, but the following

were twelve in number.

deities,

true, always find this

number composed

of the

We
same

taken as having been the most

Zeus (Jupiter), Hera (Juno), Poseidon (Neptune),

Demeter (Ceres), Apollo, Artemis (Diana), Hephaestos
(Vulcan), Pallas, Athene (Minerva), 0^res (Mars), Aphro
usual

dite

Hermes

(Venus),

(Mercury),

and Hestia

(Vesta).

each other by various degrees of relationship,

Though
and worshipped in many places at altars dedicated to them as
a united body, they did not always act together in harmony,
allied to

a most memorable instance of their discord being that (Iliad

viii.
13-27) in which Zeus threatened to hurl the others into Tartaros,

and challenged them

themselves
might.

down

to

move him from Olympos by letting

with a golden chain and pulling with

Should they try

it,

he

said,

he could

easily

all

their

draw them

up with earth and sea to the bargain, fasten the chain to the
The name
top of Olympos, and let the whole hang in mid air.
of
it

Olympos was not confined

may have had the

cipal, claim to the

mountains

to theThessalian mountain, though

earliest, as

title,

in after

times

but was applied to no

in various parts of the

it

less

had the prin

than fourteen

Greek world, each of which

appears to have been regarded as an occasional meeting place,

not a permanent seat of the gods.
Finally, the word was

if

THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.

25

used to designate a region above the visible sky, from which,

anvil fell
to express its height, it was said that once a brazen

At
nine days and nine nights before it reached the earth.
was
earth
Tartaros,
an equal distance beneath the surface of the
a

vast

gloomy space walled

in with brass,

where the Titans

lived in banishment.

The lower order

no place

of deities, having naturally

in

on earth where they

Mympos, were restricted to the localities
or Nymphs
exercised their
as, for instance, the Naiads,

powers

of fountains, to the neighbourhood of fountains and springs ;

the Oreads, or mountain Nymphs, to the mountains and hills ;
to
trees, to trees. With regard
after
or
semi-divine
heroes
beings
the place of residence of the
their translation from earth, there existed considerable variety

and the Dryads, or Nymphs of

of opinion, of which

we

shall afterwards

have occasion to speak.

assembled in Olympos for a particular

Representations of the deities
/.eus-occur
at the l.irth of Athene from the head of her father
ion

This was the subject chosen

not unfrcriucntly on the (Ireek painted vases.
in one of the pediments of the Parthenon
by hcidias for the sculptures
The loss, however, of many of the
now in the liritMi Museum.
now who were the deities he
to
it
lender,
1

impossible

figure,

say

whether he even adhered to the usual number of twelve.

of the pediment the sun rises in his chariot from the
end
one
At
The event must therefore
the other the moon rides away.
at
ed,

or

The same fact is to be observed

at the break of day.
scene at the birth of Aphrodite, in presence of the as>embled deities
with which I heidias adorned the base of his statue of Xeus at Olympia, and
At one end
ausanias (v. 403).
hich we have still the description in

have taken place

in the

the

Sun stepping

into his chariot,

next to

him

Xeiis

and Hera, then

In the cent..
and Charis, then Hermes and Hestia.
eitho crowning
-he rUd from the Mft, and
.-.in- Aphrodite
then Apollo and Artemis next Athene and Hei.ikle-, then
Aphrodite
The
idOfl and Amphitrite, and lastly the Moon (Selene) riding away.
of male and female, those of greater mi
deities are thus grouped in

Hrphaestos

<?,

pair>

nce being towards cither end of the composition.

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

URANOS

IS

a personification of the sky as the ancients saw and under

stood its phenomena, and with him, according to the ver

by the Greeks, commences

Next succeeded Kronos, and lastly, Zeus.

sion of mythology usually accepted

the race of gods.

With regard

to this triple succession of

we should

world,

notice the different

Uranos

tion of their three names,

husband of the

and by

supreme rulers of the

and progressive significa

signifying the heavens

viewed

warmth and moisture pro

life
and
ducing
Kronos, his
vegetation everywhere on it
the
of
who
also
successor, being
harvest,
god
ripened and
as

earth,

his

matured every form of

life

the light of heaven, as his

zation

and

perfectly wise

the universe.

son of
fruit

Gaea

Uranos,
(the

while in the person of Zeus, god of

name

implies, culminated the organi

and

just dispensation of the affairs of

as

we have already observed, was a

earth),

whom

he afterwards married, the

of that union being the Titans, the

Hekatoncheires,

and the Kyklopes.

The Hekatoncheires,

or

Centimani,

beings

each with a

hundred hands, were three in number Kottos, Gyges or

Gyes, and Briareus, and represented the frightful crashing
:

27

URANUS.

of waves

and

its

resemblance to the convulsion of earthquakes.

number: Brontes with his

The Kyklopes
with his
his
with
lightning, and Arges
thunder, Steropes
as
having only one
stream of light. They were represented
also were three in

eye,
It

which was placed

between nose and brow.

at the juncture

as
was, however, a large flashing eye,

became beings who

were personifications of the storm-cloud, with its flashes of

From a similarity
destructive lightning and peals of thunder.

observed between the phenomena of storms and those of

was usually supposed that the Kyklopes

the heart of burning mountains, above all, in Mount

volcanic eruptions,
lived in

it

of Hephaestos
Ktna, in Sicily, where theyacted as apprentices
for Zeus, and
thunderbolts
make
to
him
(Vulcan), assisting
their promise
at
alarmed
was
said,
in other works.
Uranos, it

and

of fierceness

strength,

had

cast the

into the
Kyklopes at their birth back
which they had sprung.

The Titans
and grouped

Hekatoncheires and

womb

of the earth from

in number,
were, like the Olympian deities, twelve

for the

most part

in pairs

Okeanos and Tethys,

Koios and
Hyperion and Theia, Kreios and Eurybia,
Instead
Phoebe, Kronosand Rhea, Japetos and Themis.
of Kurybia

though

we

find

frequently

Mnemosyne.

not in every case quite intelligible,

show

Their names,
that they were

of those primary elements and forces of nature

con
to the operations of which, in the first ages, the present
While
Themis,
of the earth was supposed to be due.
personifications

figuration

out as personifications
mosyne, and Japetos may be singled
of
nature
the
in
force
things, and as conspicuous
of a civilizing
for

having offspring

endowed with

the

same

character,

the

other Titans appear to represent wild, powerful, and obstructive

In keeping with this character we find them risinforce*.

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

28

in rebellion

first

and afterwards against

against their father

Zeus.

In the former experiment the result was that

Uranos,

learn from the poetic account of the myth, threw

them bound.

Tartaros, where he kept

them

But Gaea,

as

we

into

his wife,

grieving at the hard fate of her offspring, provided the youngest

son,

made
wound

with a sickle or curved knife, which she had

Kronos,

of stubborn adamant, and told

him how and when

his father with

The

it

irremediably.

to

enterprise succeeded, the

and begat a numer

ous family of divine beings, while others of the same class
sprang from the blood of the wound of Uranos as it fell to the
Titans were set

ground.

Of

of serpents

free,

married their

these were the

the

sisters,

Giants, monsters with

Melian nymphs,

or

legs

nymphs

from which the shafts used in war were fashioned

or Furiae, as the

Erinys,
Megaera, and Alekto,

Romans called them,

creatures

was

and

that of

women, with

hair of snakes

blood.

and the

Tisiphone,

whose function

nally to avenge the shedding of a parent

formed

of the oaks,

it

was

origi

Their form

girdles of vipers.

They were a terror to criminals, whom they pursued with un

The whole of these divine beings, however, with
relenting fury.
the exception of the

Erinys, who were worshipped

under the name of the

"

venerable

the religion of the Greeks,

deities,"

and had a place only

Romans

in the

among
they were unknown
and
even
then
were
as poetic
introduced
times,
only
with no hold upon the religious belief of the people.

logy, while

the

Athens

at

were excluded from

mytho

till

later

fictions,

I.

Kronos.

Hhea.

KRONOS.

K R O N O
(PLATE

The

29

S,

i.,)

was, as

ripener, the harvest god,

we have already

he continued
marked, a son of Uranos. That
to

be identified with the

Roman

which recent research has

deity,

set right,

re

for a long time

Saturnus,

is

a mistake

and accordingly we

shall

deposed from

Uranos,
devote a separate chapter to each.
succeeded
was
by Kronos,
the
of
the throne
gods,

who

own sister Rhea, a daughter of Gaea, who bore

Hestia
him Pluto, Poseidon (Neptune),and Zeus (Jupiter),

married his

(Vesta),

Demeter

(Ceres),

and

Hera

(Juno).

To

prevent

communicated to
the fulfilment of a prophecy which had been
be de
him by his parents, that, like his father, he too would
his first five
throned by his youngest born, Kronos swallowed
But when
world.
the
into
came
each
as
children apparently

determined to save
the sixth child appeared, Rhea, his wife,

it,

him a stone
and succeeded in duping her husband by giving
into the figure of an infant) wrapped in
(perhaps rudely hewn
which he swallowed, believing he had got
swaddling clothes,
rid

of another danger.

Zeus,
While the husband was being deceived in this fashion,
and
of
island
the
Crete,
to
the newly-born child, was conveyed
The
nymphs Adthere concealed in a cave on Mount Ida.
and Ida tended and nursed him, the goat Amalthea
rastea

bees gathered honey for him, and in

supplied him with milk,
the ears of
lest his infantile cries should reach
the meantime,

Kronos, Rhea

servants, the

Kuretes, were appointed

to

and din in the neighbourhood by

keep up a continual noise
and shields.
swords
their
and
clashing
dancing

DEITIES OF

3<D

When

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Zeus had grown to manhood he succeeded by the aid

or perhaps of Metis, in persuading Kronos to

the light the sons whom he had swallowed and
into
back
yield
the stone which had been given him in deceit.
The stone was

of

Gaea,

The liberated
placed at Delphi as a memorial for all time.
in
a
brethren
their
to
drive
their father
league
gods joined
from the throne and set Zeus in

his place.

This was done

but the change of government, though acquiesced in by the

principal deities, was not to be brooked by the Titans, who with

Okeanos proceeded to war. The seat of war

was Thessaly, with its wild natural features suggestive of a con
flict in which huge rocks had been torn from mountain sides
and shattered by the violence with which they had been thrown
the exception of

in

combat.

The

party of Zeus had

position on

its

Mount

Olympos, the Titans on Mount Othrys. The struggle lasted

years, all the might which the Olympians could bring to
bear being useless until, on the advice of Gaea, Zeus set free the

many

Kyklopes and Hekatoncheires, of

whom

the former fashioned

thunderbolts for him, while the latter advanced on his side with
force equal to the shock of

down

to lowest Tartaros as

an earthquake. The earth trembled

Zeus now appeared with his terrible

weapons and new allies. Old Chaos thought

his

hour had come,

as from a continuous blaze of thunderbolts the earth took

and the waters seethed

in the sea.

The

fire

rebels were partly

consumed, and partly hurled into deep chasms, with

hills reeling after them, and consigning them to a life

slain or

rocks and

beneath the surface of the earth.

The cause

of Kronos was

thus lost for ever, and the right of Zeus to rule established for
all

time.

The
dawned

island
earlier

of Crete, where

appears to have
than elsewhere in Greece, and where the story
civilization

SATUK-

31

was
of the secret up-bringing of Zeus was made the most of,
centre of the worship of Kronos. Here, however,
the
principal

and

in Attica,

as well as in several other districts of Greece,

it

his children that

grim god who had devoured
and
maturer
the
as
than
ripener, the god
he was worshipped

was

less as the

of harvest,

So

ness.

who sends
it

riches

happened

and

blessings, prosperity

that his festivals in Greece, the

and glad

Kronia,

and the corresponding Saturnalia in Italy, were of that class

which imposed no restraint on the mirth and pleasures of those
like a reminiscence of an age when under
present, and seemed

Kronos there had been a perpetual harvest time on

resem
earth. As the devourer of his children Kronos bears some
blance to the Phoenician Moloch, and it is highly probable that
the rule of

in Crete, where the in

phase of his character originated
felt from very remote
been
had
settlers
Phoenician
fluence of
wife Rhea enjoyed a
his
that
noted
It is also to be
times.
this

in Asia Minor.
very early and wide-spread worship

The

scene where

husband

as

he

sits

Rhea

on

to her
presents the stone carefully wrapped up
was the subject of a sculpture executed for

his throne,

Plataeae by Praxiteles (Pausanias

the relief

now

in

ix.

the

Capitoline

mind, while the sickle in his

:.;..d

harvest,

and

is

from which

it is
possible that
represented in Plate I, and is

The

Museum, Rome.

Kronos, and especially the veiled

of

2, 7),

may have been made which

seem

thoughtful
to

indicate

attitude

ol

plotting
emblematical of his function

hand is
same time a memorial of the deed he
The war with the Titans (Titanomachia)

left

at the

head,

wrought upon his father Uranos.

was superseded in popular estimation as early as the time of Kuripides by
the Gigantomachia, or war of Giants, which will be described in connection
with Zeus.

Artists following the popular taste neglected the former alto

gether as a source of subjects.

SATURNUS,
made his
According to the popular belief of the Romans,
was
when
a
time
reigning
first appearance in Italy at
Janus

DEITIES OF

32

king of the

region that stretches along the banks of the

fertile

Tiber on either

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Presenting himself to Janus, and being

side.

kindly received, he proceeded to instruct the subjects of the

in

latter

quite

agriculture,

unknown

nurse the vine,

gardening,

them

to

as, for

and how

By such means he

and many other

arts

then

example, how

train

and

tend and

to

to

cultivate

fruit-trees.

people from a rude

and comparatively barbarous condition to one of order and
at length raised the

peaceful occupations, in consequence of which he was every

where held in high esteem, and

in course of time

was selected

him the government of the kingdom,

by Janus
which thereupon assumed the name of Saturnia, a land
The period of Saturn s government was
of seed and fruit.
to share with

in later times

and cares of

sung of by poets as a happy time when sorrows

life were unknown, when innocence, freedom,

and gladness reigned throughout the

as to deserve the
also has

reign

of

its

title

golden age,

Kronos, and

land,

in such a

said
this,

to

degree

Greek mythology

of the golden age.

have occurred during the

perhaps,

more than any other

circumstance, led to the identification of Saturnus and Kronos,

in spite of the real difference

between the two

name of Saturn s wife was Ops.

Once a year, in the month of December,

the

a festival called Saturnalia in his honour.

five to
all

deities.

The

Romans

held

It

lasted from

seven days, and was accompanied by amusements of

During those days the ordinary distinctions were

kinds.

done away with between master and servant or slave. No

affairs, and no punish
ments for crime were inflicted. Servants or slaves went about
assemblies were held to discuss public

dressed like
presents.

their masters,

and received from them

costly

Children received from their parents or relatives

II.

Ehea.

Zeus, or Jupiter.

RHEA.

33

of a gaudy type,
presents of pictures, probably
the street where the picture dealers lived.

There was a temple of Saturn

Rome,

in

purchased

in

at the foot of the

his
feet
itoline Hill, containing a figure of him with
which
could
woollen
of
cloth,
only
wrapped round with pieces

as a sign cf his having

hand he held a curved garden-knife,

been the
olive.

to teach the people

first

In

this

In one

Saturnalia.

be removed during the festival of the

how

to trim the vine

and

chest and the

temple were preserved the state

standards of the army.

RHEA.
(PI. VI i.S

AM)

I.

II.)

Aj Uranos, the representative of the fertilizing force in nature,

was superseded by Kronos the representative of a ripening
so Gaea, the primitive goddess of the earth with its
to Rhea, a goddess of the earth
productive plains gave way
Gaea had been the mother of
with its mountains and forests.
force,

the

as for

titles

were derived
in

oi

less

Pluto,
Hestia.

Hera, Demeter, and

and Berekuntia
example,

Dindumene

for the

most part from the names of mountain^

those of
hrygia and I.ydia, her

having been

civili/.ation

mother of gods

the

but more highly gifted

Asia Minor, particularly

worship

or

of strength,

and Zeus,

Poseidon,
Her

Rhea was

Titans.

powerful

-iven to feats

these countries.

Kybebe, which

also,

idled

intimat

from

with

the

early

There her name was Kybele

its

being employed to designate

her sanctuaries ^Kybela) in caves or mountain sides, points

to her character as a mountain goddess.
3

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

34

The lofty hills of Asia Minor, while sheltering on their

cavernous sides wild animals, such as the panther and lion,
which it was her delight to tame, also looked down on

many

which

flourishing cities

this latter capacity she

Mater

it

In

to protect.

wore a mural crown, and was styled

turrita.

civilization,

But though herself identified with peaceful

her worship was always distinguished by wild and

fantastic excitement, her priests

the

was her duty

woods

at

night

with

and devotees rushing through

burning, maiming and

torches

and producing all the din that was pos

from the clashing of cymbals, the shrill notes of pipes,
and the frantic voice of song. To account for this peculiarity

wounding each

other,

sible

of her

worship,

which must have

been intended

to

com

memorate some great sorrow, the story was told of how she
had loved the young Phrygian shepherd, Attis, whose extra
ordinary beauty had also
of Pessinus

how

how he was

won

the heart of the king

daughter

destined to marry the princess, and

the goddess, suddenly appearing, spread terror and con

among the marriage guests. Attis escaped to

mountains, maimed himself, and died beside a pine tree,

sternation

which

his

soul

violets like a

transmigrated,

wreath round the

Zeus to restore her

lover.

the
into

while from his blood sprang

tree.

The goddess implored

But so much was

This could not be.

granted that his body should never decay, that his hair should

always grow, and that his

little

finger should always

The

pine was a symbol of winter and sadness, the

spring and its hopeful beauty.

The

first

priests

Korybantes, for
the

first

of

whom

Rhea-Kybele were the Kuretes and

was also claimed that they had been

it

beings of mere

appeared on the

move.

violet of

human form and

capacity that had

earth, having sprung from the mountain side

111.

Zeus, or Jupiter.

ZEUS OR JUPITFR.

like

The

trees.

35

was always at
great centre of her worship

Pessinus in Phrygia, under the shadow of

Mount Dindymon,

on which was a cave containing what was believed to be the

Within this sanctuary was the tomb
oldest of her sanctuaries.
of Attis, and an ancient image of the goddess in the shape of a
which was said to have fallen from heaven. The first

stone,

it was said, by King

temple at Pessinus had been erected,
and endowed
maintained
of
Successive rulers
Midas.
Phrygia
of
a
importance
it
so liberally that it continued to be
place

Spreading from

had sunk.
long after Phrygian civilization
centre, the worship of

Kybele took hold

in the

first

this

neigh

bouring towns of Sardis, Magnesia, Smyrna, Ephesus, Lampthence to Athens, and in later times to
sakos, and Kyzikos
the mountainous district of Arcadia, where it was locally
;

believed that Zeus had been born and that the creation of

man

kind had taken place.

In Plate
hite II. Khca is represented as Mater turrita, or turrigera.
she appears as the goddess of mountain tops, riding on a lion, and hold
beside her tin
a cymbal in the other
ing a sceptre in one hand and
moon and :i star. At other times she is seated on a throne with a lion in
In

T.

her lap.

01

with a lion at each side, or in a chariot drawn by lions or pan-

y.Kt s

OR JIMTIT.K.
KS

THIRI>

The

and

last

II.

AND

III.)

on the throne of the highest god

sat

Zeus.

fertile imagination of early times had, as \ve have seen,

placed his abode on

and more

Mount Olympos

in Thessaly.

B.it

a later

him as inhabiting a
practical age usually conceived

region above the sky, where the source of

all light

was supposed

DEITIES OF

36

He

to be.

was god of the broad

had control of
ingly

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

all

the

light

of day, as his

phenomena of

name

the heavens,

implies,

and accord

sudden changes of weather, the gathering of clouds, and,

all, the burst of a thunderstorm made his presence

more than
felt as

a supernatural being interested in the

Hence such

titles

thunderer/ and

cloud- gatherer,

as

mighty thunderer,

was most frequently invoked.

On

god

affairs

of the

of mankind.

murky cloud,

were those by which he

the other hand, the serenity

and boundless extent of the sky over which he ruled, combined

with the never-failing recurrence of day, led him to be regarded
as

an everlasting god

To

indicate this feature of his character he

Zeus who was and

and

is

shall be.

was styled Kronides

or Kronion, a title which, though apparently derived from his
father Kronos, must have assumed even at a very early time a
special significance; otherwise

we should expect

to find

it

applied also to his two brothers, Poseidon and Hades.

The

beyond vision seemed

and came to be looked on

eagle soaring

approach

to Zeus,

Similarly high

to benefit

by

its

as sacred to him.

mountain peaks derived a sanctity from

their

nearness to the region of light, and were everywhere in Greece

associated with his worship, many of them furnishing titles by

which he was
title

known as,
Mount /Etna in

locally

derived from

a mountain in Rhodes.
erected on

hill

for instance,

Aetnaeos,

Atabyrios, from
Altars to him and even temples were

tops, to reach

Sicily, or

which by long

toiling,

and then

to

see the earth spread out small beneath, was perhaps the best

In con
preparation for approaching him in a proper spirit.
with this, and as testimony to the saying of Hesiod that

trast

Zeus Kronides lived not only

roots

in the

of the earth and in men,

Dodona

in Epiros

pure

air

but also at the

we find the low ground of

viewed with peculiar solemnity as a spot

ZEUS OR JUPITER.

37

wind
where direct communion was to be enjoyed with him. A
heard to rustle in the branches of a sacred oak when the
to make, the task of interpreting it
god had any communication
A spring rose at the
Selli.
called
devolving on a priesthood

and sacred pigeons rested among its leaves, the

drawn attention to the oracular
being that they had first
It should here be noted that the real
of the tree.

foot of the oak,

story

powers

importance of

this

worship of Zeus at

Dodona belonged

to ex

that in the primitive religion of the

ceedingly early times, and
nations the oak was regarded with
Italian, German, and Celtic
similar reverence.

and throughout Greece worshipped as

of gods and men. the ruler and
such, he was styled the father
believed to be possessed of
was
He
world.
of the

As

the highest god,

preserver

with wisdom, and in his dominion

every form of power, endued
over the human race partial to justice, and with no limit to his

Zeus orders the alternation of day and

his command, the winds obey
niuht, the seasons succeed at
the clouds, and bids Un
scatters
now
him, now he gathers,
meadows. He watches
and
fields
rain fall to fertilize the

goodness and

love.

gentle
r

the administration of law and justice in the state, lends

in the exercise of their

majesty to kings, and protects them
observes
He
attentively the general intercom-st
sovereignty.

and dealings of men

everywhere demanding and rewarding

and

kindness; everywhere
and cruelty. As the
faithlessness,
falseness,
wrong,
punishing
eternal father of men, he was believed to be kindly at the call

uprightness,

truth,

faithfulness,

poorest and most forsaken.

him as a merciful guardian
looked

of the

to

and delighted to reward pity and sympathy. To

rule on earth we would here give a familiar story.

5,

his

The homeless be
who punished the h
illustrate

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Philemon and Baukis, an

were living peacefully and

class,

in their

cottage in Phrygia,

aged couple of the poorer

full

when

of piety towards the gods

Zeus,

who

often visited the

earth, disguised, to inquire into the behaviour of

men, paid a
on
such
a
through Phrygia
journey, to these
poor old people, and was received by them very kindly as a
weary traveller, which he pretended to be. Bidding him
visit,

in passing

welcome

to the house, they set

about preparing for their guest,

as excellent a meal as they

who was accompanied by Hermes,

could afford, and for

goose they had

left,

this

purpose were about to

when Zeus

interfered

for

kill

the only

he was touched

by their kindliness and genuine piety, and that all the more
because he had observed among the other inhabitants of the
district

nothing but cruelty of disposition and a habit of re

To punish this conduct he

proaching and despising the gods.
determined to visit the country with a
destroying flood, but to
save from it Philemon and Baukis, the
and
good aged
couple,

to

reward them in a striking manner.

To

this

end he revealed

himself to them before opening the

gates of the great flood,
transformed their poor cottage on the hill into a
splendid
temple, installed the aged pair as his priest and priestess, and

granted their prayer that they might both die together.

after many years death overtook them
they were

two

trees,

that

grew side by side

in the

When

changed into
neighbourhood an

oak and a linden.

While

in adventures of this

kind the highest god of the

Greeks appears on the whole in a character

worthy of admira
tion, it will be seen that many other narratives represent him as
labouring under human weaknesses and error. The first wife of
Zeus was Metis (Cleverness), a daughter of the
friendly Titan
But as Fate, a dark and omniscient
being, had

Okeanos.

ZEUS OR JUPITER.

39

predicted that Metis would bear Zeus a son

his
liis

who should

surpass

father in power, Zeus followed in a manner the example of

father Kronos, by swallowing Metis before she was delivered

of her child, and then from his

own head gave

Themis

birth to the god

Next he married,
(Justice), and became

Horae.

His chief love was,

dess of wisdom, Pallas Athene (Minerva).

it is

said,

but only for a time,

the father of

Astraea and

however, always

for

Hera

the

(Juno), with her

many charms, who,

a time, at length gave way,

and the divine marriage took place amid great rejoicing, not on

after withstanding his entreaties for

the part of the gods of heaven alone, for those other deities also,
to whom the management of the world had been in various

departments delegated, had been invited, and went gladly to

the splendid ceremony.

mother of Hebe, Ares (Mars), and

Zeus did not, however, remain con
Hephaestos (Vulcan).
stant and true to the marriage with his sister, but secretly

Hera became

the

indulged a passion for other goddesses, and often, under the

disguise of various forms and shapes, approached even the

Hera gave way to indignation when she

daughters of men.
From secret intercourse of this kind
found out such doings.

Demeter

(Ceres)

bore

him Persephone

(Proserpina)

(Latona) became the mother of Apollo and Artemis

(Venus);
(Diana); Dione, the mother of Aphrodite
Mnemosyne, of the Muses; Eurynome, of the Charites

Leto

Dionysos (Bacchus); Maia, of

Alkmene, of Herakles (Hercules);
demigods, of whom we shall afterwards speak

(traces);

Semele,

Hermes

(Mercury);

^everal of the

of

being sons of Zeus by other and different mothers.

-e numerous love passages of Zeus (and other gods
as
well), related by ancient poets, appear to us,

if

is

;i

known they

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

appeared to the right-thinking

men amongst

the ancients

unbecoming of the great ruler of the

wonder is how such stones came into existence
selves,

this

universe.
;

them

The

unless indeed

be

accepted as a satisfactory explanation of their origin,

that they are
simply the different versions of one great myth of
the marriage of Zeus,
peculiar in early times to the different
districts of Greece, each version
representing him as having

but one wife, and being constant to her.

Her name and the
stories connected with their married life would be more or less
different in

each case.

of the Greeks

In

after-times,

became united

when

the various tribes

one people, and the various

that
had
myths
sprung up independently concerning Zeus came,
through the influence of poets and by other means, to be known
to the

into

whole nation, we may imagine that the only

way that
itself of
them
all
into
one
consistent
narrative
uniting

presented

was by degrading

all

the wives, except Hera, to the

position of

It is, however, unfortunate that we

temporary acquaintances.
cannot now trace every one of his
acquaintances of this sort

back to a primitive position of

At the same

ance.

time,

sufficiently great local

enough

is

known

import

to justify this prin

ciple of interpretation, not only with regard to the apparent

improprieties in the conduct of Zeus, but also of the other

wherever they occur.

Properly Zeus could have but
wife, such being the limit of marriage among the Greeks.

deities

one

Of

the

several

Greece where the worship of

Zeus was conducted with unusual
ceremony and devotion,
the two most deserving of attention are Athens and
Olympia.
In Athens the change of season acting on the
temperament of
the people seemed to produce a
change in their feelings
towards the god.
For from early spring and throughout the

summer they

called

localities

him the

in

friendly

god (Zeus Meilichios),

ZEUS OR JUPITER.

offered public sacrifices at his altars,

and on three occasions held

But as the approach of winter

high festival in his honour.
made itself felt, thoughts of his anger returned, he was called the
was made
god (Zeus Maemaktes), and an endeavour
a festival called Maemakteria. At Olympropitiate him by
which from an early period had assumed
in Klis. a

cruel
to

festival,

pia.

was held

national importance,
[uly

(Hekatombaeon)

honour

commencing with

in the

month of

after the lapse

every fifth year, thatis,

It lasted at least five

of four clear years.

days,

in his

and perhaps seven

sacrifice at the great altar of Xeus. in

which the deputies from the various states, with their splendid
of competi
retinues, took part. This ceremony over, a series
tions took place in foot-racing, leaping from a raised platform
in the hands to give impetus, throwwith

weights

(/la/trrcs]

about
in- the disk (a circular plate of metal or stone weighing
twisted round the arm and
with leather

thongs
811).), boxing
sometimes with metal rings in the hands, horse-racing, chariotracing with two or four horses, and, lastly,

The

musicians and poets.

Greeks,
as

<

\<vpt

had entailed

a competition of

were open to

lists

all

free-born

such as had been convicted of crime, or such

in former contests the penalty of a fine and

had refused to pay

it.

Intending competitors were required

had gone through a proper course

decision of the
they would abide by the

to give sureties that they

of training, and that

judges.

Slaves and foreigners might look on, but the presence

of married

women was

of the festival

was

own number by
where

now

this

in

The

forbidden.

entire

management

the hands of a board elected from their

the people of Elis.

The

plain of

Ohmpu.

national meeting in honour of Zeus was held,

waste

description of

but

some idea may

Pausanias of

its

still

is

be gathered from the

magnificent temple

and the

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

42

number

vast

of statues

that

studded

the

sacred

grove.

Within the temple was a statue of the god, in

gold and ivory,

work of Pheidias, the most renowned of ancient

sculptors.
forty feet in height, and for its beauty and grandeur
was reckoneit one of the Seven Wonders* of the ancient
the

was

It

world.

As some would have

it,

these

games had been established

by Zeus himself to commemorate his victory over the Titans,

and even the gods in early times are said to have taken
part
the

in

The people

contests.

of Elis maintained that the

had been founded by Pelops, while others ascribed

that honour to Herakles.
The usual method of reckoning
time was by the interval between these festivals, one
festival

Olym

piad being equal

to four years.

The

first festival

from which

the reckoning started, as ours does from the birth of

Christ,
occurred in the year 776 B.C.

The

birth

after a long

and
and

early
fierce

life of Zeus,
up to the period when,
war around Olympos, he defeated the

Titans and established his right to

reign in the place of his
has
Kronos,
That his two
already been related.

father

brothers, to

whose assistance he had been

greatly indebted

The seven wonders of the ancient world were (i) The

Pyramids of
(2) The Walls of Babylon
(3) The Hanging Gardens of Baby
lon
(4) The Temple of Diana at Ephesus
(5) The Statue of Zeus at
Olympia; (6) The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
(7) The Colossus at
Rhodes
all monuments of art of
extraordinary beauty or
Egypt

stupendous
In statues of gold and
ivory, such as that of Zeus at Olym
pia, and many others, the face and nude parts- of the
body were made
of ivory, while the hair and
in
drapery were

dimensions.

reproduced

worked

in parts with enamel.

We

gold,

richly

obtain an idea of the expense of such

splendid statues, from the statement that a single lock of the hair of Zeus at
Olympia cost about ^250 of our money.

ZEUS OR JUPITER.

43

have a share in the management of the

during the war, might
the
were cast and to Poseidon fell the control of
world, lots

sea

and

rivers,

while

Hades obtained

the government of the

on the part
Opposition, however,
and the new
of the kindred of Kronos had not yet ceased,
war
to encounter a fresh outbreak of
dynasty of gods had
the
the
of
that
Titans,
been
had
than
world under the earth.

even more

terrible

enemy being
from

the

position

in this case the

blood

Giants, a race of beings sprung

of Uranos.

The

took

Giants

on the peninsula of Pallene, which

is

their

up

separated from

was

Their king and leader

Mount Olympos by a bay.
Porphyrion, their most powerful combatant, Alkyoneus,
against

Zeus and Athene took up arms

whom

Their

in vain.

the
mother Earth had made the Giants proof against
the weapons of
weapons of the gods not, however, against
Athene brought Herakles on the
mortals; and knowing this
to shine at the command of
ceased
Sun and moon
scene.
which had furnished the
down
cut
and the herb was
all

/,cus,

The huge Alkyoneus,

Giants with a charm against wounds.
the
who had hurled great rocks at the Olympians, fell by
and Porphyrion, while in the act of
arrows of Herakles
;

was overpowered.

seizing Hera,

Enkelados
tied,

Of

Pallas and

the others,

Polybotes
Kos was overtaken by a

were slain by Athene, the boisterous

but on reaching the island of

buried under
rock hurled at him by Poseidon and

Rhoetos

it,

while

to

Dionysos,
Ephialtes had to yield to Apollo,
the
To
or
popular
Hephaestos.
and Klytios to Hecate
the
than
interest
a
had
greater
mind this war with the Giants

Titanomochia.

with
Ultimately the two were confounded

each other.

These wars

over, there succeeded a period

which was called

DEITIES OF

44

the Silver

Age

on

Golden Age under

but

still

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

earth.

Men

were rich then, as in the

the rule of Kronos,

and lived in plenty

wanted
the
innocence
and contentment which
they

were the true sources of human

happiness in the former age

while living in luxury and

delicacy, they
became overbearing in their manners to the
highest degree,
and,

accordingly,

were never satisfied, and forgot the

gods, to whom, in their
confidence of prosperity and comfort,
they denied the rever
ence they owed.
To punish them, and as a warning against
such habits, Zeus swept them
away, and concealed them under
the earth, where they continued to live as daemons or
spirits,
not so powerful as the spirits of the men of the Golden
Age,
but yet respected by those who came after them.

Then

followed

the

Bronze Age,

a period of constant

quarrelling and deeds of violence.

Instead of cultivated
lands and a life of peaceful
occupations and

orderly habits,

came a day when everywhere might was

and men,
right
big and powerful as they were, became physically worn out,
there

and sank into the lower world without

leaving a
having existed, and without a claim to a future

trace of their

spiritual

Finally

had

came

the

Iron Age,

in

to toil for bread with their

hands, and, bent

their best to

life.

which enfeebled mankind

overreach each other.

Dike

on

gain, did

or Astraea,

the

goddess of justice and good faith, modesty and truth, turned

her back on such scenes, and retired to
Olympos, while Zeus
determined to destroy the human race
a
flood.
The

by

great

whole of Greece lay under water, and none but Deukalion

and his wife Pyrrha were saved.
Leaving the summit of
Parnassos, where they had escaped the flood,
were
they

commanded by the gods to become

race of men
that is, the present race.

the founders of a

To

this end,

it is

new
said,

ZEUS OR JUPITER.

45

as they advanced stones, which presently

they cast around them
assumed the forms of men, who, when the flood had quite

disappeared,

commenced

spread themselves in

all

cultivate

to

directions

the

but being

land
little

and

again

better than

had been destroyed, they, too, often drew down

and suffered at his hands.
displeasure of Zeus
the Romans Jupiter held a place of honour cor

the race that

the

Among

to that held by Zeus

responding in some degree

name

being of the

his function as

god

weapon of

the

for the

the

His
title was Optimus Maximus.
same derivation as that of Zeus, indicates
of the broad light of day and armed with

His favourite

reeks.

(1

among

Temples and

lightning.

altars

were erected

statues were raised, and public

purposes of his worship,
As to sacrifice, both he and Zeus
held in his honour.

festivals

To

delighted most in bulls.

olive

both the eagle, the oak, and the

were sacred.

of religious feeling preeecles the development of artistic

the preman, and accordingly we find that in the earliest ages
In the
-.enee of a god was symbol i/ed only by some natural object.
it was,
case of Xeus this was an oak-tree, while in the case of Rhca-Kybele
we have seen, a stone which \\as believed to have fallen from heaven.

The growth

faculty in

a>

he

artistic

first

efforts to

xoana, and consisted of a

at

Of

called
reproduce the image of a god were
seen
rudely -haped like a human figure

pillar

the artist s attention being mostly directed to the head.

.abrundeus as represented on the
kind was the figure of
with
three
of
Xeus
the
eyes at Argos, and the figure
aria,
figure

a distance,

/eu>

thi>

<,f

(.

of

him without

to

be retained

ears at Crete.
till

iety

caused these rude and strange

long after the art

of sculpture had

become equal

to

The gold and ivory statue of /eus at

the pnxluetion of imposing figures.
him seated
has
mention
which
of
already been made, represented
Olympia,
from what is
,,n his throne, and some small idea may still be gained of it

The bust on plate iii., known

no doubt a copy of it on the coins of Klis.
the /eus of Otricoli, is perhaps the best existing example of the f.i
The attributes of /eus are the
/eus as conceived by the Greek sculptors.
:i-

DEITIES OF

46

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

eagle, a sceptre, a thunderbolt, and, in the case of an ancient

He

an axe.

in Caria,

image

represented sometimes with Hera by his side, sometimes

with Athene, or with both, or with Athene and Herakles.
When he
leaves his throne it is generally to rise in
might against an enemy such as
the Giants, and in these cases he is
armed with the thunderbolt,
is

always

and

either stands in the act of

hurling it, or drives in a chariot attended by
other gods, as he is frequently to be seen on the ancient
painted vases.

Another favourite subject on these vases is the birth of Athene from the
In works of art no distinction is made between Zeus and

head of Zeus.

Jupiter, for this reason, that

Plate

vii.

Rome had no

HERA,

(PLATES
WAS

distinctive sculpture of its

own.

represents the infancy of Zeus in Crete.

OR
i

v.

JUNO,

AND

a divine personification of what

v.),

may be

called the female

power of the heavens that is, the atmosphere, with its fickle
and yet fertilizing properties while Zeus represented those
;

properties of the heavens that appeared to

To

their marriage

when they met,

was traced
as

all

on Mount Ida

fragrant flowers sprang

be of a male

order.

the blessings of nature, and

in a golden cloud, sweet

up around them.

tree with

golden

apples grew up at their marriage feast, and streams of ambrosia

flowed past their couch in the happy island of the west.
That

marriage ceremony took place,

to

keep up a recollection of

that

season

in

it,

her honour.

it

was believed,

an annual

in spring,

festival

and

was held

at

Like the sudden and violent

storms, however, which in certain seasons break the peacefulness of the sky of Greece, the meetings of this divine pair
often resulted in temporary quarrels and wrangling, the blame

of which was usually traced to

Homer,

Hera

poets,

and most of

all

in the Iliad, describing her as frequently jealous,

angry,

IV.

Hera, or Juno.

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

48

and unmarried women took

part, running with their hair

the judges on the
streaming down, and wearing short dresses,
occasion being sixteen married women.

The character, however, in which Hera was most generall)

viewed was that of queen of heaven, and as the faithful wife
of Zeus claiming the highest conceivable respect and honour.
made

Herself the ideal of womanly virtues, she

it

a principal

duty to protect them among mortals, punishing with severity

all trespassers against her moral law
but, naturally, none so

much
tions

as those

who had been

as, for instance,

Alkmene,

Semele,

most part

various stages of

to

s affec

the mother of Dionysos, or

the mother of Herakles.

stricted for the

some

objects of her husband

Her worship was

women, who, according

womanhood, regarded her

re

to the

in a different light

as a bride, styling her

Parthenia; others as a wife, with

the title of Gamelia, Zygia or Teleia and others again in
the character of Eileithyia, as helpful at child-birth. Of these
;

phases of her
the

life

phenomena of

that of bride

was obviously associable with

the heavens in the spring-time,

return of dazzling light

when

and warmth spread everywhere

the

affec

tionate gaiety and the blooming of new life.

As queen of
heaven and wife of Zeus she will be found, in connection with

the legends of Argos

and

neighbourhood, possessed, from

motives of jealousy, of a hatred towards the nocturnal pheno

mena

its

of the sky, and especially the moon, as personified by

whom she placed under the surveillance of

the wandering lo,

Argos, a being with innumerable eyes, and apparently a per

sonification of the starry system.

The town

of Argos, with

its

ancient legends, which clearly

some powerful sensitiveness to the phenomena of light,

was the oldest and always the chief centre of this worship of
betray

\.

Hera.
\\c

OK JUNO.

49

There was her principal temple, and within it a statue

in grandeur
goddess, by Polykleitos, which almost rivalled

Next

beauty the Zeus at Olympia, by Pheidias.

.ind

with

).s,

its

erected

splendid temple

her

for

In Corinth also, in Eubcea, Bceotia, Crete,

krates.

by

caim>

Poly-

and even

Lakiniun, in Italy, she had temples and devotees.

in

Roman

the

Juno,

equivalent of Hera, was mostly regarded

and in accordance with that

the maternal point of view,

iuently styled

were erected and

Lucina,

festivals held

Matronalia

that called

the helper at child-birth.

in

her honour

being the

chief.

It

Temples

of the festivals

was held on the

year, and could only be participated in

with
went
who
girdles loose, and on the occasion
by women,
i

of

st

March of each

lovers, or

ived presents from husbands,

presents in turn to their servants.

women were
The image

of

The

called in early times

Hera

is

friends,

spirits

that

making
guarded

Junones.

said to have consisted at

first

of a long

pillar, as

of a plank, and to have assumed a human form

The statue of her by Polykleitos,
in comparatively late times.
It reprementioned above, was of gold and ivory and of colossal size.
\

s^os,

and

in

Samos

>nly

d her seated
l.ol
r

on a throne, holding

We

can

known

recall the appearance of the

Juno Ludovisi (on plate iv.), from
ancient heads in marble of great

as the

of Ar^os, and from -.cveral

made a colo-^.d rtfttae of her in the character of the

-<>ms

Praxiteles

ty.

>

iclx-

some measure

in

still

from the marble head

<

one hand a pomegranate, the

!ie;>d

lorae.
.

in

of marriage, and in the other a sceptre on which sat a cuckoo.

was a crown ornamented with figures of the Charites (Graces)

of marriage rites,

landing beside

and also a group of her seated, with Athene

On the painted vases the scene in which

her.

frequently occurs
of her beauty.

is

that

where

sh--

ippears before Paris to be

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

POSEIDON, OR NEPTUNE.
(PLATE

v.)

IT has already been told

how, when all the resources had failed
which the Titans could
bring to bear for the restoration of
Krorios

the

to

divided by lot

Hades.
trol

throne,

among

To Zeus

of the heavens

the

government of the world was

his three sons,

Zeus, Poseidon, and

besides a general supremacy, the con

and we have seen how he and his consort

fell,
;

Hera, representing the phenomena of that region, were con

ceived as divine persons
possessed of a character and perform
ing actions such as were suggested
those
To

by

Poseidon
like

fell

manner

phenomena.

the control of the element of

water, and he in
was conceived as a god, in whose character and

actions were reflected the

phenomena of that element, whether

as the broad
navigable sea, or as the cloud which gives fertility
to the earth,
growth to the grain and vine, or as the fountain
which refreshes man, cattle, and horses.
suitable
his power,
therefore,

both for labour and

battle, whilst its swift springing

finely with the

compares

He

sea.

A
symbol of
was the horse, admirably
adapted as it is
movement

advance of a foaming wave of the

yokes to the

chariot,"
sings Homer in the Iliad,
with
feet
of
brass
steeds,
and manes of gold, and
himself, clad in gold, drives over the waves.
The beasts of
the sea sport round him,
leaving their lurking places, for they
"

his

swift

know him
for

him.

the brazen
It

to

be their

lord.

His horses speed

The

sea rejoices and

lightly,

makes way
and never a drop touches

axle."

may have been

encroach in

many

to illustrate

a tendency of the sea to

places on the coast, as well as to

show the

V,

Hera, or Juno.

Poseidon, or Neptune

POSEIDON, OR NEPTUNE.

51

the myth
importance attached to a good supply of water, that
and
Poseidon
between
originated which tells us of the dispute

Athene

for the sovereignty of the soil of Attika.

To

settle

it was agreed by the gods that whichever of the

two should perform the greatest wonder, and at the same time
confer the most useful gift on the land, should be entitled to
rule over it.
With a stroke of his trident Poseidon caused a

the dispute,

brackish spring to well up on the Acropolis of Athens, a *

and previously altogether without water. But
400 feet
high,

Athene

in

same bare

her turn caused the

rock, and since

that

first olive tree to grow from the

was deemed the greatest benefit

that could be bestowed, obtained for all time sovereignty of

the land, which Poseidon thereupon spitefully inundated.

for him,
dispute, and ending also unfavourably
which he had with Hera concerning the district of

unilar
that

case his indignation took the opposite

Other incidents of the
course of causing a perpetual drought.
same nature were his disputes with Helios for the possession
Argos.

But

in

of Corinth, with

this

Zeus

and with Apollo

for ^Kgina, with

for Delphi.

Dionysos

The most obvious

for

Naxos,

illustrations,

however, of the encroaching tendency of the sea are the mon

sters which Poseidon sent to lay waste coast lands, such as
those which

Hesione and Andromeda

were offered

to

appe
In the Iliad Poseidon appears only in his capacity of ruler
of the sea, inhabiting a brilliant palace in its depths, traversmin a chariot, or stirring the powerful billows til! the
its surf K.
earth

shakes as they crash upon the shore.

This limitation

of his functions, though possibly to be accounted for by the

nature of the poem,
the earliest

is

remarkable

for this reason, that

myths associated with his worship are

among

those

in

which he

and

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

52

is

represented in connection with well-watered plains

valleys.

In the neighbourhood of Lerna, in the parched

of Argos, he had struck the earth with his trident, and

district

caused three springs to well up for love of Amymone, whom

he found in distress, because she could not obtain the water

which her father

Danaos

had sent her

to fetch.

In Thessaly

had broken through the high mountains,

which formerly shut in the whole country and caused it to be
frequently flooded with water* By that stroke he formed the
a stroke of his trident

Tempe, through which the water collecting

might flow away. A district well supplied with

pleasant vale of

from the

hills

water was favourable to pasture and the rearing of horses, and

in this

the horse

way

came

to

be doubly

and on

of the water of the sea

his symbol, as

god

In Arcadia, with

the land.

land and fine streams and valleys, he was

worshipped side by side with Demeter, with whom, it was
its

mountainous

believed, he begat that

Arion.

In

Boeotia,

winged and wonderfully fleet horse

where he was also worshipped, the

mother of Arion was said

had appeared

became

in the

to

have been Erinys,

form of a horse.

the father of the winged horse

With

whom

he

Medusa

he

to

Pegasos, which was

watered at springs by Nymphs, and appeared to poets as the

symbol of poetic inspiration. And again, as an instance of

double capacity as god of the sea and pasture streams, the

ram, with the golden fleece for which the Argonauts sailed,
his

was said

by Theophane, who had

been changed into a lamb. Chief among his other offspring
were, on the one hand, the giant Antaeos, who derived
from
cible,

his
till

to

have been

his offspring

mother Earth a
Herakles

and the Kyklops,

lifting

strength which

him

in

Polyphemos

made him

invin

the air overpowered him,

on the other hand, Pelias,

POSEIDON, OR NEPTUNK.

who

the

out

sent

Argonauts,

and

53

Neleus

father

the

of

Nestor.

To

on the part

return to the instances of rebellious conduct

conclusion of the war

appears that after the
him and Zc
between
arose
a
with the Giants
disagreement
of Poseidon,

it

the result of which was that Poseidon was suspended for the

of the sea, and was further

period of a year from the control
with Apollo, Laomeobliged during the time to serve, along
don the King of Troy, and to help to build the walls of that
Some say that the building of the walls was voluntary
on the part of both gods, and was done to test the character
of Laomedon, who afterwards refused to give Poseidon the

the
reward agreed upon.
Angry at this, the god devastated
land by a flood, and sent a sea-monster, to appease which

medon was

driven to offer his daughter

set the

Herakles, however,
Thus defeated, Poseidon

monster.

the-

Hesione

maiden

relented

as a

and slew

free

none of

his

have done them

indignation towards the Trojans, and would
in after times, when they were at war with the
much
injury

Greeks, but for the interference of Zeus.

Ugfc

unshipped

generally throughout Greece,

it

was

in

was displayed
the seaport towns that the most remarkable
and
to obtain his favour.
Temples in his honour, sanctuaries,
met with in Thessaly, Iteotia.
public rejoicings were to be
/eal

Aegae, and

Ar<

!os in

Nauplia,

Helikc, on

the coast of Ach.ir

Messenia, at Elis, in the island of

I

roe/en, in

Samos,

at Corinth,

the islands of KaKuiria, Kulxea, Sk

and on the Isthmus

Tenos, at Mycale, Taenarum, Athens,
tluthat belt of land which connects Peloponnesos with

;m<]

Greece.
held

in

his

In the island of Tenos an annual festival

honour, at which he was worshipped

in

the cha

DEITIES OF

54

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

racter of a physician.
People crowded to the festival from
neighbouring islands, and spent the time in banquets, sacrifice,

and common council.

But chief of

all

the gatherings in his

honour was that held on the Isthmus of Corinth

twice in each Olympiad

in the

autumn,

a festival which had been established

by Theseus, and in reputation stood next to the Olympian

games, like them also serving the purpose of maintaining

among

the Greeks of distant regions the consciousness of their

common

The Corinthians had the right of arranging

origin.
and managing them, the Athenians having also certain privi
It was in his double
leges.
capacity of ruler of the sea and
as the

first

festival

to train

and employ horses that the honours of this

His temple, with other sanctuaries,

were paid to him.

stood in a pine grove, a wreath from which was the

prize
awarded to the victors. The prize had originally been a wreath
of parsley.

In

this

the ship of the

sacred pine grove was to be seen the

Argonauts,

dedicated to

Argo,
Poseidon as a

memorial of the earliest enterprise at sea; and there also

stood the colossal bronze statue of the
god, which the Greeks
raised to commemorate the
naval
splendid
victory gained over
the Persians at Salamis.

him, the

them

into the sea.

It

The Romans,
times,
it

little

was probably,

bulls

were sacrificed to

the sacrifice being to throw

was the practice of fortunate survivors

of shipwreck to hang up
of his temples.

had

Horses and

method of performing

some memento of

their safety in

one

living mostly as herdsmen and farmers in early

occasion to propitiate the god of the sea, and
therefore, rather as the father of streams that

they erected a temple to Neptunus in the Campus Martius,

and held a festival in his honour attended with
games,
feasting,

and enjoyment

like that of a fair.

AMPHITK!

55

of art, such
Between Zeus and Poseidon there is, in works
But Poseidon is by far the
would be expected between two brothers.
that of Herakles,
more powerful of the two physically his build, like
1

expressing the

greatest conceivable strength.

But,

unlike Herakles, his

of a god, not of an athlete.

attitudes and especially his head, are those
but bis hair, instead of
Hi. features, one by one, resemble those of Zeus,
and is
falls in thick masses over the temples,
his

brow,
^.ringing from
1
matted from the water.

is

attributes are a trident

and dolphin.

Possibly

him seated on a throne,

temples represented
statues of him erected
colossal
the
in
But
chiton.
and clad in the Ionian
he was always
ntories and in harbours, to secure his favour,
icred figures of

him

in his

which concealed none of his powerful

ing wearing only a slight scarf,
and the trident in his right hand, often
form, holding out a dolphin in his left,
In works of art not cona vessel.
of
the
on
with one foot raised
prow

on plate v.) traversing

nccted directly with his worship he was figured (as
creatures of the
fabulous
other
or
drawn
a
car
the sea in
by Hippocamps,
rum
the
dispute between
In one of the pediments of the Parthenon
Athene was represented.

AMPHITRITE,
THK

of
rightful wife

had the care of

its

the sea,
Poseidon, was the goddess of

creatures, could stir the great waves,

and

She was a daughter of

them against rocks and cliffs.
of
Okeanos and Tethys, or, according to another report,
flowwith
was
she
represented
Nereus and Doris. Usually

hurl

and the toes of a crab protruding from her temples

dimes seated on the back of a triton or other creature
;

in- hair

of the deep, alone

among

sea-animals

and seaweed, or ac

She may be compared with the seacompanying Poseidon.

Venilia.
of the Romans, Salacia, Neverita, and
i

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

HADES, OR PLUTO.
(PLATE

vi.)

WE

have seen how Zeus,

Hera, and Poseidon came to be con
ceived as the three
great deities who between them controlled
the elements of the
heavens, sky, and sea, and how a character
came to be ascribed to each of them such as was
most
suggested by the

phenomena of

naturally
the provinces of the world in

which

they respectively ruled.

But there still remained a re
gion which could not escape the observation of
people like the
Greeks, gifted with so keen a sense of the various
operations of
nature.
That region was, however, itself
invisible, being under
the surface of the earth.
The growth of vegetation was seen
to be
steadily upward, as

if
impelled by some divine force below.
metals which experience showed to be
most precious to
mankind could only be obtained
by digging into that dark re
gion under the earth.
Thither returned, after its
on earth

The

day

was spent, every form of

be supreme in the
to attribute

life.

In conceiving a
god

management of this
a double character to him

region,

it

who should

was necessary

first, as the source of all

the treasures and wealth of the
earth, as expressed in his name
Pluton ; and secondly, as monarch of the dark realm
inhabited
by the invisible shades of the dead, as expressed in his name
:

of

Aides.
While by virtue of

his power of
giving fertility to vegetation.
of swelling the seed cast into the furrows of
the earth, and of
yielding treasures of precious metal, he was
justly viewed as a
benevolent deity and a true friend of
man, there was another
and very grim side to his
in
which
he appears as the
character,
implacable, relentless god, whom no cost of sacrifice could
pet

VI.

Pluto and Proserpina.

Demeter, or Ceres.

Hestia, or Vesta

HADES, OR PLUTO.

suade to permit any one

57

who had once passed

his gates ever to

For this reason, to die, to go to Hades house, to pass

out of sight, to be lost fn the darkness of the lower world, was

return.

looked forward to as the dismal inevitable

fate awaiting all

men.

consolation in the belief that

Yet there must have been some

life thus claimed by him had been originally his gift, as were
means of comfort and pleasure in life thus cut off. In later
came more
times, when the benevolent side of his character

the
the

life
hopes arose concerning a future happy
the
that robbed death of its terrors. To impart such hopes was

into view, assuring

purpose of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

It seems to have been to make this union of two such oppo
the
person of one god more explicit that
myth concerning his marriage with Persephone originated,
she being, as we shall afterwards see, a personification of young
site

powers

in the

life.

blooming

The grim god

of the dead carries off by force

the
young goddess full of life. But no new life issues from
her
when
Yet she loved him, it would seem ; for
marriage.
come back to earth,
Demeter
mother,
(Ceres), implored her to
a

her answer was that she had accepted from her husband the half
of a pomegranate, or apple of love as

eaten

It is

it.

it

was

called,

and had

apparently in reference to this that both

and Persephone are represented

in

works of

art

Hades

holding each a

fruit.

Hades,
after the

being a son of

dethronement

two brothers,
the world.

and Kronos, was

They

entitled,

of the latter, to a share along with his

Zeus and Poseidon,

the lower world.

cast lots,

and

in the

Hades

to

fell

management

of

the dominion over

assigned to his dominion

monarch being a brother of

The importance

may b? judged from

Zeus, and

Rhea

the fact of

its

styled, too, sometimes,

"Zeus

of the lower

world."

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

With regard
be looked

we

for

representing
crust of the

to the region

it

where the realm of Hades was

find the ancient authorities at variance,

as in the under-world proper

earth,

that

others in the remote west,

is,

to

some

under the

in

Okeanos,
where were the gloomy groves of
It was entered
Persephone.
from the upper world by any spot of
sufficiently sombre or wild
natural aspect, particularly chasms with dark waters such as in

The most

spire terror.

celebrated place of this kind was

Lake

Avernus, at Cumae in Italy, of which it was said, as of the

Dead Sea, that no bird tried to fly across it but fell lifeless in its
waters.
all

Beyond these entrances was an open gate through which

pass, and having passed could not as a rule

comers had to

retrace a step.

Exceptions to the rule were made in favour of

Herakles and Orpheus, who were permitted
home of the dead, and return alive. The entrance

heroes such as
to visit the

was guarded by the dog of Hades, the dreaded Cerberus, a

monster with three heads and a serpent s tail, fawning on those

who

entered, but showing his horrible teeth to those

to pass out.

But besides by

this

who

tried

gateway, the lower was separ

ated from the upper world by rivers with impetuous torrents, of

which the most famous was the Styx, a stream of such terrible
aspect that even the highest gods invoked it as witness of the
truth of their oaths.
Across this river the departed were con

veyed by an aged ferryman appointed by the gods, and called

Charon, but not until their bodies had been buried in the
earth above with

of affection.
to

wander

all

Till this
listlessly

due ceremony of sacrifice and marks

was done, the souls of the departed had
about the farther bank of the Styx, a

prospect which was greatly dreaded by the ancients.

ferry

Charon exacted a

money

toll

(danake) was placed in

For the

pay which a piece of

the mouth of the dead at burial.

(naulon\ to

HAHKS, OR

is,

the river of

stream of

"fire";

To

wailing."

of

river

LUTO.

other rivers of the under-world were

The
that

"eternal

woe";

and Kokytos, the

these

added, by a

is

"

"so

named Acheron,

Pyriphlegethon,

the

river of "weeping

and

later

myth, Lethe, the

its waters were

called because

forgetfulness
believed to possess the property of causing the departed

drank of them

to forget altogether their

who

former circumstances

purport of this myth was to explain

and establish the idea that the dead could not take with them
into the realm of everlasting peace the consciousness of the
in

the upper world.

The

and sorrows of

pains

their lot

on

earth.

In the waters of

Lethe they drank a happy oblivion of all past suffering, wants,

and troubles, an idea of the means of forgetting sorrow which
later

poets have

In the last

made

frequent use

of.

book of the Odyssey the

souls of the slain suitors^

conceived as small winged beings, are described as being con

ducted to the realm of Hades by Hermes in his capacity of

Psychopompos

(see

Plate VI).

The way

is

dark and

They pass the streams of Okeanos, the white rock,

gloomy.
the gates of Helios, the people of dreams, and at last reach the
inhabit subAsphodel meadow, where the spirits of the dead
neous caves.

With regard to the condition of the dead under the do

minion of Hades, the belief was that they led a shadowy sort
of apparent

which, as mere reflections of their former

continued as in a dream, at any rate without dis
life,

in

they
consciousness, to perform the labours and carry on the
h
on earth.
-upations to which they had been accustomed

-.elves,

tinct
<n

ily

to favoured individuals like the

Theban

seer,

Teire-

have more to say afterwards, that the privi

was granted. Such was the sad
u
conscious
of
complete
lege
sias, of

whom we

6o

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

condition of the dead

from

the

complaint

and how they bore it may be guessed

Achilles to Odysseus, in the

of

"

I would rather toil as a

day.-labourer on the earth
than reign here a
of
dead
multitudes."
prince
Occasionally
the shades of the dead were
permitted to appear to their friends;

Odyssey

on

earth.
It was also
possible to summon them by a sacrifice,
the blood of which, when
they had drunk of it, restored con
sciousness and speech, so as to enable them to communicate

with the living.

We must, however, clearly distinguish between this under

world as the abiding
place of the great mass of the dead, and
two other regions where
spirits of the departed were to be
the one Elysion
found,
with the islands
(the Elysian
Fields),

of the blest, and the other

Tartaros.

The former

region was

most commonly placed in the remotest

West, and the
far below the earth as the heavens are
above it. In

latter as

early times-

it

appears to have been believed that

Elysion and

the happy
and good than for
There, under the sovereignty of

islands were reserved less for the virtuous

certain favourites of the
gods.

Kronos, they lived again a kind of second golden age of per

petual duration. But in later times there spread more and more
the belief in a
happy immortality reserved for all the good,
and particularly for those who had been initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries (see
below).

Tartaros, on the other hand,

was the region where those were condemned to
punishment
who had committed any crime against the gods while on earth.

What was

the misery of their condition we shall be able to

from
the following account of a few of the best known of
judge
those condemned to such punishment,
as Tantalos, Ixion,

Sisyphos, Tityos, and the Danaides.

Tantalos, once a king of Phrygia, had given

offence to

61

HADES, OR 1M.UTO.

the
^ods by his overbearing and treachery, as well as by
he
this
For
his own son.
cruelty which he had practised on

loomed
1

[,

to Tartaros,

and there

to suffer

from an unceasing

of being crushed by a great rock that hung above his

he the while standing up to the throat in water, yet

essed of a terrible thirst which he could never quench, and

in vain to allay with the
iwing hunger which he tried
but withdrew at every
-mpting fruits that hung over his head

approach he made.
Ixion, once a sovereign of Thessaly, had, like Tantalos,
sentenced to Tar
outraged the gods, and was in consequence
there to be lashed with serpents to a wheel which a

taros,

wind drove continually round and round.

Sisyphos, once king of Corinth, had by treachery and
of the gods in a high degree, and
incurred the

stroiii;

anger
stone up a
punished in Tartaros by having to roll a huge
of his utmost
Jit, which he had no sooner done, by means

h utility

tion,

than

it

down again.
who once lived

rolled

Tityos, a giant

in

Kuboea, had misused his

and Arte
(the mother of Apollo
;igth to outrage
to
/eus
Tartaros, where two
mis), and was condemned by
enormous vultures gnawed continually his liver, which always

Leto

v again.

of Danaos, king of Argos (of

to Tartaros for the murder of
sentenced
were
see below),

The Danaides, daughters

whom

prescribed for them was

it into a broken cistern or
y water, and continue to pour

their

1C,

husbands.

to

The punishment

and going on for ever.

however, were not only ruU-rs
but were also believed to exer

the labour being all in vain,

Hades and Persephone,

over the souls of the departed,
cise the function of judges of

mankind

after

K-ath.

In thistaskj

62

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

they were assisted by three heroes

conspicuous for wisdom and

thys, and ^Eakos, the

who

justice,

while on earth had beer,

Minos, Rhadaman-

last

being also, apart from this, the

gate-keeper of the lower region, according to a later
opinion.
Both among the Greeks and Romans the
of Pluton-

worship
was wide-spread, and the honours
In
paid him great.
Greece his principal temples were at
Pylos, Athens, and OlymThe cypress, narcissus, and boxwood were sa
pia in Elis.
cred to him.
In Rome a great festival was held in his
honour

Hades

month of February, at which sacrifices

(februationes} of
black bulls and goats were
offered, and the officiating priests
wore wreaths of cypress, the whole
ceremony extending over
twelve nights.
The Saecular Games, which were held once
in a century, were in his
honour, and as a tribute to the dead.
in the

In works of art Hades is

represented as having inherited the same
type
of face as his brothers Zeus and
Poseidon, differing only in a certain
His hair shades his brow in
grimness of expression.
In
heavy masses.
attitude he is either seated on a throne with
Persephone by his side (as on
plate vi.,) or standing in a chariot and carrying her off. His attributes
are a
sceptre like that of Zeus, and a helmet, which, like the cloud
cap of
Siegfried in German mythology, made its wearer invisible.
His attendant
the three-headed dog Cerberus. On the
painted vases scenes of

is

torment

in Tartaros are not

unfrequent

such, for example, as the Danaides

pouring

water into the broken vase, or Ixion bound to the

wheel, or Sisyphos
Herakles carrying off Cerberus, and
Orpheus on his
memorable visit to bring back Eurydike, are also
represented on the vases.

pushing up the stone

PERSEPHONE,

OR

(PLATE

Or

PROSERPINA,
vi.,)

Persephoneia, also called Kora by the Greeks, and

by the Romans Libera, was a daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and the wife of Aides, the marriage
being childless.

IMA.

PERSEPHONE, Ol
Struck with the charms of her virgin beauty,

63

Hades had obtan

Zeus to carry her off by force

the
and for this purpose, as the myth relates, he suddenly rose up
from a dark hole in the earth near to where she was wandering
sanction of his brother

in a

flowery

meadow

not far from &tna. in

Sicily,

plucking and

and
gathering the narcissus,seized thelovely flower-gatherer,

made

off with her to the under-world in a chariot drawn by four swift

Hermes

horses,

leading the way.

and implored gods and men

the transaction let

it

pass.

Persephone

resisted, beg.

but Zeus approving

In vain Demeter searched for her
to help her

daughter, traversing every land, or, as other myths say, pursu

of winged serpents, till
ing the escaped Hades with her yoke
the all-seeing and allfrom
she learned what had taken place

hearing god of the sun.

Then she

entreated with tears the g

and

they promised to do

to give her daughter back,

this

vided she had not as yet tasted of anything

in

the under-world.

But by the time that Hermes, who had been sent by Zeus to
ascertain this, reached the under-world, she had eaten the half
of a pomegranate which
of love,

l-

Hades had given her

as an expression

or this reason the return of Persephone to the upper

She must remain the wife

world for good became impossible.
An arrangement was however come to, by which
of Hades.
she was to be allowed to stay with her mother half the year on
earth and among the gods of Olympos, while the other half of
the year was to be spent with her

In this

myth

of

husband below.

Persephone-Kora,

of the heavens,

which by

their

daughter of Zeus, the

warmth and

rain

produce

and of Demeter, the maternal goddess of the fertile

we see that .she was conceived as a divine personifies

fertility,

earth,

of the process of vegetation

mother

in the light

in

summer appearing

of the upper world, but in the

beside her

autumn

dis-

DEITIES OF

64

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

appearing, and in winter passing her time, like the seed, under
the earth with the god of the lower world. The
decay observed

throughout Nature in autumn, the suspension of vegetation in

winter, impressed the ancients, as

modern
life

and hence the carrying

simply a symbol of death.

suggests hope,
a

new

impresses us and strikes

it

poets, as a moral of the transitoriness of all earthly

off of

Persephone appeared to be
But the myth at the same time

and proclaims the

belief that out of death springs

but apparently not a productive

life,

carried off by the

in the unsubstantial region of the shades.

to

life,

god of the under-world will not

have been the sense

in

and

that

for ever

This at

least

men

remain

appears

which the myth of Persephone and

her mother was presented to those initiated into the Eleusinian

Mysteries, which, as

we have remarked

an eternal

existence,

and of

real life to follow after death.

As queen of

the shades Persephone

various dreaded

Sirens, was

Erinys

before, held out assur

human

ing hopes of the imperishableness of

to

had control over the

beings whose occupation,

to beguile

men

like

that of the

to their death, or like that of the

avenge murder and

all

base crimes.

She shared

the honours paid to her husband in Greece, lower Italy,

especially in the island of Sicily.
Temples of great

were erected
Propontis.

for her in the

The

Greece occurred

principal
in the

Greek Locri, and

held

festivals

autumn or

at
in

in spring,

and

beauty
Kyzikos on the
her honour in

the visitors at the

former appearing dressed in mourning to commemorate her

being carried off by Pluto, while at the spring festival all wore
holiday garments to

commemorate her

return.

There remains, however, the important phase of her charac

ter in which she returns to the upper world and is associated
with her mother Demeter.

But

this

it

will

be more convenient

Dl.MKTI.R,

to

consider

IK

the next chapter.

in

65

The

phone werj ears of corn and poppies.

wife of Hades was a pomegranate; her

attributes

Her

sacrifice consisted of

In works of art she has a more youthful ap-

mother Demeter.

ance, but otherwise closely resembles her

The Roman Proserpina,

as

Persephone, appears to

belief

of the

of Per.-e

attribute as the

Roman

though the

name

is

clearly the

have had no hold on the

their

nation,

same

religious

goddess of the shades

Libitina, or Lubentina.

DEMETER,

OR CERES,

(PLATE

daughter of

eat

tti

vi.,)

Kronos and Rhea, was

in its capacity of

the goddess of the

bringing forth countless

fruits,

the

all-

all the divine being who watched

nourishing mother, and above
the growth of grain, and the various products of vegeta
;

most important to man. The first and grand thought in

her worship was the mysterious evolution of life out of the seed
which is cast into the ground and suffered to rot a. process of

tion

nature which both

St.

Paul

(i

Corinthians xv. 35) and

St.

John

with the attainment of a new life through

(xii. 24) compare
The seed left to rot in the ground was in the keeping
Christ.
of her daughter Persephone, the goddess of the lower world,
the new life which sprang from it was the gift of Demeter her

view the two goddesses, mother anil

two in
They were regarded as
daughter, were inseparable.
self

and from

this point of

"

one,"

and styled

"

the great deit;

in the grain
being conceived as the cause of growth
as
first
introduced
on
be
looked
came
to
Demeter nex-t
having
.1

66

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

the art of agriculture, and as being the source of the wealth and
blessings

which attended the

When Hades
with a mother

diligent practice of that art.

young loved daughter, Demeter,

her torch, and mounting her car

carried off her

s

sorrow,

lit

drawn by winged snakes, drove through all lands searching for

her, leaving, wherever she rested and was hospitably received,
traces of her blessing in the form of instruction in the art of
agriculture.

But nowhere

in

Greece did her blessing descend

so richly as in the district of Attica

Keleos, of

for there

from Athens, had received her with

most cordial hospitality. In return for this she taught him the
Eleusis, a spot not far

use of the plough, and before departing presented to his son,

Triptolemos, whom she had nursed, the seed of the barley

along with her snake-drawn

all

lands, teaching

utilize the grain,

by

the

car, in

order that he might traverse

way mankind how

sow and

to

a task which Triptolemos performed

and so extended the

art of agriculture to

to

faithfully,

most distant lands.

In Arcadia, Crete, and Samothrace we find her associated

with a mythical hero called Jasion, reputed to have been the
first

sower of grain, to

Plutos shows him

whom

she bore a child, whose

name

of

be a personification of the wealth de

rived from the cultivation of grain.
In Thessaly there was a
to

legend of her hostility to a hero sometimes called Erysichton, the earth upturner or the ploughman, and sometimes

Aethon,

a personification of famine.

Again we find a

refer

ence to her function as goddess of agriculture in the story that

once, when Poseidon threatened with his superior strength to

mishandle her, Demeter took the form of a horse and

from him

fled

but the god, taking the same shape, pursued and

overtook her, the result being that she afterwards bore him
;

Arion, a wonderful black horse of incredible speed, and

v

I.KMETER,

with intelligence

gifted

OR CERES.

and speech

67

Pain and

man.

like a

shame at the birth of such a creature drove her to hide for a

at last she was purified by a bath in
long time in a cave, till
the river Ladon, and again appeared among the other deities.
of
From the necessities of
originated the custom
agriculture

living in settled

communities.

mankind with an
land,

who

interest in

It

was Demeter who

property and

first

inspired

the ownership of

created the feeling of patriotism and the maintenance

of law and order.

The

rvext

prominence

which came into

phase of her character was that
stubble fields re
bare
the
when
at harvest time,

minded her worshippers of

At that time two kinds of

one kind

called

Haloa

the loss of her daughter Persephone.

festivals

or

were held in her honour, the

Thalysia, being apparently mere

Thesmophoria. Of the

harvest festivals, the other called

latter,

that

that

as conducted in the village of

it

Halimus

in Attica,

we know

was held from the 9th to the i3th of October each year,

it

could only be participated in by married women, that

one stage of the proceedings Demeter was hailed as the

mother of the beautiful child, and that this joy afterwards gave
at

at her loss of her

expressions of the deepest grief
which mysterious
at
held
were
At night orgies
daughter.
of all sorts.
amusement
monies were mixed with boisterous

way

to

The Thesmui
of

or

institutions

from which she derived the

title

life.
Thesmophoros appear to have referred to married
means of knowing to what extent the ancient

\Ve have no

Creeks based

their belief in a

happy existence hereafter on the

from the seed rotting in the ground,

which the early Christians adopted as an illustration of the
lint that the
od change to which they looked forward.
mysterious evolution of

myth of

life

the carry in- off of Persephone, her

gloomy

<.

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

68

under the ground, and her

cheerful

is

in

originated

return,

the contemplation of this natural process,

clear

from the

Demeter and Persephone always retained

the character of seed goddesses, side by side with their more

fact that at Eleusis

conspicuous character as deities in whose story were reflected

the various scenes through which those mortals would have to
pass

who were

initiated

into the

These mysteries had been

whatever

rites

testimony of

they

men

found

by Demeter

instituted

consisted

were well calculated to awaken most pro

It is believed that the

worthy of her favour, but

in elaborate

ations of the various scenes

and

how

to act to

be

and prolonged represent

on earth and under it

place at night,

and

it

off of
is

vantage was taken of the darkness to make

lower world more hideous and impressive.
representations were reserved for the

Mystae.

in

acts

connected with the myth of the carrying

Those

the final stage of initiation.

life

ceremony of initiation consisted,

not in instruction as to what to believe or

The ceremony took

and

in,

feelings of piety and a cheerful hope of better

future.

called

herself,

we know from the

Pindar and Aeschylos, who had been

may have

like

initiated, that they

Mysteries of Eleusis.

Persephone.
probable that ad
the scenes in the

Probably these

Epoptae

or persons in

in the earlier stages

were

Associated with Demeter and Persephone in

the worship at Eleusis was Dionysos in his youthful character

and under the name of Jacchos. But at what time

took place, whether it was due to some affinity in the

this first

orgiastic

nature of his worship, or rather to his local connection with

Attica as god of the vine,

Two

is

not known.

festivals of this kind,

the greater in the

Eleusinia, were held annually,

flowers appeared, and

when the earliest

month of September.

the lesser in spring,

The

latter

occupied

IKTER,

nine days,

commencing on

light procession.

parts of

Though

OR CERES.

69

the night of the 20th with a torch

similar festivals existed in various

Greece and even of

Italy,

those of Eleusis in Attica

importance, and

continued to retain something

like national

from the immense concourse of

people who came

them, were

in

to take part

the principal attractions of Athens. The

were vested in the family of Eumol-

among

duties of high priest

had
whose ancestor Eumolpos, according to one account,
festival
The
herself.
Demeter
been installed in the office by
was that of
was brought to a close by games, among which
pidae,

bull-baiting.

on the Eleusinian Mysteries and

honour of
in
conducted in the Greek manner was held
as
Libera
and
Liber
they
or
Bacchus and Ceres,
In Italy a festival founded

(ailed.

It

commanded the
Romans who had

to have never
appears, however,

same respect

as the original.

For we

find

initiated at Kleusis, re
Greece, and like Cicero been
to sec the Kleusinian ceremonies
turning with a strong desire
that the
Rome.
Altogether it is probable
transplanted to
Greek
the
of
weak
a
counterpart
Ceres was but
vi>ited

Roman
I

)cmeter.

The

were

attributes of Demeter, like those of Persephone,

ears of corn

and poppies

on her head she wore a modius or

corn measure as a symbol of the

sacrifice consisted of

cows and

fertility

Her

of the earth.

pigs.

are very
assigned to Demeter
in the IJritMi Mu
now
and
Caidus
by far being that found*
and with a veil fallin- IV..MI the
fetch rcpceseati her letted, draped,
the BOdilU nor the CTOWO which she
head
neither
her
On
.

Statues that can positively

of her head.
al,,,

vetfl sometime,.
On a vase
re.

l>c

ifl

<

>n

in the
in

however, figures of

the j.aim
liritNi

Museum

ihc

Rppean

h(

bid

the winded car which she K.IVC him.

<

Hi a;

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

70

vase, also in the national collection,

we

find the scene at the institution of

the Eleusinian Mysteries.

In the centre is Triptolemos seated in the car ;
before him Persephone (here called Pherophatta, a more ancient form of

behind him Demeter and

name), and a figure called Eleusis
Eumolpos on the other side of the vase are Zeus, Dionysos, Poseidon,
and Amphitrite.
A marble relief, found at Eleusis, represents, it is
her

believed, Demeter,

Persephone, and the youthful Jacchos.

HECATE,
(PLATE

vii.,)

Though, properly speaking, not one of the supreme order of

deities, is entitled to be placed here on account of a resem
blance to Persephone in her mysterious functions both in the
upper and lower world. She is a goddess of Titanic origin,

Tartaros and Night, or of Perses and Asteria

(Starry-Night), the sister of Leto, according to other accounts.
The stories current among the ancients concerning her vary
daughter of

greatly,

and often confuse her with other

those of the night, such as

Selene

or

Luna,

deities, especially

the goddess of the

moon, while standing to Persephone in the relation of servant

or companion. She belongs to the class of torch-bearing deities,
like

Artemis, and was conceived

to suit the belief that she

as carrying a burning torch,

was the nocturnal goddess of the

moon, and a huntress who knew her way also in the realm of
All the secret powers of Nature were at her command,
spirits.
it was
thought. She had a control over birth, life, and death,
and enjoyed great honour among the gods of Olympos as well

To express her power in the three

of
nature, heaven, earth, and the under-world, she was
regions
as in the under-world.

represented as of triple form, and

were sacred to her.

Her

named Triformis.

Dogs

character being originally that of a

Kuretes keeping Guard over Infant Zeus.

HESTIA,

mysterious deity,

it

happened

OR
that

VI

more prominence was always

her to her gloomy and appalling

given in the conception of
of
function
chief
being held to be that of goddess
features, her
all the witch
of
mistress
and
darkness,
the nether world, of night
much in antiquity
craft and black arts which were believed in as
at
middle ages. Accordingly her festivals were held
black
of
and sacrifices
worship was paid her by torchlight,

as in the
night,

Her presence
iambs presented with many strange ceremonies.
derived the
she
whence
at
was mostly felt
lonely cross-roads,
name of Trivia.
A mysterious festival was held
the island of
in

Avernus,

^gina,

lower

in her

honour every year

in the Saronic Gulf.

Italy,

in

Beside the lake of

was a dark grove sacred

to her.

HESTIA, OR VESTA.
(PLATE

vi.,)

and Rhea, was

Demetcr, and daughter of Kronos
the
as
Romans
and
Greeks
goddess of the
worshipped both by

Sister of

home-fire, or hearth,

the

name

identical with

of which was

She was properly, therefore, the guardian of family

house
her altars were everywhere, the hearth of every
and when the family gathered round it
her

her own.
life

being
daily

sanctuary,

it

was

with- feelings

meal prepared on the

the

fire

common enjoyments

for that goddess.

Every
revived a grateful sense of
In every building of
life.

of regard
at

home

of family

and
in the shape of a fire
public resort she had a sanctuary
when in Greece a body of colonists were about to emi-rate to
;

new and

distant

of their chief considerations was to

some portion of fire sacred to

them the favour of the goddess

take with them

to carry with

homes one

Kestia,
;

for

tb<

in

looked upon the

as

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

its

state as a great family, with

central point

and

homes a portion of

the

thus,

fire

an

from that

Hestia

altar of

by taking with them

to their

new

altar, or state hearth, the

its interest and

participation in the public
of their parent state.
No enterprise was commenced
without sacrifice and prayer at her altar and when the fire of

colony retained

affairs

one of those holy places chanced to be

extinguished,
only be rekindled by a light from some other

could

it

sanctuary, not

by ordinary and impure

As

fire.

Hestia despised love,

consent
both
though pressed
by Poseidon and
obtained
from
Zeus
the
Apollo,
privilege she prayed for, of
the goddess of a pure element,
to

and,

Her spotless purity

remaining in a single state.
peculiarly to be the guardian of virgin modesty.
Though

fitted

her

zealously worshipped throughout Greece, there was

no temple
as we have

said, by the

together.

She had a share

specially

devoted to her. Her proper sanctuary was,

fire of every house where
people gathered
in all the sacrifices offered at the

temples of other gods, and at every burnt-offering her presence

was recognised as goddess of the sacred hearth and altar
flame,
as

it

was also

in the libations of water, wine,

prayers addressed to her.

At

the

peculiar sacrifices, consisting of

firstfruits

to

and

and

in the

young shoots of grain, the

Her priestesses had

of the harvest, and young cows.

remain

virgins.

In Rome, however, there was a temple to

been

oil,

same time she had her own

built

Numa

Vesta

that

had

was of a round shape,

Pompilius.
and contained in its centre her symbol of an altar, with a fire that
was never allowed to go out. This temple, which stood
open by
day but was closed by night, contained, besides other
old

by

It

very

figures of deities, the

Palladium, a

small

wooden image of

Ill

-TIA,

OR

Vl>

\.

to the myth, 01
(Pallas-Athene), which, according
of
citadel
the
from heaven upon
Troy, and was carried

Minerva
nally

fell

thence to Greece, and afterwards to

Rome.

Upon

the pre

the safety
vation of this figure depended, the people believed,

and exigence of the

Roman

Her

empire.

virgins, their

number, were called vestal

vd flame of her temple, and

welfare of the state.
prayer., for the

to

priestesses,

six in

the
duty being to feed

present sacrifices

To

this office

and

they were

maximus.
chosen by the high-priest, who was styled Pontifex
with a fillet round the hair, and a
y wore robes of white,
veil,

later times.
additional ornaments being permitted in

necessary that the

girls

It

selected for this service should be

a
and ten years of age, and that they should take
After
vow of chastity, and serve in the temple for thirty years.
to leave it, and even to marry,
were
that

between

six

permitted
period they
was viewed with pleasure by the
though neither proceeding
de
the goddess to whom they had been
public, who feared
the
in
While
case.
engaged
voted miuht take offence in either
esteem
services of the temple the vestal virgins enjoyed great
and important privileges. Their person was inviolable, they
of disposing
free from paternal control, and had the right
of their

own

streets of
justice),

as a

Rome

who
I

property.

In their

they were

carried with

festal

the
processions through
lictors (or officers of

preceded by

them

the/^-<vy,

that

is,

number of

out of which an axe projected

together into a bundle,
an honour which, besides
of sovereign power,

symbol

of Rome WCK
them, only the consuls or highest magistrates
the
of
course
And in the
procession, should they
entitled to.

meet a criminal on

his

way

to expiate his crime

by death, they

had the prerogative of ordering him to be

With all this respect and esteem, they were very severely
set tree.

DEITIES OF

74

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

when guilty of neglect of duty, such as

permitting
sacred flame of the altar of Vesta to die
out, which

dealt with

the

could only be rekindled

by means of a burning glass held
to the rays

up

of the sun.

condemned

by the
chamber, and there

high-priest

was

guilty of this

priestess

of the goddess to

a dark

For the crime of forfeiting

flogged.
her chastity she was
a place called the Campus
to
conveyed
Sceleratus, or "criminals field/ and there placed in a sub
terranean chamber provided with a
bed, a lighted lamp, and

some bread and

the earth

her,

The chamber was then closed upon

it
and made smooth, and the

water.

thrown over

unfortunate priestess

left to die a most

Her
agonising death.
seducer was publicly scourged to death.
The whole city was

sorrowful,

up

and

sacrifice

and long earnest prayers were

to appease the injured

goddess.

the

condemned

on a

litter,

priestess

and so

The

was carried

closely covered

up

offered

procession, in which

down

to her crypt, tied

that even her screams

could not be heard, was a spectacle that raised a

shudder, and
caused that day to be remembered as one of the
greatest pain
and grief throughout the city.
At first there were only two vestal
virgins, this number being
afterwards increased to four, and
Servius to six.
again by

King

They were chosen always from

the noblest families of Rome.

the legend -concerning the foundation of the

city of
true,

even

Romulus and Remus,

the founders of that

were sons of a vestal priestess named

Mars.
The sacred
that

shaded

year;
paired.

fire
it,

Rome

Rhea Sylvia

on the hearth of the goddess, and the

were renewed on the

ist

of

March

If

be

city,

and

laurel

of each

on the i5th of June her temple was cleaned and re

But previous to this, on the 9th of
a festival
June,

VIII.

Hephaestos, or Vulcan.

Ares, or Mars.

Aphrodite, or Venus.

OR MARS.

ARES,

was held

her honour, called the Vestalia, only

in

women

being admitted to the temple, and these barefooted, and

character of pilgrims.

in the

ARES, OR MARS,
(PLATES vin. AND xxvin.,)

son of Zeus and Hera, according to the belief of the

Greeks, was originally god of the storm and tempest, and more

particularly of the

was

lost

hurricane;

but this his natural meaning

sight of at an earlier period, and

more completely

than in the case of most of the other gods, the character in

which he appears to us being exclusively that of

turmoil and storms in

of dreadful

and

strife

fierce

and

war,"

of

or

more

battle."

terrible,

human
Of

affairs,"
"

correctly,

all

"god

of the

in other words,

"god

of the wild confusion

the upper gods he was the most

taking pleasure in slaughter and massacre.

In this respect he forms a striking contrast to PallasAthene, the goddess of well-matched chivalrous fights, whom

we

often find

opposed

to

him

in

mythical narratives.

When

fighting she was invulnerable, and always on the side of the

victor

while Ares being not only god of battle but also a per

sonification of war, with

its

double issue of victory and defeat?

was sometimes wounded, and even taken prisoner.

When
-ting the Trojans in their war with the Greeks, in the course
of which he took under his

special protection

their

leader,

tor, he was wounded by the Greek hero Diomedes, aided

the
He fell so Homer describes the
goddess Athene.
by
e\ent in the Iliad (v. 853)
with a thundering crash to the
!

<

ground,

like the noise of

in battle.

Again

nine or ten thousand warriors en-

(Iliad xxi.

400) he was wounded by Athene

and
fall

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

76

his

fell,

armour clanking, and his body covering with his

an obvious reference to the roar

seven acres of ground,

and destruction attending a great storm. He was once captured

by Otos and Ephialtes, the giant sons of Aloeus the planter, and
kept imprisoned in a great bronze vase (Iliad v. 385) for
months a space of time which, when we remember

thirteen

that the

seems

names of

the two heroes are derived from husbandry,

to indicate a

himself, his

full

year of peaceful agriculture.

offspring were distinguished

delight in strife

as,

for

example,

for their

M eleager,

Like

prowess or

the prince of

who speared the Kalydonian boar (see below)

Kyknos, whom Herakles slew, and for this would have been
Kalydon,

avenged by Ares had not Zeus stopped the

conflict of his

powerful sons by a flash of lightning; then

Parthenopaeos,

two

one of the seven leaders in the assault on the town of Thebes

(see below);

Oenomaeos, and

son or offshoot of

Ares,"

must not be understood

others.

The

expression,

"a

frequently applied to other heroes,

literally,

physical strength and valour,

but merely as indicating

equal to that of his actual de

scendants.
Eris, the personification of fatal strife, was usually by his side,
Dread and Alarm (Deimos and Phobos) attended on his steps.
On the other hand we find him, even in the Iliad (v. 355 and
xxi. 416), where his general character is that of a huge fierce

combatant, associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

In

266) the story is told of his secret visit to

he was detected by Helios, who informed Hephaes-

the

Odyssey

her,

when

(viii.

whereupon the latter devised a cunning net,

and catching the two together under it exhibited them to the
gods of Olympos, and called upon Zeus to bring them to trial.
tos of the fact,

This relation of Ares to Aphrodite,

who was even worshipped

OR MARS.

ARES,

^^

proper wife in Thebes, indicates very probably the peace

and rest that follow the turmoil of war.

as

liis

It is true that

Ares was worshipped

great protecting deity, such as he

In

Athens the Areopagos, or

in Greece, but not as a

was deemed by the Romans.

which was
Hill," on

"Mars

held a court of justice for the decision of cases involving life

and death, derived its name from him, the story being that he

had once appeared before

it

in a

who had

warlike people of Tegea, the Spartans,

in

temple

The

cause against Poseidon.

his honour, the Athenians, for

a very ancient

whom Alkamenes

the

contemporary and rival of Pheidias, made a statue

of him, and the Kleans, all worshipped him with more or less
But the real home and centre of his worship was Thrace,
xeal.
sculptor, a

with
sky.

wild warlike population and

its

was

It

in

Rome, however, with

its
its

stormy tempestuous
conquests and pride

name

of military power, that he enjoyed under the

the highest honour,

The Romans considered themselves

the state.

of

Mars

ranking next to Jupiter as guardian of

to

be actual

descendants of Mars, on the ground of his having been, as was

believed,

the

father

of

Romulus and

Marspiter, that is, Mars Pater,

in Italy, he had even an oracle.
consecrated to him, and
military

named

Rome

In

the

"

exercises and manojuvres took

tions, called

"martial games,"

Remus, styling him

Mars. At Reate,

their father

there was a field

Field of

Mars/ where

place, athletic

competi
were held, and public assemblies

were summoned to consider important questions of the

The racecourse and the temples of the god were there
there every
(

iti/.ens

On

this

four years were

liable

held the census

state.
;

and

and muster of

to be called into the field in the event of war.

occasion a sacrifice was presented to him, consisting of

a bull, a ram,

and a goat, which, before being

slain,

were led

DEITIES OF TH-E HIGHEST ORDER.

three times round the assembled crowd, while

during the cere
mony a prayer was offered up that the immortal gods
still

as

it

enlarge and ennoble the

was expressed

and endurance

Roman

might
empire more and more, or

in later times, that

to the

Roman

state.

there twice a year, at the beginning of

the ceremony of sacrificing to

that

won

the race

performed

they might give stability

Chariot races were held

March and

Mars the

the October horse as

at the latter.

In the

"

in

October

off-horse of the biga

it

was called

Field of Mars

"

being

was dedicated

booty brought back from campaigns, and no Roman

general went to war without first proceeding to the temple of
the

Mars, to swing the sacred

Watch over us, O Mars

"

!"

shield and. spear, adding the words,

This shield (ancile) was believed

to have fallen from heaven at the time

when Numa Pompilius

was king of Rome, and, like the Palladium in the temple of

Both it and a sacred
Vesta, was looked on with veneration.
spear were preserved in the temple of Mars, under the custody
of priests, who were called Salii, and whose
duty it was every
year to celebrate a festival of thanksgiving for this important
present from the gods.
offered to

In the earliest times the sacrifices

Mars consisted of human

who had been taken

beings, particularly those

prisoners in battle

but in later times

this

custom was abandoned, and horses, rams, dogs, and a portion

of the booty captured from enemies, offered instead.
Besides
these animals, the wolf, cock, and woodpecker were sacred to
him.

The

attributes of Ares

were a spear and a burning torch,

such as, according to ancient custom, his priests carried

when

they advanced to give the sign of battle to opposing armies.

The animals chosen as his symbols were the
and the

dog

vulture, the constant visitants of battle-fields.

X.

Hepliaestos, or Vulcan.

Hermes, or Mercury.

HKl HAESTOS,

In works of
I

M. \\crful

build,

art

Arcs

i>

OR VULCAN.

79

represented generally as of a youthful but very

At oilier times he
shield, and spear.

armed with helmet,

rded and heavily armed.

Aphrodite, as on plate

favourite subject

was

his

meeting with

xxviii.

HEPHAESTOS,

VULCAN,

OR

(PLATE vin.,)
\Y;is

the divine personification of the

earth

and bursts

that burns within the

fire

forth in volcanic eruptions

fire

which has no

connection with the sun or the lightning of heaven ; and such

being his character, we can readily understand the mutual
dislike

which existed between him and the god of the light

He was indeed the son of Zeus and Hera, the

of heaven.

supreme

deities of

heaven

but he was

bom

to

be a cause of

quarrel between them, and alternately at enmity with both.

-e, when he took his mother s part, /ens seized him by the
(

)n<

heels

and tossed him out of Olympos (Iliad i. 560). Through

lie fell for one whole day ; at evening, as the sun went

the air

down, reaching the island of Lemnos, where he was found by

some Sintian people, and taken under friendly care. The place
where he was found, and where in after times was the principal
centre of his worship, was the neighbourhood of the burning

mountain Mosychlos.

Another version of the myth has

it

that

Hera, ashamed

the decrepit form which he presented at his birth, threw

of

him

own hands from Olympos. Falling into the sea, he

was picked up by Thetis and Eurynome, was cared for by

with her

them, remained for nine years

none but they knowing

many

in

the abode of the sea-gods,

his whereabouts,

and executed there

wonderfully clever examples of handiwork.

Jt

may be

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

8o

that this belief originated in observing the nearness of volcanic

mountains
the

to the sea-shore,

by volcanic

and the

fact of

whole islands, like

up from the sea

Santorin, being suddenly thrown

modern

force.

Among

the works which he fashioned in the

palace of the sea-gods was a cunningly devised throne, which

he presented to Hera, as a punishment for casting him out of

heaven, knowing that when she sat

locked within

its

down on

secret chains so firmly that

it

she would be

no power but

his

This happened, and Ares went to bring him

her
to
force
assistance, but was compelled to retreat in fear
by
At last
with which Hephaestos assailed him.
fire
brand
of the
could free her.

Dionysos,

the god of wine, succeeded by his soft conciliatory

speech in restoring friendship between mother and son, and

her bonds were forthwith undone.
Perhaps it is from this
intimacy with Dionysos that he
as cup-bearer in

is

said to have once appeared

Olympos, on which occasion the assembled

deities could not contain themselves with laughter at the

droll

It seems to be the un
limping from couch to couch.
is represented in the lameness of
that
flame
flicker
of
steady
the fire-god, and it may have been the genial influence of the

figure

hearth which was the source of the quaint stories about him.

From being

god of fire, Hephaestos naturally

developed into god of those arts and industries dependent on
He
arts of pottery and working in metal.
fire, especially the
was the

artist

originally

in a smoky smithy down in the

mountains, and produced clever works of

god who worked

heart of burning

to gods and to
dazzling beauty, which he gave freely away
he
made
the
dreaded
Zeus
For
favourite heroes.
aegis and a

sceptre
self

two

for

Achilles and

Memnon

their

armour

wonderful handmaidens of gold, who, like

about and
beings, would move

assist

him

as he

him

for

walked

living
;

and

HKPHAKSms, OR

when Homer has

VI M.I

8I

"AN.

any bron/e work of great beauty,

his highest praise is always that it was the work of Hephaestos.
The throne which he made for Hera, and the net in winch he
to describe

Aphrodite and Ares, have already been mentioned.

c.uight

From being god of the warmth within the earth

tire, Hephaestos came also, when the fertility of a
became known by experience, to be looked on
aided the spread of vegetation,

of volcanic
volcanic soil
as

one who

function of his being recog

this

nised most in the spread of the vine, which thrives and bears

on volcanic soil. It was from knowledge of this

no
doubt, that the idea arose of the close friendship
fact,
between him and the wine-god Dionysos, which we find
its

best fruit

exemplified partly in the joint worship of these two deities,

and partly

the story already told,

in

of

how Dionysos

Hephaestos back to Olympos, and smoothed

led

his different

-s

with the other gods.

His worship was traceable back to the earliest times, l.enmos

There, at the
being always the place most sacred to him.
foot of the burning

mountain Mosychlos, which is now

on the very

stood a very ancient temple of the god

where

said,

Prometheus

stole the

heavenly

fire,

extinct,
it

spot,

and

for

away among the Caucasus mountains, there

a rock by Hephaestos, and compelled to suffer

the theft was taken

nailed alive to
y

grew

day an eagle sent by Zeus

theft of lire

put out,
that

afresh.

to gnaw his liver, which daily

somewhat gloomy ceremony of expiating this

took place annually

and forbidden

to

be

had been despatched

fetch nevv

fire.

Then,

after

the fires in dwelling-houses

by the

new

in

relit

to

the island,

all

fires

being

until the return of the ship

the sacred island of Delos to

being nine days extinguished,

and

in

workshops were

all

lekind..

flame.

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

8o

that this belief originated in observing the nearness of volcanic

mountains to the sea-shore, and the

fact of

whole

islands, like

Santorin, being suddenly thrown up from the sea

by volcanic force. Among the works which he fashioned in the
palace of the sea-gods was a cunningly devised throne, which

the

modern

he presented to Hera, as a punishment

him out of

for casting

heaven, knowing that when she sat down on it she would be

locked within its secret chains so firmly that no power but his

This happened, and Ares went to bring him

by force to her assistance, but was compelled to retreat in fear
At last
of the fire brand with which Hephaestos assailed him.
could free her.

Dionysos,

the god of wine, succeeded by his soft conciliatory

between mother and

in restoring friendship

speech

forthwith undone.

her bonds were

intimacy with Dionysos

as cup-bearer in

he

that

is

Perhaps

it

is

son,

and

from

this

said to have once appeared

Olympos, on which occasion the assembled

deities could not contain themselves with laughter at the

to couch.
figure limping from couch

steady flicker of flame that

is

droll

seems to be the un

It

represented in the lameness of

the fire-god, and it may have been the genial influence of the
hearth which was the source of the quaint stories about him.

From being

originally

god of

fire,

Hephaestos naturally

god of those arts and industries dependent on

He
arts of pottery and working in metal.
the
fire, especially
in
a
down
in
worked
the
who
artist
was the
smoky smithy
god
developed into

and produced clever works of

dazzling beauty, which he gave freely away to gods and to
For Zeus he made the dreaded aegis and a
favourite heroes.
heart of burning mountains,

sceptre
self

two

beings,

for

Achilles and

Memnon

their

armour

would move about and

assist

him

as he

him

for

wonderful handmaidens of gold, who, like

walked

living
;

and

HKPHAKSTOS, OR VULCAN.

when Homer has

81

any bronze work of great beauty,

his highest praise is always that it was the work of Hephaestos.
The throne which he made for Hera, and the net in which he
to describe

caught Aphrodite and Arcs, have already been mentioned.

Yom

tire,

being god of the warmth within the earth of volcanic

Hephaestos came also, when the fertility of a volcanic soil

became known by experience,

aided the spread of vegetation,

to
this

be looked on as one who

function of his being recog

nised most in the spread of the vine, which thrives

its

best fruit

on volcanic

soil.

It

and bears

was from knowledge of

this

fact, no doubt, that the idea arose of the close friendship

between him and the wine-god Dionysos, which we find

exemplified partly in the joint worship of these two deities,

and partly

in

the story already told,

of

how Dionysos

Hephaestos back to Olympos, and smoothed

led

his differences

with the other gods.

His worship was traceable back to the earliest times, .enmos

There, at the
being always the place most sacred to him.
1

foot of the burning

mountain Mosychlos, which

is

now

extinct,

a very ancient temple of the god on the very spot, it

was said, where Prometheus stole the heavenly fire, and for
the theft was taken away among the Caucasus mountains, there
>d

nailed alive to a rock by Hephaestos,

every day an eagle sent by Zeus to

.v

afresh.

and compelled to suffer

his liver, which daily

gnaw

somewhat gloomy eeremony of expiating

this

took place annually in the island, all fires being

forbidden to be relit until the return of the ship
and
put out,
that had been despat< lu-d to the sacred island of Delos to
theft of fire

fetch nevv

the

fires

fire.

in

Then,

alter

being nine days extinguished,

dwelling-houses and

in

all

workshops were rekindled

by the new flame.

6

82

DEITIES OF

Next

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

to Lermmos,

perhaps the most important seat of his

worship was Athens, where the unusually large number of
persons employed in the potteries and in metal-working recog

him

nised

as their patron god, and

associating him with
held annually in October a festival called Chalkeia,
in honour of both.
In the same month occurred the festival

Athene,

Apaturia,

at which,

round

On

by the side of Zeus and Athene a pro

minent place was assigned to Hephaestos in his
capacity of god
of the hearth, and protector of the domestic life which
gathered
it.

this

occasion sacrifices were

offered

at

the

hearth, and a public procession took place of men clad

festival garments,
carrying lighted torches and singing songs

in

in

his praise.

Again, the torch race, which formed part of the

Panathenaic games, was intended to commemorate the theft of

fire

by Prometheus.

In connection with this

community

of worship existing between Athene and

Hephaestos at Athens,
it was said that he once endeavoured to obtain
the love of the

goddess, and that even though this failed she had devoted
special care to Erichthonios, the offspring of his intercourse with

Gaea,

the goddess of the earth.

In Sicily Hephaestos had a

temple on

Mount Etna, which

was watched by dogs possessed of the
faculty of distinguishing
the pious from the impious and
profane, whose approach they
His worship had also, spread to lower
fiercely resisted.
Italy

and the Campania.

In Rome it was
as the time of

and

wont

instituted

said that

Romulus, who,
the

festival

Vulcan had
in fact,

called

a temple as early

caused

it

to

Vulcanalia,

be erected,
which was

be held on the 23rd of August, the

ceremony con
of
a sacrifice for the purpose of
sisting
averting all the mishaps
that arise from the use of fire and lights
for the days were
to

IX.

Aphrodite, or Venus.

APHRODITE, OR VKNUS.
then beginning to be noticeably shorter, and the necessity of
light to

The

work by
wife of

in the

evenings to be

Hephaestos r according

felt.

to the Iliac],

was Charis,

but the popular belief of later times assigned that

By

Aphrodite.
In

works of

with

serious

art

an
Hephaestos is represented as
chiton
face, wearing a short

l.:;i.

pointed cap or pilos, the

hammering
which the myth speaks.

mark of workmen
an

at

On

<(<:<!

agc<i

or

furrowejl

also wears),

plac<

neither had he any children.

man,

exon-

Od\
showing the lameness of

or fishermen (which

anvil, his attitude

the early coins of

Lemnos he appears

without

hi
of the favourite subjects both of poets ami artists was
the ludicrou
he
which
throne
the
her,
Herain
of
his
gave
catching
story
On a painted
of it making it an attractive subject for the ancient comedy.

a beard.

One

n the British

Museum

is

a scene from a

comedy

in

which lleraaj

on the throne, while Ares and Hephaestos are engaged in combat

Another scene which frequently OCIMIIS on the painted
before her.
which Hephaestos appears on his way back to Olympos in a.
is that in
on a mule, or walking, and accompanied by
state of intoxication,
1

riding

At the birth of Athene it was he wh

Dionysos, Sileni, and nymphs.
to let the goddess come forth, and in th p
Zeus
of
head
the
open
split
on th- VftMl he appears hami
fre.uient representations of this
At other times \vc find him fashioning the armour of Achil!
hand.

MOM

rock.
fastening Prometheus to the

APHRODITK,
(PI.ATKS

Was
in

VIII.,

IX.,

OR

VKNUS,

AND

XXVIII.,)

the goddess of love in that wide sense of the

early times

embraced also

love which was thought

throughout nature.

the love

of

to be the cause

Accordingly we find

in

word which

animals, and the

of produrtiv
her character, side

and noble, much that is

by side with what is beautiful
of (Greece the refined
times
best
In
the
and unworthy.
c<

itiful

features of her worship were kept in prominence,

both

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

84

in

and

poetry

ceeded, had

art

but

these,

when

of luxury suc

times

to impurities of

to give

kinds.

way
many
awakened by observing the productive power
of nature had, it would seem, given rise to a divine personifi

The

feelings

cation of love in very remote early times

the East.

The

among

the nations of

Phoenicians called this personification Astarte,

and carried her worship with them wherever they established

factories

or markets in Greece, in the islands of the Mediter

The early Greeks coming in con

and obtaining from them a knowledge
of coinage, weights, measures, and other necessaries of com
merce and trade including, it is said, a system of writing
ranean, and on to Italy.
tact with these traders,

appear to have transferred some of the functions of the oriental

goddess to their own Aphrodite,

of protecting commerce.

those of ^Egina

The

as, for instance, the

earliest

known Greek

function

coins

the weights of which correspond accurately

with the oriental standard, have the figure of a tortoise, the

well-known symbol of Aphrodite.

How much
may have
to say.

else of the character of their

derived from the Phoenicians

it

goddess the Greeks

would be impossible

But the extraordinary zeal with which she continued

be worshipped in Cyprus, Cytherea, Corinth, Carthage,

Sicily, and wherever in early times the Phoenicians had made
to

settlements,

may

signify that others of her functions

besides

that of protecting

commerce had been borrowed from

oriental goddess.

The

previous
character

to
is

the

the

older Aphrodite worshipped in Greece

introduction of Phoenician elements in her

described as a daughter of

Zeus

(Iliad v.

312)

and Dione, and through her mother was associated with the
ancient worship at Dodona.

The younger goddess, on

the

other hand,

is

described

APHRODITE, OR VENUS.

born among the foam of the

the

Under

sea."

Uranos,

188-206) as the offspring of

(Hesiod, Theogany,

Cyprus, and styled

85

sea,

or

Anadyomene,
the

title

of

stepping on land

first

Urania

"

she

who came

in

out of

she was regarded as a

to
power of love which was thought
and sea into one harmonious system, and as

personification of that

unite heaven, earth,

such was distinguished from

Aphrodite Pandemos,

among men.
she naturally came

sonification of love

foam of the

sea,

the per

As the goddess born

of the

to be held in veneration by

of the
the fishermen and sailors on the coast as the goddess

Hence it
smiling sea, and the cause of prosperous voyages.
follow
to
of
island
up the
in
the
^Rgina
was the custom
and banquet in honour of Poseidon with a festival of
In
excitement in honour of Aphrodite.
great rejoicing and
the
of
Knidos she was styled and worshipped as goddess
a character which is symbolized by the dolphin
peaceful sea
sacrifice

attribute.
frequently given her as an

The

island of Cytherea

Cythere, the
(Cerigo) derived
before
there
landing on
belief being that she had appeared
its

name from one

of her

titles,

Cyprus.

The
she

is

and pure Greek phase of her character, in which

a
called a daughter of Zeus and Dione, was that of

earlier

human love she is described as

goddess who presides over
or Cupid), the
accompanied by her son Eros (Amor
;

Charites
of love),

(Graces), the

Pothos (God

Horse,

Himeros (God

of the desire

of the anxieties of love), and

soft speech of love).

(Suadela, or the

her grief at
young rosy shepherd Adonis
which was caused by a wild boar, being so great

the

,>ild

Peitho

But her special favourite

his

<1

not allow the

lifeless

body

to be taken

that she

from her arms

h
until the gods consoled her by dcereein- that

nght

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

H

continue to

live half the

year,

during the spring and summer,

while
she
earth,
might spend the other half with him
in the lower
world, beside Persephone (Proserpina); a
reference to the change of seasons, which finds its
explanation

on the

in

the fact of Aphrodite

being also goddess of gardens

flowers.

Her presence

in

nature was

felt in spring,

and

her absence

This change of the seasons was further observed

in winter.

and celebrated by a

honour of Adonis, in the course

him was produced, and the ceremony of
with weeping and songs of
after
wailing, gone through
festival in

of which a figure of
burial,

which a joyful shout was raised, "Adonis lives, and is risen

She was called Adonaia and Adonias, with
again
"

reference

to

love

this

Next

passage.

to

him her

chief

was Anchises, to whom she bore

-ffineas, who
through his son Ascanius, or Julus, became, as story goes,
favourite

the founder of the great Julian

family in
the story of

Pygmalion,

the

statue of her she breathed

life

festivals, perhaps the

as in the alternate

Rome. With regard

to

Adonis of Cyprus, into whose

on the occasion of one of her

same meaning is intended to be conveyed

and death of Adonis that is, the alter

life

nate fervour and coldness of love, or the alternate bloom and

frost of nature.

The husband

of Aphrodite was Hephaestos

(Vulcan), whose

manner of punishing her when he found her

in the

company

of

Ares has already been related.

Among her children, but not
by Hephaestos, were Eros (Amor), and Anteros, Hymen,

and Hermaphroditus.
But if she had favours
for others,

and proved

for

some she had strong antipathies

on Hippolytos, whom she

this spirit

on Polyphonic, whom she changed into an owl on

Arsinoe whom she turned to stone and Myrrha, whom she

slew

APHRODITE, OR VKNUS.

transformed into

Hera

with

strife

and competition

awarded

to her,

we

shall give

an account

later on,

connection with the narrative of the Trojan war.

Asa

result of her

power

by means of love

to unite

whether in heaven, on earth, or

to

Of her

and Athene for the prize of beauty, which the Trojan

prince, Paris,
in

myrtle tree.

a.

87

all

in blackest Tartaros,

as a goddess presiding over married

be viewed

beings,

she
life

came
and

of temples in the

She had a number

marriage ceremonies.
island of Cyprus, but none of them so splendidly decorated a
that in the town of Paphos, whither thousands of visitors
,

streamed to take part in the annual festival and rejoicings in her

There also she had an oracle, and, as Urania, was
honour.
latter fact showing
flipped jointly with Ares (Mars); the
that her connection with this god was founded in the religious

belief of the

people.

ancient sanctuary
:os,

in

At

times,

particularly in her very

and

the island of

Cy there, as also in Sparta,

and on the Acropolis of Corinth, she was represented

ied.

The worship
later times.

till

of

Venus

did

become general in Rome

Veneralia, was held in her

i.ot

festival, called

honour every year, a great part of the ceremony consisting of

nocturnal dances and passionate enjoyment in gardens and
blooming arbours. She had a temple on the Capitol,
>ng

and one of the Colline gates was consecrated to her. The

month of April was held sacred to her, for then the flowers bud
shoot or, as the Greek myth expresses it, Adonis
!

plants

comes back from

The symbols

the under-world.

of Aphrodite were the dove, ram, hare, dolphin,

tree,
swan, and tortoise, with the rose as a flower, the myrtle
various
and fruits of
other beautiful plants, the app
1

kit;

88

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Tn Paphos the earliest form or image under which she was

worshipped
that of a ball or a pyramid, surrounded with
burning torches or

was

candelabra, as

is

to

be seen on the coins of Cyprus

but gradually, as art

advanced, she took a finer form, fresh charms being continually added,
till all the resources
of expressing imperious overpowering beauty were
exhausted.

In the best days of

and

in later times nude,

art

she was always represented draped,

The scene of her birth from

in various attitudes.

the sea was represented by Pheidias, on the base of the statue of Zeus at
Olympia, as taking place in presence of the gods of Olympos, she being
first by Eros, who elsewhere is called her son.
One of the most
famous pictures of Apelles represented her as rising out of the sea. To
indicate her connection with Ares she was represented as Venus Victrix,

received

standing with one foot on a helmet and with both arms raising a shield.
Of this type are the Venus of Capua and the Venus of Milo. In a

temple erected to her as Euploia or goddess of prosperous voyages, in

Knidos, was a statue of her by Praxiteles, which was celebrated above all
her other statues in ancient times
and of which the so-called Medicean
;

Venus

is

believed to be a free copy.

PALLAS-ATHENE,
(PLATES
Called

also

Tritogeneia

xi.

or

OR

AND

MINERVA,
xn.,)

Tritonia and Athensea,

is

usually described, in the myths concerning her birth, as having

sprung into

life,

armed, from the head of Zeus, with its

heaven and earth shaking mean while, the sea

fully

thick black locks,

all

tossing in great billows, and the light of day being extinguished.

Zeus,

it

was

said,

had previously swallowed

his wife

The opera

(Intelligence), to prevent her giving birth to a son.

tion of laying his

head open,

that Pallas

might come

was performed by Hephsestos (Vulcan),

other versions of the story,

Metis

or,

forth,

according to

Prometheus. There

is,

however,

another myth, which ascribes her origin to a connection _of

Poseidon "(Neptune) with the nymph Tritonis, adding that

""-

Pallas-Athene, or Minerva.

Apollo.

Helios, or Sol.

PALLAS- ATHENE, OR MINKRVA.

89

Hut this M-ems to

merely adopted her as his daughter.
of the people, and
belief
in
the
have had no foundation
general
-

have been only an invention of later times, when her name,

had become unintelligible.
Tritogeneia, or Tritonia,

to

whether deity or mortal,

being connected with the earth,
had a part in her birth. She was altogether the issue only of

No

her father, the god of heaven, who, as the myth very plainly
characterizes it, brought her into being out of the black
i

Her
the roar and crash of a storm.
pest-cloud, and amidst
in
some
as
way a
character must therefore be regarded
forming
was
she
which
The purpose for
brought
to his.

complement

into existence

must have been that she might do what he would

and impartial god, could not carry out.

plan, but as the supreme
-entle
and
fearful
once
She is at
powerful as a storm, and, in turn,
sunk
has
storm
a
when
the
of
and pure as the warmth
sky
freshened
fields...
the
to i\st and an air of new life moves over
terrible and
sides of her character
express both these
she had the
with open, gentle, and pure
ir.ighty as compared
was
former
the
Athene
Pallasapplied to
of
name
double

To

her function of goddess of storms

or storm-shield of her

,vi

father.

she

And

who

carried the aegis

further,

as

Pallas,

she

.me the goddess of battle valiant, conquering, frightening

the sight of her aegis whole crowds of heroes when they

<-d

her,

ning spear.

and even driving Ares before her with her light

time the soft, gentle, and heavenly
At^the same

oddess of
from het fimctipj
which
massacre
and
V, that desire of confused slaughter
ali
have
hed Ares, and formed the contrast we
of her character took

en the two deities of war.

.

battl
iry,

but

to pea

-e

only

to

lead

and prosperity.

on

to

Pallas

victor),

and

pres

through

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

When

the war has been

fought out,

and that peace estab

be amid the political life of nations
here on earth, or whether it be amid the
passions of individual

lished which

men
the

is

whether

always the result of conflict and war, then

Athene

goddess

reigns

teaching mankind to
all

it

all

enjoy peace,

that gives
beauty to

we observe and keep

in

human

life,

gentleness

it

and

is

that

purity,

and instructing them

in wisdom and art.

clearly before our

in

If

minds these two sides

of her character, the

inseparable union of both, and their
action and reaction
upon each other, we shall see that this

goddess, Pallas- Athene,

is

one of the most profound con

a being into whose hands

ceptions of a deep religious feeling
the pious Greek could, with due
reverence, commit his keeping.

The mutual

relation of these

two sides of her character

is

obvious in the various myths relating to the goddess.

principal of these we shall proceed to narrate.
But,

sufficiently

The
we must

first,

call

attention

to

this

point, that

Athene

is

repre

sented in the myths as for ever

remaining a virgin, scorning
the affections which are said to have been
frequently offered
to her.
Instead of suggesting her liability, in the smallest
degree, to earthly passions and foibles, the myth shows admir
ably that she was a divine personification of mind, always
unfettered in its movements ; a
personification, at the same
time, of the origin

Divine Being

female order,

of

mind from the brain of the supreme

a proof that mind

is

neither of a male nor of a

but a single and

independent power at work

throughout the whole of nature.
In the course of the war with the Giants Pallas rendered

most valuable assistance

being, in fact, the

to Zeus,

both by advice and deed

cause of his calling in the aid of

Herakles,

and thus completing successfully the subjugation of the

rebels.

\S-ATHKNK, OR MINERVA.

91

I...

the terrible giant

Single-handed she overpowered

but

when Zeus

rule was^atjast

Enkelados

;_

hrmly established, she took up

those heroes on earth

and protecting
thejask of assisting
creatures and
found
^hoirTshe
engaged in destroying the grim
friend
In this capacity she was the constant
monsters upon it.
adventures
below),
and
his
(see
:-akles ;n all
hardships
whom she helped to slay the Gorgon Medusa,
and of

Perseus,
head

afterwards wore upon her

>he

oMnined the name

..layer.

while

assistance

her

to

Gorgophone,

of

Hera she

Along with

was

aegis,

"protected

due

the

for this

or

Gorgon

Argonauts,
with

success

the

and

which

Theseus (see below) overcame and slew monsters of all

She stood by the Greeks in their war against Troy,
kinds.
scheme
which we s lail describe afterwards, and devised the
it was brought to a close.
by which, affr ten years duration,
as goddess in all kinds
Hut, in tunes of peace, her power
that of the sky, and
like
clearness
of
of skill and

handicraft,

was uniformly exercised, as has been said,

The arts of spinning
for the general good and prosperityShe
jnd weaving were described as of her invention.
even
and
infants;
nurse
and
how to tend
newly-born
of mental activity,

taught

,,1111-

The

task

of

for

the

v/lio

bridling

which we

phon,
in

was her duty to instruct men

it

,,

find

whom

story of

and yoking them

her performing

in

the art of taming

Erichthonios,
how to harness
protectress

industry, of those

of

war chariot

the

the story of

Bellero-

PegaSOS

at Athens, the

learned from her

and

in

to

she bridled the winged horse

lie

art

As became the goddess

was her invention.

too,

flute,

of war,

was traced back to her among other gods.

art

first

and

mortal

horses to chario!
all

persons employed

whose business

it

was on earth

m
to

DEITIES OF

92
- instruct

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

and educate mankind, and

therefore to help forward

the general happiness.

The
Attica,

that

of

district

her

of

and

influence

Greece

which,

related above, she obtained as

myth
liar

scene

principal

was

actions

the

to

according

her special and pecu

with

Poseidon, the god

There her worship and honour surpassed that of
other deities, and from her was named the chief town of
province, after a contest for

it

of the sea.
all

The

proof and testimony of her guardian

ship of Attica was the olive on the Acropolis of Athens,
which she created in the contest with Poseidon, and from

the land.

visible

which the Athenians believed

to have spread.

all

the

trees of Attica

olive

In the produce of the olives consisted the

Ancient writers relate a touching

olive tree on the Acropolis, which reveals

chief wealth of the land.

story concerning this

how

firmly

the belief of their goddess

When

minds of her people.

was rooted

overwhelming forces against Greece,

it

is

said that

Athens must
might

rise

city.

But

fate

perish, in order that a

from

its

ruins,

Athene

and begged

presented herself at the throne of her father,

the preservation of her

the

in

the Persians advanced with their

for

had otherwise decreed

better

and nobler

city

and accordingly Zeus was obliged

to refuse the prayer of his beloved daughter.

The Athenians

took to their

city,

fleet,

abandoning altogether the

Persians then entered, and destroyed utterly with

which the
fire

sword, not even sparing the sacred olive of the goddess.

lo

as a sign that she

had not forsaken her

city

even

and
But,
in its

sprang suddenly from the root which remained a

with wonderful quickness, grew to a length
which,
shoot,

ruins, there

new

of three yards, and was looked on as an emblem of the re

With the aid of their goddess the
generation of the city.

PALLASATHENE, OR MINERVA.
Athenians fought foremost of

ensued

fight that

all

at Salamis, in

93

the Greeks in the famous sea-

which the Persian

fleet,

though

was wholly destroyed, while the

vastly superior in numbers,
were compelled to escape with shame
troops on the mainland
and immense losses from Greece.
of her titles, some derived from her
the

Among

great variety

imictions as a goddess,

and others from the

localities

where her

on the people, we find Athene at

worship had a special hold
of her care over the
Klis
mother," in consequence
"

styled

children; in

of

nursing

Polias, the

"protectress

Glaukopis,

"blue-eyed

Hippia, "tamer
Nike, the
industry";

Athens and several other places,

of

cities";

goddess";

of

"

Soteira, the

saviour";

Parthenos,

horses";

Ergane,

"victorious";

"the

"mistress

vir-

ot

Mechanitis,
several days, and

and

Kvery year a festival lasting

at Athens, to
rolled Panathenaea, was held in her honour
she had taken in the war against the
commemorate the
.^enious."

part

Giants:
current

This

that is, every third year of the

every fourth year
with redoubled splendour.
celebrated
it was

Olympiad

festival

,tto

is

have

said to have

first

derived

its

by Theseus, or at
him in any case
from
importance

been

instituted

vas a festival of very great antiquity.

Festal

processions

sacrifices and
were formed,
games were held, while
whether
the
all
scale
Athenians,
a
place on large
banquets to
of
the
taking
privilege
at home or abroad in colonies, having

athletic

>k

]>art.

pri/cs in the

games consisted

of large painted carthen-

with pure olive oil, the product of lh tree

Of these vases a small number have been
red to Athene.
On one side is painted a li-ure
ed down to our times.
forward in the attitude of hurling her

ire

.,1

The

vases

filled

the goddess striding

ar,

with a column on each

si.lc

of her, to indicate the race-

DEITIES OF

94

On

course.

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

the reverse side

is

a view of the contest in which

a particular vase was won.

of the festival

But perhaps the chief attraction

was the procession in which a new robe or peplos,

woven and embroidered

women and girls

like a sail
ship.

in

for the

goddess by a select number of

Athens, was carried through the town spread

in the form of a

on a mast, placed on a waggon

In this procession

appears as

it

if

the whole population

of Attica took part, the youth of the nobility on horseback or

in chariots, the soldiery in arms, and the burgesses with their

wives and daughters in holiday

attire.

The new robe was

destined for the very ancient statue of Athene which was pre

This custom

served in the Erechtheum.

of placing

actual

drapery on statues appears to have been handed down from

remote times, when the art of sculpture was unequal to the task

human

that the
figure, and it is not improbable
which we are speaking, dated from that
The magistrates of Athens offered sacrifices to her

of imitating the

statue of Athene, of

early time.
at the

commencement

of spring.

The

services of her sanctuary

were conducted by two virgins elected for the period of one

year.

In

much

Rome

Minerva was conducted with as

Athene at Athens, her character as god

the worship of

zeal as that of

dess of wisdom and serious thought being admirably calculated

to attract a people like the

of their arts

and

industries,

Romans.

She was the protectress

of the domestic operations of spin

ning and weaving and embroidering, just as she was among the
In Rome she had several temples, one of the oldest
Greeks.

A festival which lasted

of them being that on the Capitol.
from March iQth to 23rd was annually held in her honour.
But the object connected with her, which the Romans venerated
above

all

things else, was the

Palladium,

or ancient figure or

PALLAS-ATHENE, OR MINERVA.

95

had

originally fallen

was

the goddess, the story of which

from

and had thereupon

heaven,

that

it

become

property of

the

of it being from that

royal family of Troy, the possession
time always considered an assurance of the safety of that city.
tin

Hut

the course of the war between the Greeks

in

Diomedes

was secretly carried off

and Trojans

and Odysseus, upon

by
which followed the capture of the town by means of the wooden
Another version of the story has it that ^Eneas took
horse.
it

him when he

in

>istency

more than one

ladium
ever

to be,

endurance of the
nd BO

the

.similar

importance

lladiurn of

and

in

happened

consequence

of

of

later times that

in

city

in a

Where-

there the firm conviction existed

depended on the possession of

that the expression

wider sense to objects thought to

and when,

for instance;
1

we hear of the

we understand

that

and security of freedom has been

lost.

Freedom being

the prim ipal provision

The symbols

happened afterwards

it

idium was employed

i

city

example, Argos, Athens, and Rome.

as, for

that the

it

claimed the possession of the real Pal

city

was believed

it

from the

fled

in the story

carried

off,

Athene were the owl, the cock, the snake, and

rce.

ksofart Athene generally appears as a virgin of serious aspect,

shield, and spear, wearing long full -ir.-.pery, and on

armed with helmet,

her

.-.

itli

a border of snakes, and the face of

often accompanied by an owl.

lin.

IK-

Medusa

many

in

the

statues of

in antiquity as works of art wert those by the

the one of gold and ivory stood in her j/--e:it temple ai
Some idea is given of it by Plate XII., which
on.

tion
h-

the

two most famous

;lor Pheidias

Of

oihei

from a piestimed copy of the original.

was of bron/e

Plate

I. ),

eolos.a] in

food on the

temple just named, the cre^t of her Inline!

and point of her spear being visible from the
away as
11
attitude ,vas that of
southern point ot Attie.i.
Suni im, thei

mo>t

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

preparing to hurl her spear, and the title she bore, that of Promachos,
"Van of Battle."
A representation of the statue is to be seen on

or

the

coins of Athens

The
375

last

A. D.,

on which a view of the Acropolis is

given.
record we have of the statue of
gold and ivory
how and when it perished remaining still a

attitude of

the

statuettes, of

which there

On

Athens.

bronze statue
is

one

the painted vases

it

exists,

is

in the British

we

find

The

several

small

in

believed,

in the year

is

mystery.

Museum, which was found

in

many

representations of her birth,

of her contest with the
Giants, of her assisting heroes, such as Perseus and

Herakles, in their exploits.

The subjects of the sculptures, now in the
British Museum, which decorated the
pediments of the Parthenon, were,
in the front, her
birth, and at the back, her contest with Poseidon.
In
the Erechtheum at Athens was an ancient
figure of the goddess, believed,
to

have

fallen

from heaven;

Palladium properly so

while another

ancient figure of her,

the

was preserved in the city under the care of a

It also was believed to have
priestly family named Byzigi.
fallen from
heaven. In its presence was held a court for the trial of cases of
bloodshed.
called,

PHCEBOS-APOLLO AND HELIOS,

(PLATE

From
the

xi.)

the sun

comes our physical light, but

same time an emblem of all mental

that

light

illumination, of

ledge, truth,

and

right,

a distinction was

phenomenon
on

OR SOL.

one

side

of

all

moral purity
it

and
is

Helios
the

on

oracular

of the future,
darkness which

and

as a mental

a distinction which
placed

Phcebos-Apollo
the dark ways

monster

of

made between

the

god

at

in this
respect

and a physical

Phcebos-Apollo

other.

Accordingly

who throws

who slays
made the

is

know

the

light

Python,

oracle

at

on
that

Delphi

inaccessible.
He is the god of music and song, which are
only
heard where light and
security reign, and the possession of
herds is free from danger.
Helios, on the other hand, is the
physical phenomenon of light, the orb of the sun,
which,

summer and

winter, rises

and

sets in the sky.

His power o

Pallas-Athene, by

Pheidi;i>

PHCEBOS-APOLLO AND

HKI.lns,

OR

SOL.

97

bringing secrets to light has been already seen in the story of

Vulcan and Venus.

The myth

of

Apollo

is,

like that

Greek system,

oldest in the

of

Aphrodite, one

least partly traceable to oriental influence, is

the

No

Greek mind.

deities of the

of the

which

but, unlike the latter,

is

at

a pure growth of

doubt certain oriental nations had

sun and of

similar

light

in

some

points to

Apollo, but this only proves the simple fact that they viewed
the movements of the sun and the operations of light in a
We have seen in the
general way similarly to the Greeks.

preceding chapters how the sky, earth, sea, and lower world
were personified by divine beings of a high order, while in the

same way other

forces

and powers

In the myth of Apollo

beings.

in nature

we

were imagined as

shall find represented the

various operations of the eternal li-ht of the sun.

the sun

s rays, or the arrows of Apollo, that

everywhere,
and gardens teach us, quicken life, and foster it
towards ripeness; through them a new life springs all around,

It is

as the fields

and

in the

of nature

is

warmth of

their soft, kindly light the jubilant voice

heard and awakens an echo in the

human

soul.

At the same time these arrows destroy the life of plants and
animals even man falls under them in southern climates, such
;

as Greece.

Their

light

penetrates to

capable of reaching to inmost recesses.

represented in the myth of Apollo, who

dark corners,

and

is

All these ideas are

is

therefore conceived

various ways corresponding to the Denial radiance of the sun,

with all its friendly influences: (i) as the
personification of
in

youth and beauty ; (2) as god of earthly blessings; (3) as god

of the herds that gra/.e on the fields which are wanned
by him,
a

character in

Laomedon.

which

he appeared

which multiplied

largely

herding the cattle

under

his

care,
7

of

and

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

98

when alone piping on

from their dens

his flute,

the wild beasts were attracted

till

who provided

god of medicine,

(4) as

for the

growth of healing plants; (5) as god of music, for everywhere

sounds, when his kindly beams
spread light and warmth over nature
(6) as god of oracles
which reveal the secrets of the future, as the light of heaven

were heard happy,, joyful

and

dispels all darkness,

The sun appears

detests nocturnal gloom.

ever young and powerful in the heavens,

must eternal youth, strength, and endurance be

For this reason he came to be a pro
ascribed to Apollo.

and so

also

when engaged in athletic contests, as well as

But summer heat produces plagues, and so it was
necessary to view Apollo as the cause of the same, as the

tector of youth
in war.

god of death, whose unerring arrows carry destruction with

In this latter phase of his character we. find him styled
them.
Ka^rneios, and worshipped with particular zeal in Sparta, a
being held annually in his honour in the month of

festival

August,, the entire population withdrawing from the

for

several

in

days encamping

like a besieging

tents

in

town and

the neighbourhood,

the object being, by living in tents, to

army

avoid the injurious effects of the intense heat of the dog-days.

As a religious
The name of this festival was Karneia.

ceremony,

of

the intention

was

it

to

appease the dreaded

god, and accordingly it was attended with great reverence in

Sparta, and from thence transplanted to Kyrene, a Greek

colony

on the

Rhodes and

north

Sicily,

coast

and

of Africa,

to the

such as Tarentum and Sybaris.

honour of

this

Apollo was

Another phase of
power is combined

his

at

Greek

The

the

islands of

lower Italyfinest of the temples in

cities in

Amyklae.

character,

with

.to

his

in

which

function

as

his destroying

god

of

youth

I-IKKBOS-APOLLO

AND HEUOS, OR

SOL.

99

and blooming vegetation, is represented in the myth from

which he derived the title of Hyakinthios, :ind enjoyed a
form of worship which was for the most part peculiar to the
over the whole
Peloponnesos, the modern Morea, extending
to
of
coast
of the south
it,
Sikyon, Messenia, Amyklae, and
It was accompanied by laments sung from place to
Sparta.

and by poetic competitions, the idea to be conveyed in

the whole ceremony being the transitoriness of nature, and the
place,

In this spirit the festival

again in course of time.
celebrated
was
of the Hyakinthia
annually at Sparta in

return of

life

and lasted nine days, commencing with sadness and

with joyous excitement.
expressions of grief, and concluding

July,

The myth
accidentally

this festival related

which

to

killed,

in

throwing

his

tells

disc,

how Apollo
the

beautiful

Hyakinthos, whom he dearly loved, the youngest son of

Amyklas or, in another version, how Zephyros, the wind;

god,

who

also loved the boy, hurled

back the disc

of Hyakinthos, out of jealousy towards Apollo.

at the

head

The sorrow

at

the beginning of the festival of the Hyakinthia was to com

memorate his death, while the belief that he had been

transformed into the flower which sprang up where his blood

fell,

and bears

his

name, gave occasion afterwards

ings of confidence in his return.

to

happy

feel

Clearly the object of the

Persephone, was to point to the alternating

myth,
life in nature, which in this instance is conof
return
and
decay
reived under the form of a youth, the disc of Apollo being
which scorches up w
equally clearly a symbol of the sun,
like that of

tation.

A similar idea seems to run through the story whirh n

how Apollo and Artemis, taking offence at Niobe because,
with a

mother

pride,

she

had boasted herself higher than

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

100

Leto

mother of beautiful children, shot down her

children,
Apollo the sons, and Artemis the daughters.
When one after another had fallen before the angry deities,
all

as the

but the youngest daughter, Niobe, with the child

cling

them in anguish to spare the

but
could
not avert the fatal shaft.
children,

ing to her, implored

many

struck, her

murmur

mother

heart

or complain.

a rugged rock,

became

like

Apollo

at other -times, as during the

the

against

it

was

Greeks tumble

said, into

exercise his destroying

Whole ranks
aegis,

like structures of

his arrows,

Trojan war, when he took

Greeks, appears to

power with irresistible fury.

fall dead when he shakes his

it

tears trickled silently (see plate

XIII).
While bringing sometimes a pleasant death with

part

of her

When

a stone, and she refused to

She was transformed,

down which

last

and the

of fighting

walls raised

men

by the

sand made by children

at

play.

As god of the sun in

nature, we find Apollo
called

friendly influence

upon the face of

Thargelios, and a festival,
Thargelia, being held in his honour at Athens in the
its

styled

month of May, to celebrate the ripening of the fruits of the field

under the warmth of the sun, and at the same time to serve as
a festival of expiation in
ancient days.
called

and

Metageitnia,

plenty,

memory

of the

human

In August occurred another

at

sacrifices

festival at

of

Athens,

which Apollo, as god of harvest

was thought of as entertaining the other gods and

In
encouraging neighbourly feelings among his worshippers.
October the firstfruits of the field were presented to him as a
sacrifice, and in September was held a festival at which he was
invoked as a helper in battle. Under the title of Nomios
-he was regarded by -herdsmen as their
But the
patron god.

XIII.

NioLe.

PHCEBOS-APOLLO AND

sun
genial influence of the
land,

and

for this

is

HI l.tns

felt

OR

SOL.

on the sea

as well as on.

reason he was styled Delphinios, and

in.

this capacity worshipped, among other places, at Athens, where

his temple, called the Delphinion, was in early times a
An
trial of capital crimes.
place of refuge and a court for the
annual festival was held in May, called Delphinia, to corn

memorate the

tribute of seven

Athens had been compelled

year to Crete to be offered as

As god
to

spend

of the sun in

the winter

its

away

in

boys and seven girls, whom

remote times to send every

sacrifices to the

Minotaur.

annual course, Apollo was thought

in a northern region, among a

with whom it was always

mythical people called Hyperboreans,
As the winter approached poets sang farewell to him.
light.
At his birth Zeus had given him a mitra (or cap), a lyre, and a
car drawn by swans, in which he was to proceed to Delphi,
off to the bright land of the Hyper

but the swans carried him

boreans.

When

summer came
The

the

hailed his return in festal songs.

welcomed him back.

the

priests

of Delphi

voice of the nightingale

peculiar festival, the

Daphnephoria,

honour of Apollo
Ismenios, the ceremony consisting of a procession in which
was carried a branch of olive hung with wreaths and representa

was held

at

Thebes every eighth year

tions of the

Kopo.

sun,

From

moon,

stars,

and

we know

it

and called the

number of wreaths was

planets,

the statement that the

365, to indicate the days of the year,

the festival as

in

it

may be

gathered that

was not of very high antiquity,

On
of late origin.
symbols so obvious as this being usually
the other hand, it may be supposed, from the character of
in a simpler
Apollo as sun-god, that the ceremony had existed
red
to him.
was
BCU
The number sei cn
form in early times.

red swans

made

<

ir<

le

BCVCB

tUDCfi

nimd

the

102

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

Delos at his

One

birth,

From

month.

this

which occurred on the seventh day of the

he took the title of Hebdomeios.

of the oldest forms of his worship appears to have been

that in which he

was regarded simply

as

god of light, and

styled

the original centre of this worship being Lycia in the

Lykios,

south-west of Asia Minor.

Turning now

phase of his character in which he re

of the sun as the symbol of an all-seeing

to that

presents the light

and all-knowing power, we

find Apollo regarded as the great

god of oracles, with

Delphi as the principal centre of his

His oracles were there communicated through a

activity.

priestess, with the title of

Pythia, who

sat aloft

on a sacred

tripod of gold which stood above the opening of a

the

Out of

rock.

chasm

this

chasm

in

a continuous stream of

rose

cold vapour, which drove the priestess into a state of frenzy

when she

Her method

of prophesying was by
words or sounds, which persons
the purpose caught up and put into verse, generally

sat

above

it.

littering in her frenzy single

educated

for

such a cunning way as to have, instead of a clear incontro

vertible meaning, a double and easily mistaken import.
in

To

give one example

Athenians

for

advice as to

when consulted by the

meet best the approach of

the oracle,

how

the Persian forces, returned as

to

its

answer,

"Trust

to .your

citadel of wood." This the Athenian sages misunderstood, and

proceeded to have the Acropolis protected with wooden

bulwarks, which naturally could not for a

moment resist
men of

Themistocles, however, and the younger

the
the

enemy.
day declared that the words referred to the fleet, and suc
ceeded in persuading the people to take to the ships, the

which was the glorious victory of Salamis. Had the

interpretation of the sages been accepted generally, the oracle
result of

PHCEBOS-APOLLO AND HELIOS, OR SOL.

would have had the answer ready, that

was only by such

it

meant the

103

fleet.

tricks that the oracle of Delphi, clever

far-seeing as the priests were, could

tion for unerringness

and

its

have maintained

its

It

and

reputa

vast influence.

same nature, but apparently older, were the oracles

of Apollo in Asia Minor as for instance those of Colophon
and Didymi near Miletus, the latter of which was in the hands

Of

the

Sometimes the god

of the priestly family of the Branchidce.
the
exercised the power of communicating
prophetic gift to
mortals,

he did to

as

daughter of Glaukos.

town of Cumre,

name

the

in the

of the

Cassandra, and to Deiphobe, a

The latter lived in a grotto beside the
Campania of Italy, and was known by

Cumsean

was from her that

It

Sibyl.

Tan min the Proud, the last king of Rome, acquired the three
concern
Sibylline books which contained important prophecies
ing the fate of

Romans.

Rome, and were held

in great reverence

by the

They were preserved carefully in the Capitol down

when they perished in a fire. In Greece

to the time of Sulla,

also

was a famous seer or prophet, and favourite of Apollo,

Epimenides, of whom the myth reports that when a herds

man he fell asleep in a grotto, slept for fifty six years, and on
awakening found himself endowed with the prophetic

gift in

high degree.

Connected with

his gift of

prophecy was

his

For not only were the oracles expressed

in

power of music.
verse, but

the

when spontaneous, were

As god of music he
an inspired foresight into the future.
was leader of the Muses, Musagetes and himself played on
thought to originate

strains of music,
in

a wonderful lyre which

Hermes had made

for him.

At Delphi he was Styled Apollo Pythios, and enjoyed

several annual festivals, such as the Theophania, tocelel

DEITIES OF

104

his return

which,

it

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

from the Hyperboreans, and the Theoxenia, at

being harvest time, he was supposed to receive the

The principal festival,

other gods at his hospitable table.
however, was that at which the Pythian Games were held.
These games had been

instituted to

commemorate

the victory

of Apollo over the dragon Python, which resisted his entrance

upon his duties as oracular god at Delphi. They were held at

every seventh, afterwards every ninth, and latterly every

first

fifth year.

As being himself possessed of eternal youth, and of the finest

conceivable athletic form, Apollo came to be regarded as a
patron of the athletic contests of youth, and in this capacity

ranked with Herakles and Hermes.

He

was the god also to

whom

persons polluted either with disease or crime turned for

purification, and on this account his high power was brought

home

He

frequently and seriously to a great part of the people.

was, therefore, properly viewed as the father of Asklepios,

the god of medicine.

The
sister

story of the birth of Apollo

is

that he, with his twin

Artemis, was a son of Zeus and Leto

(or Latona);
wandering long hither and thither, pursued by
the jealous Hera, at last found shelter in the island of Delos,
It was said that
in the Egean sea, and there was delivered.

that Leto, after

had been only a waste rock driven about

but that it became fixed in its present position on

hitherto that island

in the sea,

birth of Apollo and Artemis, an event

which was celebrated by a blaze of golden light shed over the
island, while sacred swans flew round encircling it seven times.

the occasion of the

in May, and for that reason his festival at Delos, the

But Leto was compelled,
was
held in that month.
Delia,
through the pursuit of Hera, to abandon her children. They

This was

PHCEBOS-APOLLO AND HELIOS, OR SOL.

were entrusted to

Themis,

name which

105

signifies

"justice,"

and indicates here the indisputable sense of right present with

By her he was fed on ambrosia and
Apollo from his birth.

upon which he grew so

nectar,

and

strong,

quickly, that within only a few hours

too,

that,

after his birth

so

he was a

youth of dazzling appearance, and escaped his divine nurse,

a player on
proclaiming that his destiny was to be a bowman,
the lyre, and to give truthful oracles to mankind.
at once
accomplish the end of his ambition he set out
an
for
a
suitable
oracle,
on a pilgrimage to search for
place

To

After searching

neither too public nor too retired.

many

districts of

Greece he arrived

Delphi, or Pytho, which he recognised

;it

of

its

over there had been an

early time,

and she was

young god.
in

as the desired spot, on

Themis

willing to

terrible dragon,

the way, refused entrance,

More

Greece.

peaceful position in the heart of

oracle of

through

at the quiet rocky valley of

there from a remote

hand over her

duties to the

however, called Python, stood

tried to repel him ; but in

and

young god, confident in the unerring aim of his

arrows, attacked the monster, and slew it after a short combat.
In this way he acquired his world-famed oracle, and from his
vain, for the

victory over the dragon obtained the

From
mained
ora<

lc

at

that
in

time

forward, with

undisputed

of

Pythios.

when he had

Herakles, who, because

Apollo re

sacred tripod and

possession of the

Delphi, and that was

defence against

title

one exception,

to take

up

their

the acting priestess

did not prophesy as he wished, offered her violence and carried

off the tripod.
Apollo hastened to the aid of his priestess,

and Zeus had

to settle

the quarrel between his two sons,

who

thereafter lived in the closest friendship.

Amongst

the other incidents of his

life,

it

is

related that

106

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

Apollo once incurred the severe displeasure of Zeus, and was

driven for a time out of Olympos, through having shot at some
of the Kyklopes in revenge for Zeus having struck

on earth he acted

his exile

as a

herdsman

the king of Pherae, in Thessaly,

metos,

capacity to

Asklepios

a son of Apollo, with a thunderbolt.

(^Esculapius),

During

to his friend

and again

in the

Adsame

In vexation at his

Laomedon, prince of Troy.

banishment he joined with Poseidon in an attempt to dethrone

But the scheme failed, and both deities were in con
Zeus.
sequence sentenced to

Laomedon

in building the walls of Troy.

assist

refused to give

them the payment agreed on

the service, and Apollo avenged himself

pestilence which depopulated the

town and neighbourhood of

During the time of his servitude he had also a quarrel

Troy.
with

for

by sending a dreadful

Pan, who

than the

lyre.

insisted that the flute

The

decision,

was a better instrument

which was

left to

Midas, a king

of Lydia, was given in favour of Pan, for which Apollo punished

Midas by causing his ears to grow long like those of an ass.

Marsyas, too, had boasted that he could surpass Apollo in
the art of playing on the
cruel

Rome

In
B.C.,

flute,

and

punishment of being flayed

for this

had

to suffer the

alive.

the worship of Apollo was not established

till

320

a temple being raised to him in that year in consequence

of a pestilence that had visited the city.

temple to

narian

No

Afterwards a second

him was erected on the Palatine

Games

hill.

The Apolli-

were instituted during the second Punic war.

was made by the Greek poets of later times

between Apollo and the sun-god, Helios. As little did the
Romans distinguish between Apollo and Sol. In both cases
distinction

the confusion arose from the fact that the fundamental idea of

both deities was that of sun-gods.

The

title

of Phoebos plainly

AND

HCKBOS-APOLLO

HELIOS,

OR

Bf

of pure streaming light, particularly

designated Apollo as god
was
of heaven, and this phase of his character
of the
light

made more conspicuous by

the fact of his mother

"

LetQ,

name being

But
goddess of the dark night."
came in time to be lost sight of

"

darkness,* strictly

this, his original signification,

in the variety of other functions

which he assumed.

Helios,

or Hyperion, on the contrary, remained, properly speaking,

which is visible in the heavens by day,
only the orb of the sun
the
and disappears by night in a regular course. That was
The number seven was sacred to
had.
only signification he
in the island of Trinakia, sup
and
him, as it was to Apollo,
and
it was said, he had seven herds of cows
to be

posed

Sicily,

fifty in

seven herds of lambs,

or diminished in numbers.
see

each herd, which never increased

It

was one of

his pleasures

to

them grazing when he rose in the morning and when he

ended in the evening.
the sons of Helios the most famous is Phaethon, of

>f

whom

it

is

said that

he once had a dispute about his origin

a son of Zeus and Io, and in consequence

to prove himself such
he
really was his father,
begged Helios,
called the river
Helios
which
by granting one request upon
with

Epaphos,

if

The
not refuse to grant it.
Styx to witness that he would
one
for
was, that he, Phaethon, should be permitted
request

day

Helios, astonished at the

to drive the chariot of the sun.

boldness of the
threatened his

move him from

son

in

alarmed

the

more

firmly,

his oath, instructed his

the horses,

But Phaethon only clung

his determination.

to the bargain all

bound by

at the danger that

such an undertaking endeavoured to

request,

and

and handed over

to

and Helios,

son

how

to drive

and manage

one day. The

the work, and unac-

him the task

to
youth, however, through being unused

finding himself

for

I08

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

quainted with the right way, soon became confused, and lost
and his senses.
The spirited horses wheeled out

his strength

of the right course, and brought the chariot of the sun so near
to the earth that in

were dried up,

became black

some places

rivers

began

the latter took

to boil,

fire,

fountains

and part of the human race

Zeus, alarmed at the unexpected

which
both heaven and earth were thus placed, slew
danger
Phaethon with a stroke of lightning, and cast him from the
in

colour.

in

chariot of the sun

sisters

down

daughters of Helios,

wept

into the river Eridanos.

The

of Phaethon, Heliades, as they were called

for

him a long

Phaethusa,
time,

and

-<*Egle,

is,

and Lampetia,

became transformed

finally

larch trees, that overhang the river

three

that

into

banks, the tears that con

from them being changed by the sun into amber

Phaethon s friend Kyknos mourned his loss

tinually flowed
(elektron).

deeply,

and was transformed

so grieved

into a swan, while Helios

was

at his son s death that only the entreaties of the

gods could prevail on him to resume the reins of the chariot

of the sun.

The symbols

of Helios were horses heads, a crown of seven

rays, a cornucopia, and a ripened

were the

fruit.

The symbols

wolf, swan, raven, stag, dolphin, laurel,

and

of Apollo
lyre.

In works of art Apollo is usually represented as having the figure of a

youthful athlete perhaps the finest existing statue of him being the Apollo
His hair is long, and usually tied, like that of
Belvidere of the Vatican.
his sister Artemis, in a large

knot above his forehead.

In the character of

Musagetes he wears long ample drapery girt at the waist, a diadem round
his head, and long tresses falling on his shoulders.
Though the general
representation of him is that in which he is engaged in playing on the
lyre, or resting

and arrows,

from doing

so,

as in plate xi.,

we

find

him

also with

bow

Sauroktonos, killing a lizard, holding forth his aegis to

destroy his enemies, and present at the flaying of Marsyas.
as

XIV.

Artemis, or Diana,

Dionysos, or Bacchus.

ARTKMIS, UK DIANA

AND

M-.I.KNE,

OR LUNA.

AND SELENE,

ARTEMIS, OR DIANA;

IO<)

OR LUNA.

(PLATES xiv. AND xv.)

Artemis was

Originally

moon,

brother
just as her

the

divine personification of the

was originally god of the

Apollo

like the
But by degrees, as the moon came to be viewed
on the
and
as a mere illuminating orb,
sun, on the one hand
believed
and generally
oilier as possessing a real or apparent
and on human as well as animal life,

sun.

influence

upon vegetation,

of two
up a distinction between moon-goddesses
The
kinds.
two
of
to the sun-gods

there grew

corresponding
one was Selene, or
kinds,

Luna, whose

that of goddess of the orb of night,

the orb of day.

embraced

other was

The

in her character

all

was merely
as Helios, the sun, was of
signification

Artemis,

or

Diana, who

the other functions exercised

and accordingly,

like Apollo,

by
became

moon on earthly life,

while the
the subject of a largely developed religious belief;
like that of Helios, was but
myth of Selene, on the contrary,

the

and sparingly improved upon.

influences of
Great as was the variety of the real and fancied

little

the

moon upon natural

in the

life,

was the variety

proportionately great
of worship sometimes, at other

a locality

myth of Artemis

times a particular point of view of her character determining

the phase of

it.

And

further,

in the
peculiar features

it

myths of

should be observed that

Artemis

many

are traceable to the

whose inner and

being twin-sister of Apollo,
she was believed to share.
spiritual qualities
warm southern lands
It was observed that the vegetation of

fact

of her

most under the quickening influence of

spread and flourished
which often for
the coolness of night and the fall of dew,

110

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

whole months was a substitute

known by
the sky
to

is

Artemis was

Hence she was

groves, over

dew

of

It

was

roam by

and

valleys,

is

fertility in this direction.

woods and

night through

accompanied by

the

nymphs

of

beside rivers, fountains, and marshes her presence

But the presence of the moon in the heavens gave

travellers and to herds, especially from the attacks

felt.

security to

of wild animals,

Under

be.

fall

ascribed the cause of

believed to

hills

the fountains

was

for the missing rains.

most copious when

and hence
clear and the moon sheds her pure light
experience that the

the

whose enemy Artemis was therefore thought to

of Agrotora she was the patron goddess

title

of huntsmen, her favourite hunting-ground being Arcadia, with

and glens well-wox)ded and well-watered.

Here she was worshipped under the form of a bear, and
its

many

heights

called Kalliste, the Arcadians, or bear-people, boasting their

On

descent from her.

the other hand, the regularly recurring ab

sence of the

moon from

regarded as

due to a voluntary act on the part of the goddess,

showed

though opposed to wild animals, she could also

that

employ them

the heavens, which could only have been

purpose of punishing men, and to illustrate

was told of her having sent among the ^Etolians
the so-called Kalydonian boar, which laid waste their fields, till

this,

for the

the story

by Meleager and Atalanta. As

a huntress her favourite animal was the stag, because its swiftness
after a great

hunt

was

it

slain

gave the best opportunity

by bow and speed

her method of capture, which was

As an instance of how severely she

for

of foot.

would punish the wanton slaying of the stag, there is the story
how for such a crime on the part of Agamemnon she

of

detained the Greek

Aulis,

fleet,

on

its

way

and exacted from him the

Iphigeneia.

Aktaeon,

to Troy, in the

harbour of

of his

daughter,

sacrifice

the huntsman,

had seen the goddess

ARTEMIS, OR DIANA;

bathing,

and

into a stag,

appears to

and devoured by
illustrate

Orion, a

Ill

modesty was transformed

a story which

for this offence to her

own hounds

his

the destructive influence of the dog-star,

Another hunter

Sirius.

AND SELENE, OR LUNA.

whom

she slew with her sweet arrows

personification of the bright constellation, which

beginning of summer is seen in early morning in the

east, where it remains until extinguished by the morning light.
To express this in the form of a myth, Orion was said to have

at the

lie-ntoo pressing in his advances towards

and

for this the

goddess of the

moon

Eos,

the morning,

slew him.

From the coincidence observed between the courses of the

moon and the ebb and flow of tides, Artemis came to be
viewed as a goddess who protected the occupation of the
fishermen, not only on the shore
also

on lakes and

sea, but

name

Britomartis, and was worshipped with

or

of

and on arms of the

In this character she bore the

rivers.

Diktynna,
among other places

in the island of Crete, where, to

zeal

account

former of her two names, the story was told of her

having, to escape the pursuit of Minos, thrown herself from a
rock into the sea, upon which she was caught in a fisherman s
for the

net.

From the joyous feelings awakened by calm moonlight, and

perhaps partly from her relationship to Apollo, she was described as fond of music

and the dance

which appears to have presented

a view of her character

itself in

a strong

light to the

people of Arcadia.

By whatever process the belief was arrived at, whether from

some comparison which suggested itself between the life of man
and the waxing and waning of the moon, or whether because

mankind
of day,

at birth

we

find

seemed

to

come

out of night into the light

Artemis represented as the guardian and helper

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

112

of child-birth, with

the

of

title

Eileithyia,

Ilithyia,* or

Eleutho.

She was throughout looked upon as a goddess of

the female productive power in nature, and accordingly the
care and nursing of children through their illnesses were placed
under

her

dancing of

supervision.

young

girls,

accompanied by the
honour as goddess of

festival,

was held

in her

youth, in Messenia, Lakonia, Elis, and elsewhere in Greece.

Similarly,

from the notion that mankind

after

death seems to

sink into night again, she came to be viewed as goddess of

death, particularly of that manner of death which could not be

assigned to a

known cause

it

stricken suddenly, without an

being said of those who were

cause, such as an

ostensible

wound, that Apollo or Artemis had laid them low

and in these cases the death of men
with a kindly arrow
injury or

was ascribed

to

and of women

Apollo,

Artemis,

as a

pure serene

light,

to

rule.

From

the fact that the

naturally suggested, as

pure virgin,
spotless

Artemis,

goddess,"

it

moon, with

does to us
her

as

came

to

its

also, the idea of a modest

name

implies,

be looked on as a

as having under her special care all shy

whether boys or

girls,

from

the

whom

"modest,

virgin,

and

and modest youths,

she received presents of

wreaths of flowers in the spring-time.

When

girls

had reached

an age at which her care was no longer necessary, it was cus

tomary for them to dedicate their girdles to the goddess. Young
girls

were sometimes called

bears/ in allusion to their patron

She was worshipped in

goddess, and her symbol of a bear.
as
Thebes
and
goddess of strict upbringing,
Athens, Corinth,
of good fame, of upright mind, and of sensibility in the affairs
*
Both names are also assigned to Hera,
described as a daughter of Zeus and Hera.

while Eileithyia herself

is

AND SELENE, OR LUNA.

ARTEMIS, OR DIANA;

of ordinary

and

life.

She chased and

unchecked creatures

When

and

all

wild

resolved,

and

actions.

only a maiden

of

obtained

Zeus

to

and, like

Athene, continued

consent,

arrows at

fired her

IIJ

tender age

she

remain always

in a single state,

constant and true to her resolve,

this prin
punishing with great severity every offence against

ciple

on the part of the nymphs who accompanied

see in the examples of

laurel tree,

Daphne, whom

and Kallisto

her, as

we

she transformed into a

into a bear.

may have been from the same motive which assigned the
bear as a symbol, that in early times her worship was attended
It

human sacrifice. Of this kind was the worship of

Tauric Artemis, at first peculiar to the countries on

with

the

the

shores of the Black Sea, the Crimea being the principal centre

of

From

it.

the Crimea,

it

is

said,

Orestes brought an image

of the goddess, and transplanted her worship to Greece, where

among other places, at Sparta. There she was

The sacrifices of human beings
styled Orthia or Orthosia.
were -however, in later times, commuted for the well-known cere
it

took root,

mony

of flogging youths at her

altar, said

to

have been intro

duced by the Spartan legislator Lykurgos.

goddess of marshes she was styled Limnaia, and as a
i-oddess

Potamia.

river

In this latter capacity she took under her

nymphs of fountains, as, for example, Arethusa,

whose beauty had attracted the river-god Alpheios and made her
the object of his constant pursuit, till Artemis to elude him, caused
protection the

the water of the spring which she represented to flow

ground.
at the

As Munychia,

harbour of Athens, and enjoyed an annual

which cak.
tin-in,

of the

under

or moon-goddess, she was worshipped

shape of a

were presented to her.

full

moon, with

festival, at

lights stuck

in

As Brauronia, with thesunbol

8

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

114

had a sanctuary on the Acropolis of Athens.

In Eubcea she was styled Amarynthia, and was worshipped

of a bear, she

with great ceremony.

Selene, or Luna,

it

has already been said, stood as god

did

dess of the moon, in the same relation to Artemis as

inasmuch as she merely repre

sented the orb of the moon, while Artemis represented the
Helios to

Phcebos-Apollo,

by night, the symbol of which

was symbol of day. Accordingly,

influence exercised on nature

was the moon,

as the sun

compared with Helios, the rising star of day, Selene

represents evening and night, carrying a torch, and clad in
as

long heavy robes, with a veil covering the back of her head.
On her brow she wears a half-moon (less frequently horns),

and leans forward,

drawn by two horses
love

for

as
;

moving with speed, in a chariot

on a mule. The s-tory of her

if

or she rides

the beautiful

asleep on a hill-side,

young Endymion, whom she found

and, enamoured of his loveliness, de

scended to him, is the best known of the myths concerning

her, and may be taken as a symbolical representation of the
gentle influence of the goddess of night, who watches the
slumbers of

unconscious

creatures.

Among

the

Romans

Luna

had a handsome temple, founded by King Servius

Tullius, on the Aventine hill, another on the Capitol, and
a third on the Palatine.

Compared with

whom we

have up to now been

Ephesian Artemis, or Diana of

the Artemis

describing,

the

Ephesus,

presents (Plate

so-called

XV.) so very

different

and strange

an aspect, that at first sight we are completely at a loss to

understand how by any possibility the term of a virgin could
be applied to her. Her appearance altogether wants the
simplicity, humanity,

and

truth to nature

which characterised

XV.

Diana

of Epliesus.

ARTEMIS, OR DIANA;

the Greek deities, and, what

signs of maternity.

It

AM

\K,

OK LUNA.

15

more, bears the most obvious

is

would seem that the Greeks, who

settled as colonists in very early times

on the coast of Asia

being worshipped by the native

her in the place of
population of that land, and adopted
was
Artemis, who, leaving out the fact of her being a virgin,
of her
in
with
Asiatic
the
identical
respect
goddess
probably
Minor, found this goddess

divine power over

The worship
the part of Asia

of

fertility,

childbirth, the

Diana of Ephesus

moon, and hunting.

extended throughout

Minor colonized by Greeks, and thence spread

to other places

in
never, however, obtaining a firm footing

.recce Proper.

At Ephesus she had a temple, ^which, for the

architecture, its si/.e, splendour, and wealth,

grandeur of its
was reckoned one of the seven wonders of
\\orki:

born

it

ancient

the

5rT~the night on which Alexander the Great was

was set fire to and almost completely destroyed by

man named Herostratos, whose object, being simply to hand

down his name in history, was gained. Afterwards, when Alex
a

ander had acquired renown by his extraordinary conquests in

Asia, this coincidence was remarked, and accepted as having
1 >een

an omen of his future fame.

Whether he himself believed

so or not, he gladly assisted in the rebuilding of the temple, so

that

when

finished

it

Was more magnificent than

Diana

before.

still being worshipped zealously when

went to Kphesus to preach Christianity, and accordingly he was

the Apostle Paul

was

ved with
smitlo,

\\

;i<>^-

hostility, especially

by the silversmiths and gold

trade consisted largely in the production of small

shrines, or representations of the front of the temple of

Diana,

to be sold among her worshippers and devotees.

Feeling
the success of Paul s preaching would ruin their trade.

d so great an opposition to

him and

his followers

that

that

the\
t;

DEITIES OF

Il6

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

were obliged to leave the town.

Nevertheless the new re1
found
who
from
that
time forward formed a
converts,
gion
Christian

This Artemis was also worshipped

of Leukophryne in Asia Minor, and as suet
there.

community

under the

title

had a splendid temple

Among

the

Romans

of native growth,

and

at

Magnesia on the Maeander.

the worship of Diana appears to have been

not, as

was the case with that of many of

A temple had been

the other deities, imported from Greece.

Rome

erected to her in

on the Aventine

Her

time of King Servius Tullius.

and deer; and

to

as early as the

oxen

these, as well as the fruit presented to her,

be perfectly clean and

virgin goddess.

were sacred to

hill

sacrifices consisted of

faultless, as

Stags, dogs,

and the

became

had

offerings to a

firstfruits

of the fields

her.

In works of art Artemis was usually represented as a huntress, either in

the act of running with speed in pursuit of her game, or resting, and
pre
senting the picture of a young virgin, fleet of foot, her dress girt high, and

unencumbered except by bow and arrows. In type of face she resembles

her brother Apollo so closely that, from the face alone, it is sometimes

Her hair, like his, is gathered into a large

The most celebrated of the statues of her that

them.

difficult to distinguish

knot above the forehead.

have come

works of

down

art,

in the British

also she

and

us

to
in

is

the so-called Diana of Versailles.

some of the

Museum

later

In early

example, a marble statue

her drapery reaches to her feet, but in these cases
as, for

represented as in active movement, like the moon hastening

Of the incidents in which she figured we find that
through the clouds.
of Aktaeon being transformed into a stag and devoured by his
hounds, in a
is

sculptured group, on a painted vase, and on the fragment of a cameo in the

British Museum. The hunt of the Kalydonian boar occurs on
painted vases.
The Ephesian Artemis was represented (plate xv.) with a mural crown

on her head.

Behind the crown is a disc, as symbol of the full moon ; on

her breast, like a necklace, a garland of flowers, as a sign of her influence
in spring-time, while above it are
figures of maidens, to indicate her
lions cling to her arms ; as mother of wild
patronage of young girls
;

beasts,

she has

mented with

many

breasts

her legs are closely bandaged and orna

figures of bulls, stags, lions,

and gryphons

at the sides

are

DIONYSOS, OR

How

;md bees.

RA<vin;s.

far this figure

may have resembled

17

the original

from heaven, it is impossible to say.

Selene or Luna is represented as riding on a mule or a horse on the
On a painted vase in the
pediment of the Parthenon it is a horse.
Helios is
British Museum there occurs a representation of sunrise

ima^e of the goddess which had

fallen

rising in his

the form of youths, dive headlong

(Selene) rides away over the hill-tops on a horse,

chario ., the stars,

moon

the sea, and the

and as she departs

is

bayed

at

in

int>

by a dog.

DIONYSOS, OR BACCHUS,
(PLATE

xiv.,)

Having more titles than any of the other deities, was styled, to
increase their number, "God of the many names," of these the
most

Bromios, Lyaeos, Dithyrambos.

The belief in the existence and powers of

familiar being,

and Bakchos.

have been borrowed by the Greeks in its

been developed
primitive form from oriental mythology, to have

this

god appears

by them, and

to

in later times

communicated

the

to

Romans.

His original signification was that of a divine being whose power

might be noticed operating in the sap of vegetation; and,
and joy for
accordingly, spring was a season of gladness

From

him, and winter a season of sorrow.

double character of god

of the vintage

and

this

its

sprung his

gay accompani

in which
ments, and god of the ecstatic and mystic ceremonies
As time went on
his sufferings during winter were deplored.

he came to be viewed chiefly as the source of the happiness

and mirth which arise from the enjoyment of the noble fruit
of the vine
in

while afterwards, from the fact that his festivals

spring and summer, with

occasion

to

the

first

attempts

their
at

gaiety

dramatic

added the function of god of the theatre

the vine.

and

mirth,

gave

performances, he
to

that of

god of

Il8

DEITIES OF

He

was born,

was a son of
the

of

it

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

was commonly believed,

Zeus and Semele,

founder of that town, a son of

Poseidon.

nant at

Of

his birth poets

this rival in

her husband

at

Thebes, and

Kadmos,

a daughter of

Agenor, and grandson

relate how Hera, indig

affections,

determined to

and to this end, assuming a disguise, went

;
Thebes, and presented herself to Semele how she suc
ceeded in winning her confidence, and thereupon took
occasion to propose that she should ask Zeus to visit her for
get rid of her
to

once

in all the

plenitude of his majesty as god of thunder,

without
Zeus, who,
waiting to listen, had hastily sworn
the black waters of the Styx," to grant whatever she

how
"by

was vexed when he heard

should ask,

the. foolish request,

from granting which no power could absolve him how one

day he appeared before the luckless Sernele with a display of
;

thunder and lightning which caused her death.

desire of vengeance

Semele, at the
child,

whose

moment

life

prevent

its

suffering

far the

to a

But

male

That was the child

at the

Hermes, the messenger of the gods, was

So

satisfied.

of her death, gave birth

Zeus fortunately restored.

To

Bakchos.

on the part of Hera was

hands of Hera,

secretly despatched

with the infant to a place called Nysa, where were certain

to

nymphs,

whom, along with Silenos,

up the child was entrusted.

said,

means

"

twice

born,"

and

His

title

the charge of bringing

of

Dithyrambos,

it

is

refers to the incident of his life

In after times it was applied to a

being restored by Zeus.
of
in
of
honour
the god of wine, of which Arion
species
song
of

Methymna was
The childhood

of

Dionysos was

spent in innocence and

among the nymphs, satyrs, sileni, herdsmen, and vineof Nysa.

But when he arrived at manhood he set

happiness
tenders

the reputed originator.

DIONYSOS, OR BACCHUS.

out on a journey through

all

known

countries, even into the

remotest parts of India, instructing the people, as he proceeded,

and how to practise many other arts of
to tend the

how

vine,

them the value of just and honourable

peace, besides teaching
He was praised everywhere as the greatest bene
dealings.
with
factor of mankind. At the same time, it is said, apparently
cases
in
some
which
mood
stubborn
reference to the fierce and
follows copious indulgence in wine, that he

met occasionally

with great resistance on his journey, but always

overcamejt
As in
and punished those who opposed him most severely.
instance of

whom,
fell
kill

for

this,

we

will take

Lykurgos,

the king of Thrace,

to
his resistance, Dionysos drove mad, and caused

and afterwards to
mistaking him for a vine-plant,
of Thebes,
himself in despair.
Or, again, Pentheus, a king

his son,

whom

he caused to be torn to pieces by his own mother and

of women, because he had dared to look on at

her following

their orgiastic rites.

Nowhere was the knowledge of how to utilize the vine ap

in Attica, where the god had communicated
preciated more than
it

to

Ikaros,

whose

first

to others brought about

it
attempt to extend the benefit of
own death, an event which was

his

In December a festival, with all

deeply grieved for afterwards.
in
manner of rustic enjoyments, was held in honour of Dionysos
In January, a festival called Lenaea
was held in his honour in the town, at which one of the principal
was a nocturnal and orgiastic procession of women.

the country

round Athens.

features

of
February the Anthesteria, the first day
second
the
and
pouring
which was called cask-opening day,

Then followed

lay.

Lastly

in

came

the great festival of the year, the

Dionysia, which was held

in the

town of Athens, and

Great
lasted

of
from the ninth to the fifteenth of March, the religious part

120

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

the ceremony consisting of a procession in which an ancient

wooden image of

the god was carried through the streets from

accompanied by excited songs. The

was daily the scene of splendid dramatic
performances, and the whole town was astir and gay.
His worship extended to Lemnos, Thasos, and Naxos,
one sanctuary

to another,

theatre of Dionysos

where the story was told of his turning the Tyrrhenian

into dolphins, and where he found the beautiful

pirates

Ariadne, when she had been abandoned by Theseus. It

spread to Crete, the home of Ariadne, and into Asia Minor.
In Phrygia he was worshipped with wild ceremonies, called
Sabazia, and in Thrace and Macedonia, called Kottytia. As
the

god who had advanced through Asia Minor and on to

accompanied by his wild and clamorous following, he

India,

was styled the Indian Dionysos, and

presented as advanced in years.

The
winter

sufferings

led

him

in this character

was

re

which the god was supposed to endure in

to be
associated with Demeter in the

mysteries of Eleusis, the purpose of which was, as has been

said, to celebrate the grief of the

goddess in winter, and her

prospects of joy in the coming spring.

The

vine, ivy,

and pomegranate were sacred

and pigs.

to this

god

his sacrifices consisted of goats

In works of art Dionysos was represented under a variety of forms

of

however, two are to be specially noticed. The one called the

Indian Bakchos" represents him as a man of years, with worthy aspect,

these,
"

a long beard, a diadem on his brow, and long drapery sweeping to his feet.
In the other figure he is represented as a beautiful youth with an almost

feminine appearance (plate xiv), beardless, his hair falling in long tresses,
and adorned with a wreath of ivy or vine tendrils, sometimes wearing the
skin of a stag over his shoulders, or with small horns on his brow, and
often in a car drawn by panthers or lions, or riding on one of these beasts.

XVI.

DIONYSOS, OR BACCHUS.

At other times he appears as a child, and that sometimes when he

being handed over by Hermes to the care of Silenos and the nymphs

is
f

The

youthful Dionysos is frequently represented in the company

of Ariadne, while the elder Dionysos is usually accompanied by Sileni and

Nysa.

Satyrs, as

when he

visited Ikaros

which occurson several ancient

and taught him the use of the vine, a

of which two are in the British Museum.

reliefs,

On his journey to India he rides on a camel, and on other occas ons In- is
attended by panthers.
His staff is a thyrsus a rod with a pine cone at the
In his hand is often a drinking cup.
The movement and exciteim nt
top.
:

of the persons

who were

and

his time,

sculptures of Dionysiac subjects which we

school either as originals or direct imitations.

HERMES,
(PLATES

A
in

son of
the

the

Zeus and Maia,

first

was a great attraction

associated with Dionysos

and the sculptors of

Praxiteles

now

MERCURY,

OR
x.

to

probable that the many

possess come from that

it is

AND

xvn.,)

a daughter of

Atlas, was regarded

whom was due

instance as the special deity to

prolificness

and welfare of

the animal

In

kingdom.

consequence, however, of the fact that in early times the chirf

source of wealth consisted in herds of cattle, the prolificness of

which was traced to him,

it

came

considered generally to be the

whence

it

might.

But as

known by experience

cause of

all

wealth,

advanced, and

civilization

it

was

come

became

was no means of acquiring

his province was extended to

that there

wealth so rapidly as by trade,

trade,

to pass in time that he

first

and the protection of

condition of prosperity

in

Again, since the main

traders.

trade was JK

u<

and undisturbed

commerce

by land and sea, he came to be viewed .is

guardian of commerce.
And, further, assuming that all uho
took

part

interests,

in

trade were

shrewd

qualified

and prudent,

to look

the

after

function of

their

own

protecting

122

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

shrewdness, and even cunning, was assigned to

In certain aspects of trade, if not in the best, it was
reckoned a great point to talk over and cajole purchasers, and

prudence,

him.

from

his protection of this

came

to

be god of

method of doing

"persuasive speech"

Hermes

business,

or oratory.

Finally,

it

being only a short step from this to cunning and roguery, we

must not be surprised to find him described as protector of

and

thieves

more

in joke

His
of

rascals,

though no doubt

was assigned him

this task

than in earnest.

office of

messenger and herald of the gods, in particular

to have originated partly in the duty assigned

Zeus, appears

him of protecting commerce, the success of which depends

largely on the messengers and envoys employed in it, and
to

partly in other functions of his which

explain.

the

intercourse between heaven

will of

would lead us too

far to

As messenger and envoy of Zeus, Hermes conducts

the gods

to

men,

and

and from

earth,
this

announcing the
was further

office

In the capacity of

derived his character of a god of oracles.

messenger or herald he had access even to the under-world,

title of Psychopompos, he guided the

whither, under the

souls of the departed, crossing in

them before the throne of the

the

shadowy world of

bark,

and placing

(Plate VI.)

spirits to that of sleep

short step for the imagination,

described as

Charon

deities below.

From

and dreams

is

and accordingly we

find

Hermes

guide of dreams.

As

the swift

Oneiropompos,

messenger of the gods he readily came to be looked on as a model

for the youth practising in the palaestra, in which capacity he

had the

title

of

Enagonios.

In proportion to the variety of the tasks which he had to

perform was the variety of mythical stories about his actions

and life, some of them taking us back to the very day of his

HKRMES, OR MERCURY.

For

birth.

was not an uncommon practice

it

123

in the early

myth-

of a god some instance of

making age to ascribe to the infancy
the
by which he was afterwards distinguished.
peculiar qualities

So

happened with Hermes.

it

His birth having taken place on the fourth of the month, that
him.
Born, as it was believed, during
day became sacred to
cave on
the darkness of night, in an unfrequented, lonesome

Mount

and on this account styled KylleKyllene, in Arcadia,

of his
nios, he was only a day old when a remarkable example
out of the couch in
cunning and knavery occurred. Slipping
was
as
left
was
he
supposed, the night
the cave where
asleep

found a herd of cattle belonging to

being dark and cloudy, he
stole a number of them.
his brother
(as sun-god), and
Apollo

for the
morning came Apollo searched in vain
had cleverly succeeded in
missing cattle for the infant god
them
of
all
traces
by fastening bunches of broom to
obliterating
a
condition
their hoofs, and in this
driving them backwards into

When

the

cave at Pylos, so as to produce the impression that they had

After this adventure he slunk
left instead of entered the cave.

back

and feigned

to his couch,

been observed by a rustic

to

named

be asleep.
Battos,

He

had, however,

who informed

against

such a daring piece of rob

him, whereupon Apollo, angry
out of his couch, and took him off to the
bery, dragged him
throne of Zeus to be punished and made an example of. But
at

Hermes
the

was

irrepressible,

took up a lyre which he had

day before out of the shell of a tortoise,

play

on

Apollo,
giving

The

it,

to

and

him

the

amusement and

further

the lyre,

cattle of the

ingratiated

inventing"

delight

himself with his brother by

for his

own

use a shepherd

sun-god were the clouds, and Hermes

god who presided over the

made

and proceeded to
of both Zeus and

fertility

of nature.

The

s pipe.
\.

signification

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

DEITIES OF

124

of the story of his stealing

would therefore seem

fertilizing

to

some of these

cattle

on a dark night

be simply that of clouds discharging

showers by night.

The two

brothers having thus made their peace, continued

from that time forward on the best of terms, Apollo attesting
his

good disposition towards Hermes by giving him

golden divining-rod, and

for the lyre a present of a

in return

also the

power of prophecy. This condition, however, was attached to

the gift, that he was not to communicate his revelations of the
future

That

by words
is

as did Apollo, but

to say,

by

signs

that persons revolving

mind were

and occurrences.

some undertaking

in

be guided by certain unexpected sights,

or
accidents,
incidents, and were to recognise in them the
their

to

favour or displeasure of the gods with reference to the enter

prise in question,
in

modern

common enough
and incidents were be

a method of proceeding

superstition.

These

signs

by Hermes, whose counsel in other cases of

whether to do or not do a thing, was sought for by

lieved to be sent

doubt, as to

recourse to dice, the belief being that a high throw signified

his approval,

and a low throw the

The cunning and

adroitness,

reverse.

the

same good humour and

ready answer which he gave proof of in the first days of his

infancy, were often afterwards and with like success displayed

by him

as, for

example,

when he

Poseidon

stole the sceptre of

Zeus,

s trident, the sword of Ares,

Aphrodite

s girdle,

the tongs of

Hephaestos, or Apollo s bow and arrows, in

make up matters, and smooth away the

each case managing to

indignation of his victims.

in

which

his brilliant talents

But the most celebrated instance

were

with the hundred eyes,

fully

displayed was the

whom Hera had

of

Argos

to

watch over lo, one of the favourites of Zeus,

affair

appointed

whom

the

HKKMKS, OK MKRCURY.

might escape the Vengeance of the jealous

Hera, had transformed into a cow, a trick which the

latter,

that

she

god<l<

had perceived.

Hermes being commanded by Zeus to release lo from

Argos, and in doing so to use no force,
found the task no easy matter, seeing that the watchman had a
hundred eyes, of which, when in his deepest sleep, only fifty
Well,

the surveillance of

Hermes succeeded, however, and in this fashion.

amuse him by
Presenting himself to Argos, he commenced to
these means fairly gained
telling all kinds of tales, and having by

were closed.

watchman

the

pipe,

next produced a shepherd

confidence, he

and played on

it

various tunes of such sweetness that

that one by
they gradually lulled Argos into so deep a sleep
one all his hundred eyes closed. The moment the last eyelid

and led
drooped Hermes slew him, and at once released lo,
For this service he rose high in the estimation of
her away.
Zeus, and from that time the

name

phontes, was

title

the proudest

of Argos, Hera,

rial

it

was

favourite bird, the peacock.

of his knavery

"

ArgeiAs a memo

Argos-slayer,"

which he bore.

said, set his eyes in the tail of her

But these and such-like instances

and cunning do not by any means express the

whole character of
frequently

of

Hermes

for his skill

was also directed

to purposes of useful invention.

It

was he,

example, who invented Apollo

which the Theban musician, Amphion, did such

for

one by

s lyre, as well as that

wonder

was he who taught Palamedes to express words in

And, besides, wherever danger that required skill and
\\riting.

and

it

dexterity as

mm h

present to assist.

as courage presented

He

of

he was

acted as guide to heroes

gerous enterprises, and

ie

itself,

Herakles, was

in

in

aiv

then d.m

that capacity frequently, as in

associated with

Athene.

To

ti

tin-

126

DEITIES OF

THE HIGHEST ORDER.

who had

lost their way he was a ready guide, and to exiles

a constant and willing helper in strange lands and among ill-

lers

disposed people.
In the primitive form of his worship
said, the god
this character

Hermes was, as has been

who gives prolificness to flocks and herds. In
we find him in what appears to have been the

oldest centre of his worship in Greece, that

is

in

Samothrace and

and Lemnos, where he bore

of Kadniilos or Kasmilos.
His usual title among

the neighbouring islands of Imbros

the

title

herdsmen was

either

Nomios
it

or

became

Epimelios.

human mes
was he who inspired

his office to aid

messenger himself,
sengers and travellers, and to

this

the idea of erecting

at cross-roads with directions as

sigi>posts

to whither each road led.

These

end

it

sign-posts took the form of

they may be so

called, consisting of a pillar running

statues,
narrower towards thefoot,and surmounted by ahead of Hermes,
if

and called Hermse.

was the duty of travellers on passing

one of them to place a stone beside it, a custom which not only
It

largely helped towards clearing the fields of stones, but also led
to

improvement in the roads themselves, and hence to increased

commerce. If more than two roads crossed, a

facilities for

corresponding number of heads were placed on the pillar, one

Similar figures were also found outside houses
facing each way.
in

Athens

The
is,

for the

purpose of cheering parting travellers.

Hermes were the caduceus or kerykeion, that

attributes of

a short staff with a pair of wings and a knotted snake at

tached to
times

is

it,

and the

winged cap. Beside him some

For sacrifice he delighted in the

petasos or

a cock or a goat.

tongues of animals, a suitable sacrifice to the

god of

The Roman Mercurius appears to have

common with Hermes only the character of god

oratory.

possessed

in

of trade and

XVIII.

Themis.

Leto, or Latona,

111!

oratory.

127

MIS.

traders held a festival to

Roman

him on the 25th of

May.
bearded and about middli:
In the earlier works of art Hermes appears
His form is
a sheep or a kid over his shoulders.
frequently carrying
such as
In more recent works we find him of a youthful figure,
athletic.
the
wears
He
the
of
petasos, ;.i.d
gods.
,me his office as messenger
sometimes wings at his heels, carries the caduceus, and sometimes,
occurs fu
of trade, a purse.
Among the incidents of his life, one which
the thi..-t:
is that in which he appears presenting
vases
on
the
painted
quently
v.:.s
them
of
which
as
to
claims
their
decide
to
had
who
:o
:.

Paris,

the most beautiful.

boy.

Many

of the

Sometimes he is represented in sculptures as a HH- itHermae described above have come down to our tirms.

THEMIS,
(PLATF. XVIII.,)

was the personification of

daughter of Uranos and Gaea,
control all human affairs,
to
that divine law of right which ought

to no
of that highest and noblest sense of right which is subject
viewed
human influences. In this capacity she came to be

was a personi
also as goddess of the rights of hospitality. She
of the world,
affairs
the
bore
it
as
will
upon
fication of divine
and accordingly the Delphic oracle had been under her control
she
before it was yielded to- Apollo, to whom, as her successor,

communicated the prophetic

Zeus

could persuade her to

some myths have

that

Metis was

it

his

art.

become

long time passed before

his wife

his

first

his second, according to others,

first.

To him

wife, as

which say

she bore the Horae,

Mcer<e

we
or Parcae, and Astraea, the goddess of justice, of whom
the
Bronze
the earth during
Already told how she forsook
Age.

The proper home

.led Urania.

of

Themis was Olympos, and hence

Hut during the war with the

Tit;.r,s

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

she descended to earth, and there, throughout the Golden

Age,
taught mankind the exercise of right and moderation.
When,
afterwards, the

human

race sank into degradation, she returned

again to Olympos.

In consequence of the profound wisdom and open truthful

ness which formed the essential features of the character of

Themis, even

the supreme gods consulted

and acted on her

example, did Zeus, when he declined to marry

Thetis, because of the prediction of Themis, that a son would

advice

as, for

be the issue of the marriage, who would excel even his father
in might.
We shall afterwards have to relate how Thetis was
given in marriage to Peleus, a mortal, in order that her son

might not be a source of danger to the gods. The worship of

Themis extended to many districts of Greece, where temples,
The principal
altars, and statues were raised in her honour.
centres of

it,

however, were Athens, Trcezene, the island of

Thebes, and Olympia.

Ancient artists represented her as a

./Egina,

large

open eyes

be observed

She

is

while

modern

figure her as in

woman of mature

further represented holding a

hand and a balance

sword and chain

it

is

to

must

in

in the other, to indicate the

seventy

the accuracy with which justice

ministered.

age, with

and they alone,

Plate XVIII.
artists

one

and

be meted out and ad

HOK.*..

129

INFERIOR DEITIES.

II.

T T ITHERTO our descriptions have been

1 1 those deities of the Greeks and Romans,

confined

to

who, because

no god but Zeus, were

or
of
the
Olympian deities, Hades and
superior order,
styled
Persephone being included, though their realm was the

their functions

n<

le;

were subordinate

-world, not Olympos.

We

to

proceed now to the inferior

order, such as occupied subordinate positions in the system ot

gods,

but

were

nevertheless

worshipped

independently,

it

not so universally as the others.

\Ve begin with the

HOR.E,
(PLATE xxv.,)

The goddesses of the

seasons,"
daughters of Zeus and
Themis. Their number was variously estimated according to
"

winter.

the variety of the divisions of the year into periods,

however, not being reckoned as one, because

of sleep

and death

in

of

"blossoming,"

"harvest

Thus we

and

fruit."

was the season

find the worship of

ns in Athens, the

only two goddesse

or goddess of

nature.

it

one called Thallo,

and the other Karpo,

But elsewhere

in

or god-

(ireece the

INFERIOR DEITIES.

13

usual

number was

works of
seasons

Autumn

art

(see

Plate

Spring with
with

and

three,

its

XXV.), with the

Summer

flowers,

grapes and

its

as such they were represented in

attributes of the

with

its

grain,

and

fruit.

Occasionally we find a fourth season, that of Winter, repre

sented in the act of returning with
booty from the chase but,
;

unlike her sisters, she

As

is

nameless.

of the kindly seasons which bring about the

and
budding
growth of nature, they were directly under the
control of the superior deities, especially of Zeus and Hera.
At times they are to be seen along with the Charites
deities

(Graces)

in the

of Aphrodite,

company

Muses

in the

company

and sometimes along with the

of Apollo

for

it

the

in

is

happy

seasons of the year that the joyous voice of nature is heard.

In the capacity of goddesses who watched over the
blessings
of the

became

fields, it

their duty, further, to regulate

now opening and now

of the weather,

changes

shutting the gates of

heaven, alternately sending rain and sunshine as suited best

the increase of vegetation.

Tender and gladsome, moving in

mazy dances, with crowns of gold and of flowers, they were
always good and faithful to mankind, and, though sometimes
seeming

to the impatient to

them something sweet and

come

always bringing with

never
beautiful,
proving untrue or
late,

deceitful.

The
with

figure

(in

Plate

XXXI.)

a wreath of palm-leaves

fruit in

her

left

hand probably

represents a

Hora

on her head.

indicates that she

dancing,

The
is

dish of

the

Hora

of Autumn.

Such were

their functions in nature.

In consequence, how
of
the
ever,
great and plenteous blessings that were observed
to flow from the unchangeable and orderly succession of the

POMONA.

131

seasons, the Horse were also supposed to watch over

and

propriety in

human

life

and morality

good order

a task which seems

have given rise to the belief that they were daughters of

Themis. Their names, in the cases where the three appear
together, have been admirably chosen to suit this metaphorical
to

notion

Dike

of their character
(justice),

as,

Eunomia

and EirSne (peace).

(wise

Eunomia

legislation),

services were

mostly directed to political life, the results being warmly praised

1 )ikc- s
by poets, and her worship never neglected by the State.
sphere of operations was more
of individuals, informing,
injustice
ful

done on

earth.

it

was

among
said,

the incidents of the lives

her father,

Zeus,

of every

EirunC, finally, being the most cheer

of the three sisters, was said to have been the mother of

Plutos that is, of riches, the gay companion of Dionysos,

and guardian goddess of songs and festivities.
The goddess of spring was also especially worshipped as a
Hora (Plate XXI.) under the title of Chloris, which corres
ponds to the Roman Flora. She was the goddess of buds
and flowers, of whom Boreas, the north winter wind, and

Zephyros.
the latter,

the west spring wind, were rival lovers.

and became

She chose

his faithful wife.

POMONA
oddess of garden

fruits,

and was represented wearing a

wreath composed of such, or holding in her hand a horn of

Her appearance
full of them, with a dog by her side.
It was said that she
was that of a virgin in rustic garments.
had been originally a Hamadryad, but had yielded her affec
Her worship was confined to the
tions to Vertumnus.
plenty

INFERIOR DEITIES.

Romans.

She had a

flamen pomonalis,

styled

priest,

specially devoted to her

service.

VERTUMNUS,
The husband

of

as a deity of the
as well as the

Pomona,

was worshipped by the Romans

second order, who watched over the seasons

garden

similar to those of

fruits,

Pomona.

and was represented with attributes

In October an annual festival,

resembling a harvest thanksgiving, was held in his honour, the

offerings brought him on that occasion consisting of firstfruits

from the garden, and wreaths of flowers of

Pomona,

he,

too,

had a

priest of his

own.

all

kinds.

Like

At times he was

represented, like

a wreath

Saturn, with a pruning-knife in his hand, and

composed of ears of corn on his head. Originally he

was worshipped under the form of a

rough wooden post, but
had afterwards a beautiful bronze statue made
by a Roman
artist.

JANUS,
(PLATE xvn.,)

Was

unknown to the Greeks, but from the earliest

times held in high estimation by the
Romans, who placed him
on almost an equal footing with Jupiter, even
giving his name
a deity

precedence in

their prayers,

and invoking the aid of both

To him they ascribed

deities previous to every

undertaking.

the origin of

all

things, the introduction of the

the change of season, the ups

civilization of the
arts,

and

religion.

human

and downs of

race by

According

system of years,
fortune,

means of agriculture,

to the popular belief,

and the
industry,

Janus was

XVII.

Janus.

Hermes, or Mercury,

JANUS.

133

an ancient king who had come in remote early times from

Greece to Latium, there instituted the worship of the gods
and the erection of temples, and himself deserved high honours
like a god, for this reason, that

he had conferred the greatest

boon upon mankind by his instructions in many important ways.

In
In some of the stories he is confounded with Saturn.
others

said that Saturn, driven out of Greece, took refuge

it is

with Janus in Latium, and shared the government with him.

easy to explain the great honour paid to Janus by a

people like the Romans, who, as a rule, had this peculiarity of
pondering well the prospects of an undertaking before entering
It is

upon

The beginning

it.

importance to them,
It

ing."

in

is

of everything was a matter of great

and Janus was the god of a

this spirit that the

Roman

"

good beginmakes

poet, Ovid,

Everything depends on the beginning." Even

in
Jupiter had consented to an enterprise, prosperity
it out was believed to be under the control of Janus,
carrying
"

Janus

say,

when

and, accordingly, great stress was laid on the circumstances

Janus opened
attending the commencement of any project.

and closed

He

all things.

sat,

not only on the confines of the

Air, sea, and land

earth, but also at the gates of heaven.

were

the hollow of his hands.

in

hirues at his

The world moved on

its

command.

he was represented, as in
one being that of a
Plate. XVII., seated, with two heads,
that of an old man,
other
the
to
indicate
beginning,
youth,
In accordance with this

to

indicate the

headed).

the beginning,
ign that

The

first

end,

In his

left

belief,

whence
hand

and shuts

is

at

lie

was styled Bifrons (two

show that he opens at

a key, to

the end

the sceptre in his right

he controls the progress of every undertaking.

day of January,

month named

after

him, being the

INFERIOR DEITIES.

134

day of a new year, was the occasion of a celebration in his

At the beginning of every month the priests offered
He was invoked every
sacrifice to him at twelve altars.

first

honour.

morning as the beginner of a new day. Even at the sacrifices

to other gods he was remembered, and received offerings of
wine and cakes, incense, and other things.
prayed

to

him

at the

The husbandman

When

war

god was introduced

into

beginning of seed-time.

was declared he was invoked.

The

Rome

public worship of Janus as a

Numa Pompilius, a foundation

having been previously laid during the
The story runs, that the Sabines having

as early as the time of

for its establishment

reign of Romulus.

once made an assault on the newly built town of Rome, a spring

of boiling water suddenly appeared, and was the means of de
stroying these enemies.

On

this spot a

temple was erected

in

honour of Janus, the gates of which stood open so long as Rome

at war, and were closed with great ceremony and rejoicing

was

Rome was, however, so contin

only in times of general peace.
in
of the first seven hundred
in
war
the
course
that,
ually engaged
years after the foundation of the city the gates of the temple
were -closed only three times in the reign of Numa Pompilius,
after the first

Hence

the

Punic war, and during the reign of Augustus.

temple

of Janus with

its

gates shut

came

to

be

a very emphatic symbol of peace.

TERMINUS,
Was

the god of boundaries, and had,

when represented

in art, the

a head, as in
figure of a boundary stone or pillar surmounted by
the
of
Hermes
the case of the figures
wayside in Greece.
by

Such

figures of

Terminus were occasionally surmounted by the

PRIAPOS.

head or bust of another god,

and

in

Pan

as, for

such cases were styled

and Priapos, both

represented

Numa

in

135

example, of Apollo or Athene,

Hermapollo, Hermathene.

rural

deities,

were also frequently

such a form.

Pompilius

is

have erected the

said to

first altar

to this

instituted his

worship
boundary god, Terminus, and to have
his subjects to respect the
accustom
To
Romans.
the
among
boundaries of their neighbours, he ordered them to be marked
off with figures

of the god, and a festival to be held in his

was called the Terminalia.

on the occasion, and
Boundary stones were adorned with flowers
a general sacrifice offered, accompanied by lively songs.

honour annually

in

February.

It

PRIAPOS,
Cal ed also

Lutinus by the Romans, was

He

and Aphrodite.
in

this

capacity,

cultivated

fields.

was a god of the

also

The

a son of

fertility

Dionysos

of nature, and,

and
guardian of vineyards, gardens,
idea of representing the productive

of a god is traceable back to

power of nature under the form
and depraved times it came
in
later
but
a very great antiquity,
to be

misused

sensuality

and

to coarse
purpose of giving expression
the
This accounts for
diversity of his

for the
lust.

that
representations, of which, however,

which he appears as a
in

his

hand, and

fruit

man
in

is

the most correct in

of years holding a priming-knife

The principal centre of

his lap.

on the
I.ampsakos, a town in Asia Minor,
His
Greece.
symbols were,
llespont, whence it spread over
or a spear.
like those of Dionysos, a drinking-cup, a thyrsus,
At the festivals in his honour the sacrifices consisted of milk,

his
1

worship

\va*

honey, and asses.

I3 6

INFERIOR DEITIES.

PAN,
(PLATE

Was

xix.,)

looked upon by the pastoral inhabitants of Greece, par

god who watched over the pastureand

herds.
Woods and plains, hunting and
fields, herdsmen,
his
were
under
immediate
care and patronage, and on
fishing,
ticularly in Arcadia, as the

this

now

account he was differently described as a son now of Zeus,

of Hermes, his mother being in each case a nymph. As

god of green

Dionysos
Kybele.

he was associated with the worship of

(Bacchus), and as mountain god with that of
fields

He

the shepherd

was fond of sportive dances and playing on

pipe, which afterwards took its name of Pan s

pipe from him, the story being that he was the inventor of

it.

seems that a coy nymph named Syrinx, whom he loved and

followed, was transformed into a reed, that Pan cut it and
It

fashioned

into a pipe (Syrinx) with such sweet notes

it

skilfully played, that

he once ventured

to challenge

when

Apollo

to

a competition.

The judge

selected

Pan, and was,

his ears

grow

in

was Midas, who awarded the

consequence, punished by Apollo,

an ass.

prize to

who made

like those of

As god of herdsmen and country people, he journeyed

through woods and across plains, changing from place to place
like the

nomadic

or pastoral people of early times, with

dwelling, resting in shady grottoes,

on

his pipe.

The

Hills, caves, oaks,

and

no

fixed

by cool streams, and playing

tortoises

were sacred to him.

feeling of solitude and lonesomeness which weighs

upon
mountain scenes, when the weather is stormy,
and no sound of human voices is to be heard, was ascribed to
travellers in wild

XIX.

Satyr.

Pan.

37

PAN.

the presence of

Number

Nip.

Pan, as a spirit of the mountains, a sort of

And thus anxiety or alarm, arising from no

visible or intelligible cause,

that

such fear as

is,

is

came

to be called

Panic

"

fear,"

of
produced by the agitating presence

Pan.

common companions were Nymphs and

His

danced

to the strains of his pipe,

Oreads,

who

and were not unfrequently

is said that he rendered im

It
pursued by him with violence.
the war with the Titans, by
the
to
service
during
gods
portant
with
the invention of a kind of trumpet made from a sea-shell,

and re
which he raised such a din that the Titans took fright,
was
monster
approaching
treated in the belief that some great
against them.

Another story

that

is,

Dionysos

being once

of men
by a hostile and very numerous body
terrible
on his way to India, was freed from them by a sudden
to retreat in
shout raised by Pan, which instantly caused them
to give
invented
been
have
to
stories appear
great alarm. Both
has
been
which
Panic
foundation for the

seriously attacked

"

expression

fear,"

explained above.

was usually re
man with a large hooked nose, with
presented as a bearded
covered with
the ears and horns and legs of a goat, his body

Pan,

hair,

also called

Hylaeos

with a shepherd

shepherd

crook

From Greece

in his

his

or forest god,

pipe (syrinx)

hand, as

in Plate

worship was

of seven reeds, or a

XIX.

transplanted

among

tlu

because he taught
Romans, by whom he was styled Inuus,
he taught them
because
and
Lupercus,
m to breed rattle,
herds a-amst
purpose of protecting the
The other forest deities, who were represented like
wolves.
Pan with goat s legs, were called /Egipanes, and sometimes
to

employ dogs

Paniski.

for the

INFERIOR DEITIES.

138

FAUNUS, OR FATUUS,
Was a purely Roman deity,

originally resembling the Greek Pan,

implied in the name, which is only another form of the
same word. In process of time, however, his character
passed

as

is

through

many

changes, and became different in

many

respects

from that of the Greek god. It was not till late

times, when the
and
of
the
Greeks
religion
myths
emigrated into Italy, that the

comparison of him with the Arcadian Pan was revived, and the
The Roman poets frequently call the
identity of both asserted.
Greek Pan by the Roman name of Faunus. But the latter had
certain

myths peculiar to himself, and is represented by them

Picus, and grandson of Saturnus, or,

as a son of

according

to another version, a son of

Mars, and

originally

an ancient

king of Latium, who, for the good he did his people, by intro
ducing agriculture and civilization, came to be worshipped after
his death as a prophetic
under the
deity of forest and
field,

name

of Fatuus.

His oracles were delivered

in groves, and
communicated by means of dreams, which those
desiring them
obtained by sleeping in sacred places on the hides of animals
that had been offered as sacrifices.
Fauna also delivered
oracles, but only to

As god

of the

cattle-rearing,

alia,

women.

(See below.)

husbandman and patron of

an annual

was celebrated

festival, the

agriculture and
Lupercalia, or Faun-

honour by the Romans on the 5th

It was accompanied
by sacrifices of goats,
of milk and wine, banquets, and
dancing in the
in meadows and at cross-roads.
In the middle of
in his

of December.
offerings

open

air

February also
temples

and not

in

sacrifice

Rome.

was presented

Artistic

easily distinguished

He

had two

him

are rare,

to him.

representations of

from those of Pan.

The

plural

AND PILUMNUS.

PICUS, PICUMNUS,

form of the word, Fauni,

is

merely a

Roman

139

expression for

what the Greeks called Paniski or Panes.

PICUS, PICUMNUS, AND PILUMNUS.

Picus was

also a pure

Roman

deity, a

son and a successor of

of Canens.
Saturnus, father of Faunus, and husband
Another
story has it
was an ancient prophet and forest god.
the
witch, was
Circe,
and married Pomona.

that he loved

not returned,
attracted by his beauty, and finding her affection
a bird
a
into
him
woodpecker
re\enged herself by changing

which was held to be a sacred symbol of prophecy by the Augurs

events by
or Roman priests, whose office was to foretell coming

and by various other phenomena.

rving the flight of birds
with a
In early times his figure consisted of a wooden pillar
which was afterwards exchanged for a figure
Ipecker on
on his head, the Romans generally
with a
of a
it,"

woodpecker

yuuth

to be a sign of some
appearance of that bird
the gods.
Picus, besides being worshipped
special intention of
also looked upon as one of the
was
a
and
a prophet
god,
be confounded with Picumnot
must
and
of
first
<

oiiM.lcring the

kings

Italy,

formed a pair of
nus, who, with his brother Pilumnus,
over married life.
watch
Roman deities whose office was to
for them at the birth ot
It was the custom to spread a couch
a

hild.

Pilumnus,

it

was

said,

would drive away

all

club
from the childhood of the newly-born infant with the
with which he used to

deeds

in

while

(/>i/nm)

Picumnus,

would give the

of famous
Stories were told of the two brothers,

who had introduced

child growth.

pound

the grain

illne.v>

the manuring of land,

Dioscuri
wai and peace, such as were ascribed to the

(Castor and Pollux).

INFERIOR DEITIES.

14

FAUNA, OR FATUA,
The wife,
was a

according toother myths, the daughter of Faunus,

or,

Roman

goddess, whose origin and signification have

been rendered very obscure by the variety of stones about her.
She was identified with the goddess Ops, with
Kyble^ with
Semele, the mother of Dionysos (Bacchus), with Maia, the

mother of Hermes, with Gaea, Hekate, and other goddesses.

In the earliest times she was called simply the
kind goddess,"
"

her proper
mystery.

name as well as her origin being given out as a

Her festival took place on the first night of May, and

was celebrated with wine, music, merry games, and mysterious

ceremonies, at which only women and girls were permitted to

Fauna obtained

be present.
because, as

the

name

of the

"

kind

goddess"

some thought, her benevolence extended over

whole creation,
be identified

which case

the

was not strange that she should

with other deities.
As Fatua she was repre
in

it

sented with the appearance sometimes of Juno, sometimes of

Kybele, but commonly as an aged woman, with pointed ears,
holding a serpent in her hand.

The

offspring of

Fatua and Fatuus were the Fatui, who were

considered to be prophetic deities of the

evil genii,

who were

The name and

have given

we

fields,

and sometimes

the cause of nightmares and such

obscure significations of

rise to the fantastic

like.

goddess seem to
creations of modern times, which
this

Fays that is, beings with the power of witchcraft and

prophecy, and possessed now with good, now with bad qualities,
call

now

useful

and helping

to

men, now mischievous.

THE

THE

SATYRS.

I4 1

SATYRS,

(PLATE xix.,)
belong to the order of forest
and are often confounded with the Panes and Fauni,

Roman Silvanus,

Like the
deities,

though quite distinct from them.

witli

They represented

in

life

and meadows, and were, without doubt, the

his

the genial,

Nature, which, under the protection and

the aid of Dionysos (Bacchus), spreads over fields, woods,

luxuriant

company.

finest figures in all

appear in the art of the

the Panes or Paniski, as

As such

at least they

best times, being never figured, like

half man, half animal, but at most exhibit only such signs of

an animal form as small goat

s horns,

show that their nature was only a

that within the divine or pure

The

Satyrs constitute

and a small goat

human

a large

s tail,

to

inferior in nobility to

little

form.

family,

and may be distin

which were those

of
guished into several classes, the highest

who nearly resembled

their

whose occupation was

god (Dionysos) in appearance, and

on the flute for his amuse

either to play

ment, or to pour out his wine.

To

another class belonged

those older figures, distinguished by the

to a third, the very juvenile so-called

given in Plate
is

XIX.

is

name

of Sileni

Satyriski.

The

that of a satyr of the highest order.

represented as a slender youth

leaning carelessly

and

figure

He

on the

His

hair

is
shaggy; on his brow are very small goats horns.
countenance has a touch of animal expression in it.

His

trunk of a tree,

resting

from playing on a

wears nothing but a nebris or panther

flute.

He

skin thrown over his

shoulder.

The

life

of the Satyrs was spent

in

woods and on

hills,

INFERIOR DEITIES.

142

in a constant

round of amusements of

kinds

all

hunting,

dancing, music, drinking, gathering and pressing the grapes,

or in the

company

the Maenads.

of the god,

flute, and cymbals.

We may remark

monly

whirling in wild dances with

Their musical instruments were

applied to

in passing,

poems

that the term

the

syrinx,

"satire,"

com

of abuse, has nothing whatever to

do

with the Satyrs, and for this reason should not be written
though derived from satura. The latter is an old
"satyre,"
Latin word,which signified originally a poetic dialogue or gossip,

which from
criticism

its

and

nature was admirably adapted

indirect abuse,

for

conveying

or satire in our sense

of the

word.

KOMOS,
Was worshipped

as guardian of festal banquets, of mirthful

with
of
lively humour, fun, and social pleasure,
enjoyments,
On the other hand,
attributes expressing joy in many ways.

he was represented frequently as an

illustration of the

con

sequences of nightly orgies, with torch reversed, in drunken

sleep, or leaning against something.

SILVANUS,
Like

Faunus, was

also was

to

woods and

purely

watch over the

fields,

and banks of

Roman

interests

god,

whose function

of herdsmen, living in

and taking care to preserve boundary

It was said that he erected the

rivers.

boundary stones to

mark

lines
first

oft the fields of different possessors

from each other, and thus became the founder of a regular

He was distinguished according to the
system of landowning.

PALES.

143

three departments of his activity, house,

works

of art Silvanus
a cheerful aged

figure

field,

and wood.

In

appears altogether as a purely

human

man holding a shepherd s pipe,

wood and field, was given to

music,)

(for he,

like the other deities of

and carrying a branch of a tree to mark him specially as god of

This branch, which sometimes is that of a cypress.
the forest.
explained as referring to his love for the beautiful Cyparissus, whom he is said to have changed into a cypress.

is

There was a

figure

of Silvanus in

Rome

beside the temple

of Saturn, and two sanctuaries dedicated to him.

Women

were excluded from his worship. The myths are not clear
Some of them describe him as a son of
about his origin.
Saturn.

PALES,
Was worshipped

originally

in

Sicily,

male, according to others, female.

Palilia, was held
2ist of April, the

Rome

and afterwards by

tin-

as a deity of cattle-rearing, being, according to some,

Romans,

was said

to

in

honour of

A merry

festival, called

this deity every year

on the

day on which the foundation of the city of

have been laid.
Offerings of milk and must

were presented to her, while pipes were played and cymbals

An ox was driven
beat round a bla/ing fire of hay and straw.
through

this

ceremony

fire,

the herdsmen

rushing

after

it,

This festival,
symbol of expiation.
on the anniversary of the foundation

intended for a

because of
of the

bla/ing

city,

its

falling

served also to

commemorate

that event.

deity was represented as an aged woman

a
branch of a tree, or holding a shepherd s
leafless
on
leaning
and
was frequently identified with Fauna,
in
her
crook
hand,

This

ancient

sometimes with Kybele, and even with Vesta.

INFERIOR DEITIES.

144

SILENOS, AND

THE

In some of the myths Silenos

is

SILENI.

represented as a son of

Hermes (Mercury), in others, of Pan and a nymph, the latter

statement accounting for his being figured with the tail and
ears of a goat, while the rest of his form

He

was

usually described as

was purely human.

of

the oldest of the Satyrs,

were styled
whom, indeed, all those well advanced
Sileni.
Owing to his age, he came to be looked upon as a
in years

sort of paternal guardian of the light-headed troops of Satyrs,

though, with regard to mythological signification, he was quite

from them.
One myth traces his origin, along with

different

the

worship of

Dionysos

(Bacchus),

to

and

Asia Minor,

Lydia and Phrygia, the original

In that quarter he

particularly to the districts of

centre of the worship of Kybele (Rhea).

was looked on as a

sprite or

daemon of

fertilizing fountains,

streams, marshy land, and luxuriant gardens, as well as the

inventor of such music as was produced by the syrinx (Pan s
of
pipe) and the double flute which was used in the worship

Rhea and Dionysos.

According

to other stories,

he was born

king of Nysa, but which of the

remains untold.

It

many

in

and was the

places of that

was most probably Nysa

Silenos, with the help of local

in

Thrace

nymphs, nursed and

infancy of Dionysos, as works of art show, and

to the myths, was spent in Thrace.

this,

first

name
;

for

tended the
according

mind he appeared specially as a companion

who knew how to press the grapes for
one
of Dionysos,
wine, and so much loved that liquid as readily to indulge in it

To

the Greek

to excess, in

which case the Satyrs kept him steady on

his ass,

OKEANOS, TETHYS, PROTKUS.

or else he

would have

fallen.

To

express this feature of his

was figured with a wreath of vine tendrils on

character, he

45

his

intoxi
with a drinking-cup or wine-skin in his hand, or

IK -id,

He was a short, roundcated and supported by two Satyrs.

a bald head.
bellied, hairy old man, with
The

ass or

mule he used

to ride

was described as a most

have distinguished itself at the

as com
time of the war with the Giants, in which its master,
to
Sancho
of
sort
Panza,
a
Dionysos,
panion and body-servant,
and
took part, by braying so loudly as to alarm the Giants,
intelligent beast,

and said

help to put them to

to

flight.

OKEANOS, TETHYS, PROTEUS.

Uranos and Gaea, was god of the sea,
looked upon as the father of a large
was
and, like Nereus,
who went by the general name of
deities
family of marine
was figured like Nereus, but with
He
Okcanides (see below).
Okeanos,

a son of

in
horn, or two short horns, a sceptre
the
of
deep,
his hand to indicate his power, riding on a monster
car drawn by
or sitting with his wife, Tethys, by his side in a

the addition of a bull

He is said to have been th j most upright

of the sea.
no share in the conbrother
of his
Titans, and to have had
he retained his office,
reason
this
For
against Uranos.
It pas
Tartarus.
to
while the other Titans were consigned
res

the care of

and

to

Titans.

Okeanos and

them *he turned

So

qui<

kly

had
OS

>f

for

his wife

that

safety during

his offspring spre-.d

th- earth, that

reckoned as three thousand

in

number.

Hera grew

among

the rivers,

i:

He

up,

the war with the

w..s also idr

with the -reat stream, Okeanos, which was suppled

to 6

10

INFERIOR DEITIES.

146

a circle round the earth, and to be the source of

all rivers

and

His daughters, the Okeanides, were, like all

running waters.
marine deities, represented with crowns of sea-weeds, strings of
Painters ren
holding shells, and riding on dolphins.
dered them as half human and half fish in shape but poets
corals,

described them as beings of purely

number very

human

differently.

Proteus was

a son

of

Okeanos and Tethys, whose

proper dwelling-place was the depths of the

left for

form, giving their

the purpose of taking the sea-calves of

sea,

which he only

Poseidon

on the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean.

to graze

Being an aged

man, he was looked on as possessed of prophetic power and

the secrets of witchcraft, though he would not be persuaded to
exercise the former except by deceit or under threat of violence.

Even then he made every

effort

to

evade his questioners,

changing himself into a great variety of shapes, such as those

of a lion, panther, swine, or serpent, and, as a last resource, into
the form of fire or water.
This faculty of transformation, which

both Proteus and Thetis possessed, corresponds with the

great changeability in the appearance of the sea.

NEREUS
Or Derides,
confounded
the

in

AND

as they were

THE NEREIDES,
sometimes

mythology with

Okeanids,

all

of

called,

are frequently

Okeanos and

his daughters,

them being marine

deities of a

lower

order.

Nereus was looked on as an ancient sea-god, a son of

the dominion of the sea fell to

Pontos and Gaea, who, when

Poseidon, obtained a position under him, and along with

power of prophecy.
fifty,

or,

With Doris,

it

the

he had as offspring
according to other accounts, a hundred daughters,
his wife,

or

Nereides

(ailed

REUS AND THE NEREIDES.

Thetis, and next

whom Amphitrite and

Panope and Galatea, were the
of

Dorides,

to

them

147

most famous, the first-mentioned having become the wife of

But
Poseidon, while even Zeus desired to marry the second.
announced that from this marriage would
the Fates
having

issue a

who would

son

surpass

his

father

in

Xeus

might,

and gave Thetis in marriage to Peleus,

she bore Achilles, and thereafter returned to live

relinquished his wish,

to

whom

among her

sisters

Nereus

is

of the sea.

represented in works of art as an old

man

with

a look of dignity, his daughters as sweet, beautiful maidens.

nymphs dwelling in a splendid

now riding on dolphins or other

Poets described them as modest

cave at the bottom of the sea,
creatures of the deep,

sporting, splashing about

now swimming,

the sea-born
troops on the sea, sometimes accompanying
Aphrodite, or playing in the warm sunshine on the shores of

in

In such
mouths, drying their wet tresses.
of
To
the
were
feeling
pious
duly worshipped.
places they
in
some
divine,
nature
of
whole
the
way
the (ireeks
appeared
1

ays and

at rivers

In
and was accordingly viewed with reverence and sanctity.
under
the
this spirit the phenomena of the sea were viewed

form of divine personifications called Nereides, the peaceful

shimmering
represented

light

upon

its

gently

moving bosom

by Galene and Glauke,

being

the play of fantastic

Thoe

and Halie, the impetuous rush of billows on

island shores by Nesaie and Aktsee, the fascination of the
v rising tide by Pasithea, Erato, and Euneike, the

waves by

and impulse of mighty waves by

mene, who
It

may be

of mermaids.

all

followed

that these

in the train

myths gave

of
ri>e

Pherusa and DynaAmphitrite.

to the modern legends

INFERIOR DEITIES.

TRITON

AND

THE TRITONS.

(PLATE xx.)
Triton,

sometimes

said

be a son of

to

Poseidon and

Okeanos and Tethys,

Amphitrite, sometimes

of

as a horn to

blast

was a
marine deity of a lower order, and the herald of
Neptune, in
which capacity he was represented
a
using
long twisted shell
blow a loud

from when the sea was

agitated with storms, and a gentle note

hushed into

When Neptune

to

when a storm was

to

be

be

on the waves, it
was Triton who announced his approach, and summoned the
other marine deities.
The Tritons were like him in figure,
and had similar duties to perform.
we find
rest.

travelled

Occasionally

him described
and

in stories as a

monster who, by

his

wantonness

rendered the sea-shore dangerous, and was in

consequence attacked by Dionysos and Herakles.
In the war with the Giants he rendered considerable service
voracity,

to Zeus,

that

by

the

raising such a frightful din with his shrill trumpet,

Giants,

monster, or

some

fearing

the

approach

of

some powerful

fresh danger, retired.

Triton and the Tritons were represented in works of art as

human form down to the hips, covered with small

holding a sea-shell in their hands, the lower part of
them formed by the body and tail of a dolphin. Triton was
beings of

scales,

also described as driving

Plate

XX.

on the sea

in

a chariot drawn by horses.

represents a family group of

Tritons

with a

dolphin in the background.

In the early myths concerning Triton, he
appears as the
personification

Amphitrite,
ocean.

of

the

roaring

lived in a golden

sea,

and, like Neptune and

palace

in

the depths of the

XX.

Siren.

Tritons.

LEUKOTHEA.

THE SIRENS.

149

LEUKOTHEA
Was

regarded by sailors and those

their special

and

who

travelled

on the sea as

which she dis

friendly goddess, a character

played in her timely assistance of

Odysseus

in his

dangerous

She is said to have been a daughter of Kadmos,

voyage.
the great-grandson of Poseidon.
Originally the wife ot
Athamas, in which capacity she bore the name of Ino,
she had incurred the wrath of Hera, because she had suckled
the infant Bakchos, a son of her sister

Semgle and of Zeus,

was pursued by her raving husband, and thrown,

along with her youngest son, Melikertes, into the -sea, from
which both mother and child were saved by a dolphin or

and

for this

From that time she took her place as a marine

by Nereides.
under
the name of Leukothea, was known as the
d-ity, and,
came to be
protector of all travellers by sea, while her son
worshipped as god of harbours, under the name of Palaemon.
Her worship, especially at Corinth, the oldest maritime town of
importance

and Crete,

in

Greece, and in the islands of Rhodes, Tenedos,

as well as in the coast towns generally,

was traced

k to a high antiquity.

THE

SIRENS,

(PLATK XX.,)
of the
According to one version of the myth, were daughters
other name, Acheloi des)
river-god Acheloos (hence their
to
another
.uid a Muse.
version, they were
According

daughters

of

Phorkys.

In

either

case

they had

nymphs and playmates of Persephone, and for not protecting

her when she was carried off bv Pluto were transformed In

INFERIOR DEITIES.

15

Demeter

into beings half woman and half bird at first, and

with
the lower part of the body in the shape of a fish,
latterly

so that they had

some resemblance

marine deities such as

to

the Tritons.

Plate

XX.

represents a Siren, half bird and half

in form, playing

on a double

woman

flute.

Homeric poems their number is not specified. In

names of three of them are commonly given
Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leukosia. It is said that once,
In the

later times the

during the time when the greater part of their body was that
of a

bird,

singing, but

they challenged the Muses to a competition in

failed,

and were punished by having the principal

by the Muses, who decked

feathers of their wings plucked

themselves with them.

The common

belief

was that the Sirens inhabited the

cliffs

of the islands lying between Sicily and

Italy, and that the sweet
ness of their voices bewitched passing mariners,

compelling

them

to land only to

meet

their death.

strewn around their dwelling

Skeletons lay thickly

had obtained the

for they

on men so long

to exercise this

cruel

crew succeeded

in defying their charms.

of

whom more

will

power of

theirs

right

as

no

This the Argonauts,

be said hereafter, were the first to accom

plish, by keeping their attention fixed on the unsurpassably

sweet music of their companion, Orpheus.
The next who

passed safely was

Odysseus. He had taken

the precaution, on

approaching, to stop the ears of his crew, so that they might

be deaf to the bewitching music, and to have himself

firmly

bound

to the mast, so that, while

hearing the music,

not be able to follow

of the Sirens

came

selves into the sea,

its

allurements.

to an end, and

he would

In this way the power

in despair they cast

and were changed

into

cliffs.

them

NYMPHS.

THE RIVER-GODS.

This transformation helps to explain the signification of the

of
myth of the Sirens, who were probably personifications

hidden banks and shallows, where the sea

inviting to the sailor, but proves

to

the

soft

is

smooth and

the end the destruction of

music ascribed to them may either refer

melodious murmur of waves, or be simply a

The

his ship.

in.

alluring

for allurement.
figurative expression

THE RIVER-GODS
Were as a rule looked upon as sons of Okeanos, exercising a
dominion over individual rivers. They were represented as
bearded men, crowned with sedge, and often with horns on
their heads, reclining

and

resting

one hand on a rudder, the

other on a vase, out of which water flows, to indicate the con

stant flow of a river.

The names

of

cient myths, the

Perieis,

he loved

many

of

them have been handed down

in

an

most important being Alpheios, Acheloos,

Asopos, Kephissos. Of Alpheios, it is said that

Arethusa, one of the nymphs in the train of Arte

mis, and so

persistently followed her,

were not returned, that

Artemis

though his affections

interfered,

and changed the

avoid his pursuit, into a fountain, the waters of

nymph,
those of Alpheios.
which, notwithstanding, irere said to join
to

NYMPHS.
(PLAIT XXI.)
imagination of the ancients peopled
with beings of a higher order than themselves every mountain,
and forest, every thicket, bush, and tree, *

The

restless

valley, plain,

and

fertile

INFERIOR DEITIES.

152

fountain, stream,

both

Greeks

Nymphs,
fairies

of

and

and

and resembled

modern

These beings,

lake.

Romans
in

whose existence
were

believed,

firmly

many

in

respects the

called

mermaids and

superstition.

Generally speaking, the

Nymphs

were a kind of middle

beings between the gods and men, communicating with both,

loved and respected by both ; gifted with the power of making

themselves visible or invisible at pleasure ; able to do many

things only permitted to be done by the gods ; living, like
the gods, on ambrosia ; leading a cheerful
happy life of long
duration, and retaining strength and youthfulness to the last,
but not destined to immortality, like the gods.
In extraor

dinary cases they were summoned, it was believed, to the

councils of the Olympian gods, but usually remained in their

secluded grottoes and peaceful valleys,

spinnipg, weaving, bathing, singing sweet songs,

particular spheres,

occupied

in

in

dancing, sporting, or accompanying deities

their territories, hunting with

with

Dionysos

(Bacchus),

Artemis

who passed through

(Diana), rushing about

making merry with Apollo or

Hermes (Mercury), but always in a hostile attitude towards

the wanton and excited Satyrs.
Even

the earliest of the ancient myths

abound with accounts

of the various things done by

nymphs, while poetic fancy in
later times delighted to play with such creations.
The Greeks,
the great mass of them at any rate, believed
in the exist
firmly

ence of a vast number of nymphs, and attested their belief

by

costly altars in places where

and
influence
these beings were felt,
of
presence
as
or
in
moist
by fountains,
meadows, in woods, and on hills.
Grottoes and caves where water dripped or flowed, and where

erecting

frequently very

the

the bees

hummed, were

sacred to them.

Sanctuaries, called

NYMPHS.

Nymphsea,

153

were also erected for their special honour

in well

watered valleys, caves, and even in towns, those in towns being

particularly splendid in appearance,
for the ceremonies of marriage.

them consisted of

and commonly employed

The

goats, lambs, milk,

presented to

sacrifices

and

oil,

wine being for

bidden.

As

to the origin of the

and so

different that they

Nymphs,

cannot be

the stories are so

many

given here.

Very many
of these beings, it would seem, were the offspring of Zeus and
Thetis. Separating them in the most convenient manner,
all

according to their local habitations or reputed origin,

the following classes

we have

Dryads, or Hamadryads, also called Alseids,

nymphs of woods and trees, inhabiting groves, ravines, and
1.

fond of making merry with Apollo, Hermes

and
Pan, and very attractive to the Satyrs.
(Mercury),
Sometimes they appeared as rustic huntresses or shepherdesses.

wooded

2.

valleys,

or mountain-nymphs, sometimes

Oreads,

also

named

mountains which they haunted, as Peliads

after the particular

(from Pelion), Idaean (from Ida), Kithceronian (from Kithaeron),

etc.
3.

Limoniads,

or

Leimoniads, nymphs

of

meadows and

flowers.

Auloniads, nymphs of the mountain vales

which herds grazed. The last three families of nymphs wrrv

4.

in

Napaeae,

usually found

or

in

the

company of Pan, rushing gaily and

woods and meadows.

merrily over hills and valleys, through

and lovely nymph of the vales was Eurydike,

by a snake, and dying in consequence, was
mourned by all her sisters, and sung by Orpheus in most
favourite

who, being bitten

touching melancholy

strains.

INFERIOR DEITIES.

154

5.

ains

Okeanids, daughters of Okeanos, nymphs of fount

and streams, and named according to the characteristics

of streams,

abrupt
"

like

as

Prymno,

height";

Hippo,

a dashing

brook"

coolness of a shady
tide";
"

Rhodeia,

like a beautiful

"

like

"flowing
;

the meadows"; Telesto,

"

Kalypso,

among

"

Melolosis,
"nymph

like
"

the refreshing

Kallirrhce,

and

springs,"

after their

Dorids,

Naiads,

7.

for

also called

mother (see Nereus).

generally

element, daughters of

nymphs, and

which

purification.

Nereids, daughters of Nereus, sometimes

6.

hidden

like a river that waters

of the cool

the Greeks piously used for cleansing

over an

Plexaure,

like the

rose-trees";

"

falls

current";

Galaxaure,

stream";

stream

a cascade which

like a swift

"

this

speaking,

nymphs

of

Zeus.

the

liquid

fostering"
They were styled
reason were commonly found in the
"

company of Zeus, Poseidon, and Dionysos, as well as of

Demeter, Persephone, and Aphrodite, and besides were
looked on as deities of marriage and sacred

rites.

8.

Potamids, nymphs

of the rivers.

9.

Limnads, nymphs

of lakes, marshes, and swamps, most

who

and misled travellers by their

dangerous beings,
songs or mimic screams for help.
TO. Pleiads, seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, sisters
of the

allured

Hyads.

Atlantids, offspring of Atlas, and belonging

same order as the last mentioned.
11.

12.

Hyads,

^thra

to

the

according to the myth, daughters of Atlas a.nd

or, according to other versions, daughters

Languishing of grief at the death of Hyas, which
was caused by a wild animal, they were changed into stars,

of

sisters,

Hyas.

being the seven stars which form the head in the constellation

XXI.

Pegasus and the Nymphs.

Chloris, or Flora.

Tyche, or 1 ortuna.

ECHO
of the Bull (Taurus).
i

XARKISSOS.

155

Their ascension takes place from the

indicates rain, for which

May, and usually

yth to the 2ist of

reason they were often called the rainy

They were

stars.

also

Dodonids, and described as the nurses of Zeus of

Dodona. One of them was called Thyene.
All the most prominent of the nymphs had names of their

called

own.

They were represented

as damsels of wonderful beauty, with

attributes suitable to their respective avocations.

Plate

XXI.

a fountain.
of

represents three of

them tending Pegasos at

bound with sedge two

All three have their hair

them have

vases.

ECHO NARKISSOS.
:

Echo
of

was a mountain-nymph, and at the same time a servant

to one account, but had to be kept at a

Hera, according

distance on account of her talkativeness.

she

described as a beautiful

is

Pan

loved.

Happening

a son of the river-god

to

In other accounts

nymph whom

the

fore>t-god

meet the beautiful Narkissos,

Kephissos, she conceived

a very lender

passion for him, which he unfortunately did not return.

Echo

consequence, and pined away day by day till at

her
was all that was left of her. She then took to
voice
length

grieved

in

and woods which Pan frequented, and occupied

mimicking every vocal sound she heard.

the mountains
herself in

Narkissos was a
self-conceit in

personification of the

being such that he used to

and

ga/.c

languished

upon the
in

consequen-

the matter of personal appearance,

his

idle

his

vanity

by the brinks of clear fountains,

reflection of his

unreturned Imv

for

own
it.

face,

Other

till

at last

he

stories affirm

INFERIOR DEITIES.

that he

was punished for this conduct by the gods, by being

changed into the flower which still bears his name.

THE HESPERIDES
Were daughters

of Atlas, an enormous giant,

who, as the

ancients believed, stood upon, the western confines of the earth,

and supported the heavens on his shoulders. Their mother

was Hesperis, a personification of the region of the West,
where the sun continued to shine after he had set on Greece,
"

and where,

as travellers

was an abundance of choice

told,

which could only have been produced by a

The Gardens of the Hesperides
special divine influence.
with the golden apples were believed to exist in some island
delicious

fruits,

in the ocean, or, as

it

was sometimes thought, in the islands on

They were far-famed in

the north

or west coast of Africa.

antiquity

for

it

was there that springs of nectar flowed by the

couch of Zeus, and there that the earth displayed the rarest
it was another Eden.
As knowledge
blessings of the gods
:

increased with regard to western lands,

move

this paradise farther

and

it

became necessary

to

Western

farther out into the

Ocean.

As

to the origin of these precious

golden apples, there is a

which
that
the
deities
who attended the
myth
says
among
of
Zeus
and
Hera, bringing various presents
marriage ceremony
with them, was Titaea, a goddess of the earth, whose gift con
sisted in her causing a tree to spring

The care of
wedded pair, was

it.

could not

resist

this

tree,

up with golden apples on

which highly pleased the newly-

entrusted to the Hesperides.

the temptation to pluck

became necessary

to place the serpent

and

But, as they
eat

Ladon

its

to

fruit,

watch

it
it.

THE MUSES.

157

Herakles, among his other adventures, slew this serpent and

carried off some of the apples, which, however, were afterwards
returned to the Hesperides, through the kindness of

Athene.

The common account speaks of only three Hesperides,

^Egle, Erytheis and Hespere. Arethusa was afterwards
added, and in time three more, so that they were seven in

THE

MUSES,

as they were also styled, were regarded as

Or Pierides,

all.

nymphs

of the springs that bickered down the sides of Mount Helikon

and Mount Parnassos, called Kastalia, Aganippe, and

Pimpla

or Pimplea, the waters of which were thought to have

the property of inspiration.

Their origin was traced to

Zeus

and the Titanic nymph Mnemosyne, the name of Pierides

being applied to them from Pieria, on Mount Olympos, the
reputed place of their birth, a locality which appears to have
been originally the principal centre of their worship, whence it

and most conspicuously

first

spread
Bceotia,

and

was usual

It

Muses

to a

to

Mount Helikon,

to

in

and elsewhere.

farther to Athens, Sparta, Troezene,

ascribe this extension of the worship of the

Thracian named Pieros, of

whom

it

was also said

having nine daughters, he named them each after one of

the Muses, and challenged the latter to a competition in music,

that,

upshot of which was that his daughters lost the award,

and were, as a punishment for their daring, transformed into
the

singing-birds.

The worship

was celebrated

in a grove, in

of
art
j

of the

Aganippe and Hippokrene,

dedicated

to

Muses on Mount Helikon

which were the sacred fountains

with

many monuments

the Muses, contests called

.^uciated with the ceremonies.

Museia

of

being

INFERIOR DEITIES.

158

The

whom we

Muses

nine

are accustomed to read of in

and Roman mythology, were looked upon as

patron goddesses of music and song, of poetry, and of the
the Greek

tended to promote the

arts generally, that

kind.

civilization of

the
fine

man

Their local habitation was on the summits of Mounts

Helikon, Parnassos, and Pindos.

They would, however,

fre

gladden the blessed existence of the

to

visit

quently
Olympos,
gods there by the exercise of their arts, especially by music
and the recital of songs, the burden of which was probably, as

on most other occasions, the glory and omnipotence of Zeus.

Sometimes they would lend

happy

example, as the marriage of

Peleus and Thetis
sorrow, as at

mourn

also

to

in strains

and sometimes even

which drew forth

who

Musagetes. But though

probably therefore

god of

Kadmos and Harmonia,

enliven

such,

for

or that of

moments

of great
the death of Achilles, they would descend to
;

Their leader was Apollo,

to the

their presence

incidents in the lives of favourite mortals

tears

at

from gods and men.

in that capacity bore the title of

generally associated with Apollo, and

imbued with the form of

oracles, they are also

inspiration peculiar

found to have been con

nected with

known

to

the worship of Dionysos, whose

inspiration is
have been of a wild and excited nature. As nymphs

of the sacred streams on the mountains where they lived, their

music and song must,

the rushing

for the sake of

movement

of water,

harmony, have repeated

it
may be to this that

and

their association with

Dionysos is due.
In addition to the usual nine we hear of three other Muses,

Mneme,

and Acedte, who are described as daughters

and
Uranos,
supposed to have existed from the earliest
times.
As, however, both Homer and Hesiod appear to know
only the number nine, we may assume that the belief in the

Melete,

of

XXII.

Klio.

Melpomene.

Thalia.

THE MUSES.
other

of the

existence

159

must have

three

originated

the

in

speculations of comparatively later times.

Jn works of art of the earlier period the Muses were always

represented together in company, all wearing the same kind of

dress, and all provided with attributes in the forms of musical
instruments

such as the

manuscript.

The custom

and

lyre, harp,

or with rolls of

flute,

of collecting in such rolls literary

works produced under the auspices of the Muses was the first
foundation of libraries and museums, such as they exist in

modern

times,

and thus the word

to the early worship of the

so far as

The

it

was due to

museum

"

back

carries us

Muses, and to the early civilization

their inspiration.

nine Muses were represented according to their various

avocations in the following manner

Klio

1.

"

XXII.),

(Plate

wearing a wreath

muse

the

of

History,

sealed

of laurel, and holding out a half-open

in

scribed parchment roll; beside her a cylindrical box, contain

ing

In other cases she appears

more of these manuscripts.

standing, holding a roll

of manuscript in one hand, and

instrument for writing with

2.

Melpomene

XXII.), the muse of Tragedy, a

standing with her left foot raised on a

(Plate

serious, dignified figure,

rock, holding in her right

tragedians, and
a play

her

in

left

hand

mask, such as was worn by

apparently a small roll of a part in

her long robe or tunic

wide folds

falls

in

falls

carelessly.

an

in the other.

is

girt

under her

from her shoulder a

In other cases she

breast,

mantle

wears

or

and

pepfos

diadem or a

wreath of cypress, and holds a short swurd ur a club

in

her

hand.
3.

Thalia

(Plate

XXII.),

the

muse

of

Comedy and

HurleMjue, standing, clad in a robe or tunic, over which

is

l6o

INFERIOR DEITIES.

mantle, with a fringe, thrown

wrapped round the

over the

left

legs, leaving the right

shoulder,

arm

free

and

in her

hand a shepherd s crook, in the other a mask, such as

was worn by actors in the Satyric plays.
4. Kaliope (Plate XXIIL), the muse of Heroic Poems,
and looked on as the chief of the Muses, on which account

right

she sometimes appears as their representative ; seated, holding

In other cases she is standing,
a writing tablet and a stylus.

crowned with a wreath, and holding a manuscript roll in her

hand, or a pipe (tuba] round which a branch of laurel is
twined.
5.

Urania

XXIV.),

(Plate

muse

the

of

Astronomy,

seated beside a globe, holding a pair of compasses in one

hand, while with the other she points upwards towards the
heavens. In other cases she wears a crown of stars, and holds

lyre,

her eyes turned towards the

stars,

and pointing out

same time something on a globe beside her.

6. Euterpe (Plate XXIV.), the muse of the

at

the

the

"giver

of

on a double

pleasure,"

as her

name

Music,

implies, standing, playing

she plays on .other

In other cases

flute.

art of

in

struments.
7.

Polyhymnia,

muse of Song and

or

Polymnia

of Oratory, her

(Plate

name

the

XXIV.),

signifying

"rich

in

was also described as the inventor of myths, on which

song,"
account she was represented in an attitude of contemplation,
with one finger raised to her lips ; on her head a laurel wreath.
In other cases she appears in a quiet, attentive, observant

mood, leaning forward on a pillar, her arms concealed under

her drapery, and wearing at times a veil, to indicate the hidden
truths within the myths, while her posture was intended to
indicate the process of resolving the

meaning of them.

For

XXIII.

Mother

of the Muses.

Kalliope.

XXIV.

Urania.

Euterpe,

Polyhymiria.

THE

reason she was also viewed as the goddess of serious and

this

sacred
8.

poems

Erato

or hymns.

XXV.), the muse of Love and Marriage

(Plate

with
Songs, wearing a wreath, and playing on a large lyre
a
lyre by
many strings. In other cases she appears holding

her side in one hand, and in the other an arrow or a wreath

of myrtle and roses.
9.

Terpsichore

wearing a wreath,

(Plate XXV.),
and playing on a

holds cymbals, has

her robe

girt

the
lyre.

up,

muse of Dancing,
At other times she

and appears

in

the

attitude of dancing.

Muses was called, as has already been

Mnemosyne, that is, Memory," and especially the

The mother

of the

"

stated,

memory

or recollection of great events, such as the war with

the Titans, that was said to have occurred at the

ment of the world

and must continue

history,

commence

to occur until

In later times
brought into perfect harmony.
be viewed merely as goddess of memory, and
worshipped along with the Muses.
the universe

came

she

is

to

XXIII. represents her standing

attitude, both arms under her drapery,

Plate
ful

in

a quiet, thought

to indicate the silent

mysterious action of memory.

It

was the custom of the Muses

ship of Apollo, at

the

to play,

under the leader

banquets and marriage ceremonies

the gods, while the Horse, Charites (Graces), Aphrodite,

In this
to mirth and gaiety, danced.
other deities

among
and

given

fashion the ancients represented under the form of persons tru

nnion of joy, music, poetry.

dun<

e.

and merriment.

62

INFERIOR DEITIES.

IRIS,
(PLATE xxvi.,)

Goddess of the Rainbow, was a daughter of Thaumas and

Elektra, a granddaughter of Okeanos and Gaea, and a

As messenger of Hera and

sister

of the

Harpies.

lived

among

the other deities of Olympos, which she only

for the

by

purpose of conveying the divine

whom

commands

to

she was looked on as a guide and adviser.

Zeus, she
left

mankind,

She

tra

wind always, from one end of the world

could penetrate to the bottom of the sea, or to

velled with the speed of

to the other,

the Styx,

Hermes

and

in this respect

(Mercury)

she holding

much

formed a female counterpart of

in his capacity of

the

messenger of the gods,

as he did

same position towards Hera

towards Zeus.
It

was

Iris,

the ancients believed,

who charged

the clouds

with water from lakes and rivers, in order that they might
it fall

again upon the earth in gentle fertilizing showers

accordingly,

welcomed

when her bow appeared

it

paid honours

in the

the rainbow with

its

let

and,

clouds the farmer

as a sign of rain to quicken his fields,

to the

and gladly

goddess whose presence he recognised

in

splendid colours.

She was represented

as a

beautiful

virgin with wings

of

varied hue, in robes of bright colours, and riding on a rainbow

at other times with a

nimbus on her head,

in

which the colours

of the rainbow were reflected.

Plate

XXVI.

robe, holding in

gives a figure of her standing, clad in a long

one hand a herald

carries (caduceus\

and

in the

s staff,

such as Hermes also

other a helmet.

XXV.

Erato.

Terpsichore.

Hone

AXJLOS.

l6j

^EOLOS
Was

a son of a king

named Hippotes, and

on one of the

lived

abrupt rocky Lipara islands close to Sicily, along with his off
spring, six sons

and made

life

and

six daughters,

who were married

in pairs,

In the caves of the

merry with their music.

island were imprisoned the winds, ^Eolos letting

them out

in

gales, or in a soft favouring breeze, at the will of the higher

gods.

The

idea of the winds being thus kept in a cavern under the

have suggested itself to

the ancients from the strong draught that is felt on entering a
cave or subterraneous passage but whether the belief in the
restraint of a divine person, appears to

existence of such a personage reached back to primitive times,

when mankind
not certain.

lived to a great extent in places of that kind,

The

influence of ^Kolos was

and the reverse on land and on

which he could more readily
he lived.

As an

sea,

felt

is

both genially

but principally on sea,

command from

the island where

instance of his kindliness to travellers by sea,

here mention his hospitable reception of

Odysseus

we may

(Ulysses)

on that errant homeward voyage of his.

departing, ^Eolos
gave him a great bag containing all the contrary winds, putting
<

>n

it

on board the

wind,
the
in

he might reach Ithaca with a

for several days, but his native land

he sank overpowered with

sleep.

coming

costly presents which they fancied the

at length

Hi- followers ob

serving this proceeded to indulge their curiosity

it,

fair

ody-seus himself remained steadily and anxiously at

helm

sight,

ship, so that

to see the

bag contained, opened

and out burst the imprisoned wind with a roar and a force

that drove the ship again far out of her co

INFERIOR DEITIES.

164

But besides

this

conception of the winds as mere elements in

the hands of ^Eolos, there was another which represented

as each personified

them

by a separate divine being, living apart, and

being directly under the control of Zeus and Poseidon.

THE WIND
Of whom

the principal were

the east wind,

Boreas,

the north wind,

the south wind,

Notos,
west wind, were, as we have

Eos

GODS,

previously said, the offspring of

and Astrseos, the parentage of

being assigned to

Typhon.

fierce destructive

According

number

neither the origin nor the

Euros,

and Zephyros, the

winds

to another report,

of the deities of the winds

was known, the prevalence in particular districts of winds

blowing from this or that point between the four chief quarters,
naturally giving rise to a set of personifications such as north

west wind, south-west wind, and others.

The

character and appearance ascribed to each of these

Greek mythology, such as was sug

phenomena of each wind as, for example, the

deities was, as usual in

gested by the
strength

and

fury of the north wind, or the genial

the south-west.

and

all

winged.

warmth of

Some were thought to be male, some female,

Euros, who brought warmth and rain from

the east, was represented holding a vase inverted, as

rain from

it.

Lips, who from

the south-east wafted

if

pouring

home

the

ships as they neared the harbour of Peiraeus at Athens, held

the ornament from a ship

stern in her hands.

coming from the warm, mild

a quantity of flowers in his
wind, carried

fruits

west,

scarf.

was

Zephyros,

lightly clad,

and carried

Apeliotes, the south-east

of Tiany kinds, wore boots, and was not so

XX VI.

Hymen.

II"

!"

OR AURORA:

EOS,

lightly clad as the last

on the

Tower of

"

Though

I.UCIIKK.

So they were represented

Athens.

mentioned.

Winds

the

"

at

the winds were looked on as each under the control

of a separate divine being, whose favour

retain

by

165

sacrifice,

no

it

particular story or

was necessary

myth

is

told of

one of these persons excepting Boreas and Zephyros, the

lovers of

Chloris

Boreas

carried

(Flora),
it

off,

to

any

rival

Zephyros being the successful suitor.

was said, Oreithyia, the beautiful

daughter of Kekrops, king of Attica and remembering this,

the Athenians in their distress, when the Persians advanced
;

the

first

time against Greece, called upon him for aid, which

he rendered by sending a terrible north wind, which overtook

the Persian fleet near the promontory of Athos, scattered and
largely destroyed
altar to him,

From

it.

and offered

that time the Athenians

sacrifice at

had an

for their preservation.

it

The scene of Boreas carrying off Oreithyia is represented on

a beautiful bronze relief found at Calymna, and now in the
but

The wind-god

Museum.

British

powerful in form, bearded,

young, and wearing thick high boots, and a mantle

still

thrown across

is

his body.

EOS, OR

AURORA

I.UC1

a daughter of the Titan pair,

the latter, to judge from the

one time god of the

Helios and Selene, the

at

brother and
the

dawn

sister,

the morning star

"

shot

the orient

deities

while

of morning.
still

"who

of sun and moon, were

wind was

lingered

in

the

with

-old

;i

her

personification of

felt at

her approach,

and ruddy
and because

sky,

"

through

name, having been

above earth."

his

travels high

she herself wa-,

fresh

KK.

Theia and Hyperion;

meaning of

sun,

1-

l>e.im>

th

INFERIOR DEITIES.

l66

beams appeared
fingered Morn.

rosyoutspread fingers, she was called

The star and the winds of the morning,
"

like

Zephyros, Boreas, Notes, and Euros, were her offspring

by Astrseos, the god of starlight. The moon and the other
stars

vanished gradually as she advanced, but Helios followed

To poets she seemed to lift the veil of night with

her closely.

rose-tinted fingers,

and

to rise in the east out of the

ocean in

a car with four white steeds, shedding light upon the earth.

Others

imagined

coming riding on the winged horse

her

Pegasos, which Zeus had

failure to ride

She loved

to

after

Bellerophon

it

all

fresh young life, and showed special favour

whose active spirit led them abroad in the

to those persons

morning

her

given

on

up to Olympos.

hunt or to make war.

When

struck with the

beauty of a youth she would carry him off, and obtain im

mortal life for him, as she did with Kleitos, Orion, Ke-

phalos, and Tithonos.

So

it

appeared to the Greeks, who

and glow of

recognised in the brief duration of the freshness

morning a comparison with the early death of promising and

beautiful youth, and from the comparison proceeded to
construct a myth which should trace both to the same divine
cause.

Tithonos became

her husband, and she lived with him

pleasantly beside the Okeanos so long as his youth and beauty

lasted.

Unfortunately, in obtaining immortality for him from

Zeus, she had omitted to add to her request,

youth.

When

she was not the same to him as before, though

shut

last,

him up

in a

and

eternal

white hairs showed themselves on his head

him with ambrosia and

helpless at

"

fine raiment.

still

supplying

But he became quite

and, to avoid the sight of his decrepitude, she

chamber, where only his voice was heard

like

XXVII.

OR AURORA

EOS,

LUCIFER.

167

the chirp of a grasshopper, into which creature, it was said,

he became transformed. By the story of Tithonos we would

understand day,

in

Kephalos

)f

eternally returning course, fresh

its

and

dawn, wearied and worn at the close.

beautiful at

it is

said that from love to his wife,

Aura,

he resolutely withstood the advances of

of the morning wind,

and

that the latter in revenge stirred

him and

discord between

Prokris,

the goddess

up
Another version of the

his wife.

to kill his wife by mistake when

would
out on the chase.
Prokris,
seem, jealous of her hus
band s meetings with the goddess, had secreted herself in a

story

that

is,

Aura caused him

it

thicket to watch

them

but happening to stir, Kephalos caught

it to
be caused by some lurking

the noise, and suspecting

animal, hurled his spear, and slew his wife.

and Tithonos had two sons,

}.<>s

Memnon and

the former widely celebrated for his beauty, and

his earl\

death

arried

his

by

the hands of Achilles.

at

weeping mother
in his

she erected

>t.

ful

monument

touched

it,

which,

the

and

at

Thebes,

so story goes, that

first

for

His dead body was

to ^Ethiopia;

memory,

when

Emathion,

mourned

rays of the

in

wonder

morning sun

gave forth a sound like the snapping of a harp-

string.

In
.villas,

art

she was represented as a spirited maiden, with large

clad in robes of dazzling white and purple, a star or cap

on her head, a torch

in

her hand, and driving in a chariot with

on Pegasos at other times she appeared

and pouring morning dew from a vessel

four horses, or riding

in

floating

down on
In

the

air,

the earth.

late

XXVII.

great

speed, as

bulls

li-

is

ify

she

is

figured

driving

i/uiit/ri\i

that

the

moon and

stars

are

still

with

The

indicated by the flow of her drapery.

in

the

INFERIOR DEITIES.

170

of men, with which

we

most

are

He

familiar.

was supposed

to exercise his influence over the hearts of deities as well

show him

to

in this light,

the symbol of one god,

To
art

the

later

age

he was represented at times

now

and,

now

with

of another.

of Hellenistic

belongs the touching story of

Roman

and

poetry and

a personification,

Psyche

as she appears to have been, of a soul filled with the passion of

and as such conceived under the form of a small winged

maiden, or, at other times, as a butterfly which bore the same

love,

name.

Psyche, the story runs, was a king

beautiful.

The fame

visit

the

princess,

common man.

and

rival,

inspire

Cupid obeyed so

daughter, and most

awoke the jealousy of

of her beauty

Aphrodite, who, to get rid of the

to

charged her son Cupid

her with love for some

as to

far

being himself struck with the maiden

pay the

visit,

but

beauty, carried her off

where they spent happy

drawback, that she was not per

to a fairy palace in a vale of paradise,

hours together, with only this

mitted to look upon her lover with her mortal eyes.
Even this
she would not have considered a drawback, had not her en
vious sisters stirred up her curiosity in the matter.
to their temptation, she took

one night a lamp, and

Alarmed

the chamber where the god lay asleep.

covery she had made, she

let

a drop of hot

Yielding
stole

into

at the dis

oil fall

upon

his

He

awoke, and charging her with disobedience to his

left her alone to her despair.
She searched
command,
express

shoulder.

for

him everywhere

in vain,

finding her

way

at last to

the

palace of Aphrodite, who, after subjecting her to menial service

of various kinds, finally ordered her to go
world, and fetch a box of beauty

This most painful task she accomplished

box, sank overpowered by

its

down

to the lower

ointment from Persephone.

odour.

but,

on opening the
resist no

Cupid could

XXVIII.

Cupid.

Cupid and Psyche.

/UB^^tfri^^
Ganymedes.

Mars and Yenus.

OR AMOR

PSYCHE.

The
ran to her help, and brought her back to life.
of
the
and
Cupid
marriage
anger of Aphrodite was appeased,
was forthwith celebrated with great rejoicings, in
and
longer,

Psyche

presence of the higher gods, Psyche obtaining immortality.

The purpose of the story is obviously to illustrate the three
stages in the existence of a soul,
state, its

future state of

the

represents

Eros has laid aside his

arrows

bow and

roses are strewn on the

pre-existence in a blessed

its trials

and anguish, and

its

happy immortality.

XXVIII.

Plate

its

existence on earth with

two embracing tenderly.

quiver, with

its

dangerous

ground before them, and a

shoot of a rose-tree grows behind to symbolize the sweetness

and beauty of young love. Psyche has the wings of a butterfly,

and

and
by which she may be chained on her ankles
In the other figure Eros ap
Behind her is a mirror.
on a lion, and playing on a lyre, the soft music of

links

arms.

pears riding

which soothes the savage beast, as love was supposed to soothe

the fiercest temper.

In works of art he

is

frequently to be seen in the

company

ot

mother Aphrodite, or playing with the Muses and Graces, or

or accompanied by Postruggling with his opposite Anteros,
his

Roman Cupido, signifies a desire

and Himeros,
of union in
"

thos, whose name,

of
a

love,"

"soft

that

is,

yearning

like the
"desire

for

love,"

In later times

love."

artists

often sur

rounded Aphrodite, and occasionally also Dionysos, with troops

of little winged figures of children, which we call Erotes or

Amorettes.
The word

afterwards to

mean

.viv//<%

signifying

also a

served between the manner

originally the

"

butterfly,"

in

freed from the body or chrysalis

"soul,"

a likeness being ob

which a soul and a

in

came

butterfly,

which they have been con-

INFERIOR DEITIES,

I7 2

fined

The

on earth, rise on wing, and waft themselves in the light.

flame of love which often scorched the soul was compared

with the torch which attracts the butterfly to

this

happened, Eros turned away

his face

its

When

doom.

and wept.

the meaning of the allegory represented in Plate

Such

XXIX.

is

Be

hind Eros stands

Nemesis, holding a twig from an apple-tree,

her customary attribute, and before him Elpis, or Hope, hold

ing a

lily.

HYMEN,

OR

HYMEN^US,

(PLATE xxvi.,)

Was worshipped as the god

the

Romans.

His origin

of marriage both by the Greeks and

is

variously stated to have been

now

from Apollo and Kalliope, now from Dionysos and Aphrodite,

while at other times he is said to have been by birth a mortal,

and afterwards

deified.

Properly speaking, he

tion of the marriage song.

life

and

deification,

Y oung, and of a
mistaken for a

girl,

is

a personifica

There are various accounts of

and among them the following

soft delicate beauty, so

Hymen

whom, however, because of

that

his

he might be

loved a young Athenian maiden,

his poverty,

he could not hope to

To be near her, he once joined a troop of

among whom she was engaged in celebrating a festival

obtain for his wife.

maidens,

to Demeter at Eleusis.
Suddenly a band of robbers appeared
from a hiding-place, carried the maidens off to their ship, and
set out with

the intention of selling

them

as slaves in

some

But landing on the way on a dreary island,

the robbers indulged so copiously in wine that they all fell into
distant country.

deep slumber.

Hymen,

fellow-captives to take the

seizing the opportunity, incited his

weapons from the robbers and

slay

THK CRACKS.

them

which they

all,

173

Thereupon he

did.

set off to

Athens

in

the ship, and finding the people there in great distress, presented
himself to the parents of the maiden he loved, and undertook
to bring her

him

This was readily promised.

as his wife.

once

their giving her to

back unharmed on condition of

and speedily returned with

set sail for the island,

he

at

all

the maidens

this

as well as the wife that

Thalassios,
So happy was
generally his

For

on board.

his

wedded

name was on

life

Finding a crew,

that

he obtained the

title

of

had been promised him.

at

the lips of

marriage ceremonies
all

the company, and

he himself in course of time came to be looked on as a god,

and the founder and protector of marriage rights. At bridal

festivities a sacrifice was offered to him, festal songs were sung,
and flowers and wreaths strewn.
As a deity he was placed among the playmates of Eros, and

company of Aphrodite. His home, it was believed, was

among the Muses on Mount Helikon in Bceotia. There is a
in the

story

which says that he

lost his

voice and his

life

in singing

He is
the marriage song of Dionysos and Ariadne or Althaea.
and of the charms of love
always a picture of youthful beauty,
and song.

Hymen was

mantle
represented as a beautiful youth with a
sometimes nude and carrying a torch, as

of a golden colour
in Plate

XXVI., or a

veil.

THE CHARITKS,

OR GRACES,

Were looked upon by the Greeks as the goddesses of the grace

and the charms of beauty, and of cheerful amusement,

fulness

which were observed both

men.

As

in nature

and

in the intercourse

with

such, their worship dated from a very early time

INFERIOR DEITIES.

1/4

Orchomenos

in

games held

in Boeotia,

in their

honour

in Sparta,

Athens, and Crete

in the last-mentioned place

the

being

said to have existed even in the time of the pre-historic king

Minos.

Their oldest sanctuary was said to be that at Or

It contained images of them in the form of rude

chomenos.

stones which were supposed to have fallen from heaven.

The manifold beauty which

the works of nature, especially

would seem

in spring-time, display,

to

have given

rise in

very

early times to a belief in the existence of certain goddesses at

simply as guardians of the vernal sweetness and beauty of

nature, and afterwards as the friends and protectors of every
first

thing graceful

developed.

and

beautiful

Pindar, in

an idea which the poets further

his most delightful songs of

one of

victory, singing of the Graces, associates with

of decorum,

of purity and happiness

beneficence and gratitude

in

them the source

life,

of good

will,

among men.

young modest maidens,

winning and charming, always dancing, singing, and running,

They were represented

as beautiful

bathing in fountains, or decking themselves with early

flowers, especially with roses ; for the rose was sacred to them,
or

as well as to Aphrodite (Venus), in

her
to

many

whose company, and doing

a service, according to the myth, they were usually

be found.

Their

home was among

the

Muses

in

the

neighbourhood of Olympos, where they often appeared as com

panions of Aphrodite, and danced before the other deities.
Their origin is variously stated, now Zeus and Eurynome,
an Okeanid, being assigned as their parents, now Dionysos
and Aphrodite. There is a difference also in the statements of

names and number. From Orchomenos, it would seem,

come Aglsea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. In Sparta and in
their

Athens there were only two, the pair worshipped

in the former

THE

t.KA

175

town being called Kleta (clang) and Phaenna (glimmer), in

Auxo and Hegemone. In the Iliad a whole

the latter town,

race of

them

mentioned, old and young the youngest being

According to another account, the youngest was

is

Pasithea.

Aglaea, the wife of Hephcestos

the object

in assigning

him

such a wife being probably to indicate the perfect beauty of the

works of art produced by that god. Beauty and sweetness, the
best

charm of

poetry,

came from the Graces. Athene (Minerva)

called in their aid in the serious business of

presided, because without gracefulness

the Greeks believed.

They

assisted

capacity of god of oratory.

From

activity

it

will

be seen

how

tor

over which she

Hermes (Mercury)
these instances

in his

of their

number

of temples

and

beautiful

honour, sometimes devoted to them

sometimes to them

alone,
as,

in their

life

labour was in vain,

highly the Greeks prized this quality

of gracefulness.
In (ireere there was a

groups of statuary

all

in

common

with

other deities

example, Aphrodite, Apollo, and the Muses.

Annual

Charitesia, accompanied with games, music,

and dance, were held in their honour. It was the custom also
to call upon them in taking an oath, and at banquets the first

festivals, called

cup of wine was offered to them.

In early times they were represented
but

in later

occupied
myrtle,

in

and

in art as

draped

figures,

times as quite nude, or but sparingly clothed, and

a dance.
dice,

as

Their attributes were the rose,

the

a symbol of cheerful amusement.

At

other times they hold apples or perfume-vases, or ears of corn,

or heads of poppies, or musical instruments
such as the lyre,
llute,

and

s>rinx.

INFERIOR DEITIES.

176

PEITHO,

OR

SUADA,

Or Suadela, was the goddess of persuasion, and, like the

Graces, formed part of the escort of Aphrodite, whose daughter
she was said to be.

Her

worship, along with

Athens by Theseus,

Aphrodite,

at the time

was introduced into

when he succeeded

in per

suading the various isolated tribes inhabiting Attica to unite

into

one people, with Athens as

their chief town.

But she had

temples in other places also, and was looked on as a deity to

whose influence much was due.

HEBE,
(PLATE xxvi.,)

Or Ganymeda,

she was called in the vine-growing

Dia,
of Phlius, where she was worshipped as the
principal
deity, was daughter of Zeus and Hera, and was the goddess of
or

as

district

and warding off age, like

means of nectar and ambrosia. Her name
among the Romans was Juventas. In Olympos she held the
youth, herself remaining always young,

the other deities, by

office of

cup-bearer to the gods, for which

she was peculiarly adapted,

first,

it is
supposed that
because of her association

with the vine-growers of Phlius, and, secondly, because she

was the youngest daughter of the regal pair of Olympos, and
as such,

pected
or

on the analogy of human arrangements, would be ex

upon the divine guests, as Briseis did on Achilles,

to wait

Hippodameia on Oenomaos

or as, in real

life,

Melissa, the

daughter of Prokles, king of Epidauros, poured out wine for

her father s men with a grace which captivated Periander.
The

HEBE.

difficulty of explaining

hold the same

to

assume her

office

to

bearer to Zeus in
that

Hebe

177

how Hebe and Ganymedes would both

was met

in various ways, of

which one was

have been cup-bearer in general and him cup

particular, while another ingeniously supposed

Ganymedes was absent

only held the office while

from Olympos during the Trojan war, so as to avoid witnessing

the misfortunes of his native country. Among her other duties

When

she ha.d to assist Hera to yoke her car.

Muses played she danced with other

deities.

Apollo and the

At times she

accompanied Aphrodite. But the character in which she was

best known and most admired was that of the bride and wife
of

Herakles, when he was

his extraordinary labours

on

raised to
earth.

favourite daughter of Hera, with

constantly persecuted while on earth,

The

Olympos

in

reward for

This union of Hebe, the

Herakles, whom she had
is

unknown

to the Iliad.

character of the myth, however, appears to point to a

The

very early origin.

which
singular climax of events,

made

Herakles the guest of the gods of Olympos and the husband

of the most attractive of the goddesses, was a subject which

was made the most of by the comic poets.

Representations

of the marriage procession, and of Herakles receiving a cup

of wine from Hebe, occur in ancient sculpture. In other cases
she appears in the
in the

character of

giving

it

company of her mother Hera, or alone,

Ganymeda, fondling the eagle of Zeus,

drink from a

cup, as

occurs

or

or

not infrequently on

engraved gems.

At the town of

Phlius, in the district of Argolis, there was,

temple in her honour, which served

as a place of refuge or asylum, in which slaves who had been
in a fine grove, a celebrated

set free

hung up

their chains

among

the cypresses sacred to

the goddess.
12

INFERIOR DEITIES.

178

Rome Juventas had

In

two sanctuaries, one on the Capitol,

the other beside the great racecourse.
It was the custom
dating, it was said, as far back as the time of Servius Tullius
to

pay into the temple of Juventas a piece

boy who

of

lived to enter the stage of youth.

Roman assumed

the toga

virilis,

money

When

for every

the

young

he went up to the Capitol and

prayed to Jupiter and Juventas. At the beginning of every

year sacrifice was offered to both deities in behalf of the
youth of the

city.

GANYMEDES,
(PLATE

Was

a son of the Trojan king

xxvni.,)

Tros and Kallirhoe, and was

therefore great-grandson of

Zeus finding

him

carried

Hebe

He

Dardanos, the founder of Troy.

him on Mount Ida, and admiring his beauty,

off to

Olympos, where he appears

to

have succeeded

in the office of cup-bearer to the gods.

was represented as possessed of eternal youth and

extraordinary beauty, wearing a Phrygian cap to indicate his

birthplace.

The cup

in his

hand

bearer, while the eagle of Zeus

office

indicates his office of cup

his side shows that that

by

was performed among the gods of Olympos.

ASKLEPIOS, OR ^SCULAPIUS,
(PLATE xxxi.,)

Was, according to the most common version of the myth, a

son of Apollo and Koronis, a daughter of a Thessalian prince,
whence his title Koronides. At his birth his mother died,
struck

by the arrows of Artemis

but the father saved the child,

OR AESCULAPIUS.

ASKLEPIOS,

179

it to Mount Pelion, gave it in keeping to the famous

who carefully instructed the boy from early
Chiron,
physician,
in
the
onwards
mysteries of the healing art, training him
youth

and taking

same time

at the

In the former

to expertness in the chase.

the pupil soen excelled the master, curing the most malignant
diseases,

whom

but one
the

and working

real

miracles with his

his success could injure,

and

monarch of the lower world, who urged

The

Zeus.

latter,

to

that

There was
was Pluto,

complaint before

astonished at the boldness of a mortal in

thus defying the decrees of

thunderbolt,

his

art.

the

fate, felled

of

indignation

the great doctor with a

who was

Apollo,

only

by banishment from Olympos for some time. After

death Asklepios was looked upon as a god in Greece festi

silenced
his

Asklepia were

vals called

were erected

to him, of

at Epidauros, in the

held in his honour, and temples

which the most celebrated was that

Peloponnesos.

Thither even the

Romans

sent ten deputies once, to inquire the will of the oracle with

regard to a pestilence that was raging in

The

Rome.

deputies

had hardly entered the temple, when from behind the goldand-ivory statue of the god a serpent appeared, the symbol of

and followed them through the streets of the town,

the harbour, and into their ship.
They received it joy

Asklepios,

on

to

fully as

On

a happy portent, and set out homewards.

Italy the serpent

left

the ship,

and proceeded

reaching

to a

temple

of ^sculapius, in the town of Antium, but afterwards returned

to the ship,

Tiber,

it

and did not leave

it

stopped at an island.

again

until,

on going up the

Thereupon the pestilence

ceased, and a temple was erected on the island to

to

commemorate

and cured

>Ksculapius,

Thither patients were conveyed

a short statement of the symptoms of each case,
the event.

and the remedy employed, being inscribed on

tablets,

which

l8o

INFERIOR DEITIES.

were hung up in the temple, and were found to be a great boon

to posterity.

Besides the

he frequently has as an attribute a

serpent,

that animal being also sacred to him.

cock,

The

serpent,

periodic change of skin, indicates rejuvenescence

its

by

the staff

marks him as wandering from place to place, to give help ;.

while the dish, which he sometimes holds, is a symbol of his
It was the custom of invalids to sacrifice a
healing potions.
cock to him, as Socrates did after drinking the cup of poison,
as a token that he did not fear death, but rather looked upon
it

and a convalescence.

as a cure

Among

the children of yEsculapius,

The name

mentioned.

of his

Hygiea is specially
Epigone

was

wife

"the

Like many other deities of the lower order,

with heroes, he was in after times placed as a star

soothing/

in

common

in

the sky.

In Plate

XXXI.

the god of medicine

is

represented as a

man

of years, bearded, gentle, and earnest, draped, and resting on a

round which a serpent, as emblem of rejuvenescence, is

His type of face resembles that of Zeus so much, that
coiled.
staff,

in the case of the fine

marble head in the British

Museum

absolute agreement has not yet been arrived at as to which ot

two gods it was intended to represent. The head in

question was found in the island of Melos, on- the site of what

the

supposed to have been a temple to Asklepios, from the dis

covery in the same place of a native tablet, dedicated to the

is

god and

to his daughter Hygiea.

person

who had recovered

would dedicate a sculptured representation

had
been affected. Of such sculptures there
that
of the part

from a local

are a

illness

number of examples

in the British

Museum.

XXXI.

One

of tlie Horae.

Hygiea.

Perseus.

JEsculapius.

MEDITRINA.

HYG1EA.

TELESPHOROS

81

HYGIEA,
(PLATE xxxi.,)

Or Hygieia,

or

Hygea,

was,

as

we have

just

of health.
daughter of Asklepios, and the goddess
she was the wife of Asklepios.

She was represented as a young,

whom

Apollo took a special

interest.

In Plate

the symbol of health.

is

the

Others said

in
active, smiling goddess,

appears draped, and holding a serpent

of Asklepios,

said,

XXXI.

she

which, as in the case

She feeds

it

from a

plate or patera.

At other times she

of plants

known

is

of laurel, or
figured wearing a wreath

for their medicinal properties

a patera in her

hand, a serpent coiled round her arm or body.

MEDITRINA
Rome

Passed in
a

Hygea and a goddess of

Meditrinalia being annually held

for a sister of

festival called

health,
in

her

honour at the beginning of October, the ceremony consisting in

wine together, and exclaiming,
drinking some old and some new
with new and old wine
I drink the new and the old wine
"

I heal

infirmities."

The
this

distinction

that

restored

it.

between the two goddesses of health lay

in

Meditrina

while

Hygea preserved good health,

The Greek goddess Jaso appears to have been

identical with Meditrina.

TELESPHOROS
Was

looked upon as
genius or deity of that secret and mys
lie was rethe convalescent,
which
sustains
vitality

terious

-A.

INFERIOR DEITIES.

l82

XXXI.) by the side of ^Esculapius, or standing

between him and Hygea, as a small barefooted boy, wrapped
This careful
closely in a mantle, with a hood on his head.
presented (Plate

wrapping-up seems to indicate the secret shrouded nature of

the vital force which he personifies, and may also have been
to express the care in wrapping-up so essential to con

meant

valescence.

The

principal centre of his worship

was on the coast of Asia

Minor.

TYCHE,

OR

FORTUNA.

(PLATE XXL)

The
of

idea that a great part of the incidents and circumstances

life

was due

early times,

goddess of luck,

Romans

had taken hold of the mind

to chance,

and had come

whom

in very

be personified in the form of a

the Greeks called Tyche and the
to

She was a daughter of Zeus. The Parcae,

It was believed that she guided
the career of men, whether prosperously or the reverse and to
show her in this capacity, she was figured holding a double
Fortuna.

or Fates, were her sisters.

rudder in her hands

the one to steer the barque of the lucky,

In later times she was repre

sented with wings, or with her eyes bound, standing on a ball
or a wheel, to indicate that luck rolls like a ball, without choice,
the other that of the unlucky.

undoing

all

the efiorts of this one, and overwhelming that one

Sometimes she was represented

with wealth and prosperity.
with a ball on her head, or with a cornucopia in her hands.
In Plate XXI. she appears draped, her arms bare, a horn of
the ball beside
plenty in one hand and a rudder in the other,
the rudder indicating the rapid turns of fortune.

XXX.

Nike, or Victoria.

Herakles (Hercules),

NIKE, OR VICTORIA.

Tyche was worshipped

cially at

in

many

places

Greece, but espe

in

believed to reside
Athens, where she was popularly

constantly

as

favouring

deity.

Italy the

In

worship of
held in her

Fortuna was wide-spread, and a general

Her principal worship
honour annually on the 2 4 th of June.
She had an oracle
women.
were
newly-married
pers, however,
and Antium.
Praeneste
of
towns
in
the
fame
festival

of considerable

NIKE, OR VICTORIA,
(PLATE xxx.,)

The goddess

of victory, was a daughter of the giant

Pallas

the
and the Okeanid nymph Styx, and was regarded by
Except in
Greeks as inseparable from Zeus ana Athene.
with
works of art of an early period, she was represented
a
and
a
wreath,
Her attributes were a
1

palm-branch,

wings.

Sometimes she carried a staff (caduceus}

and floated in the
like that of Hermes, as a sign of her power,
down to earthair with outspread wings, or appeared coming
trophy of armour.

now

pointing the

way

to his brow, or driving his

sea, suitable

now reaching
As goddess
horses.

to a victor,

emblems were assigned

a wreath

down

of victories by

to her.

she appears standing on a globe, draped,

wreath and a palm-branch. On coins ap
a
winged, holding
In

Plate

XXX.

parently struck to

happened,
painted

.-access in the national

figures

victories, or, as

it

sometimes

on engraved gems,

games,

and among the smaller bron/e

She
of Nike are of frequent occurrence.

vases, marble

sculptures,
is

commemorate

reliefs,

a favouritealways draped, and of a youthful appearance:

of
subject, to judge from the repetition

it

on gems, seems to

INFERIOR DEITIES.

184

have been that in which she was represented in the act of

sacrificing an ox.

EIRENE, OR PAX,
The goddess

of peace, was also represented holding a palm-

At other times she stood with armour under her

branch.

or was engaged in closing the temple of Janus.

was reckoned one of the Horse

the three

sisters.

In

honour of an annual

Rome

festival

feet,

In Greece she

the most cheerful, indeed, of

she had a temple, and enjoyed the

on the 3oth of January.

FATE,
The Greek name being Ananke,

the

Roman Fatum, was

personification of the unalterable necessity that appeared to

control the career of

Gods, as well as

mankind and the events of

men, were subject to

the world.

unchanging decrees.
This deity was the offspring of Night and Erebos.
Her
sentences were carried out by the Parcae, who, however, were
also looked upon as independent deities of fate.
She was
its

represented standing on a globe, and holding an urn.

MCERA AND

THE MCER^E, OR

PARC^.

In very early times the management of the world in regard to

and reason, was supposed to be

the
under
control
of
a goddess called Moera, who, in
directly
her own province, acknowledged the superiority of no other
social matters involving right

not even of Zeus, the ruler of the world, who, as supreme

god, could not be thought to insist on anything unreasonable
In later times we find, instead of this single deity,
or wrong.
deity,

MCFRA AND THE MCEILE, OR PARCJE.

185

three Moerae (or Parcae) answering respectively to the three

In this form,
birth, years, and death.
stages of human life

however, they no longer retained the high position of superi

became subject

ority to Zeus, but, like the other deities,

thus showing that he possessed in

and reason, and was

sciousness of right

Mceragetes,

is,

that

it

entitled v to

be called

to indicate the

as daughters of Night

darkness and obscurity of

that

to him,

highest form the con

or leader of the Moerae.

They were described

"

its

human

daughters of the just

and Themis,
Another story has it,

or of Zeus

fate

heavens."

was they who united Themis and Zeus

in marriage, the

same ceremony, according to another version of the myth,

having been performed by them to Zeus and Hera. It was
natural to suppose the goddesses of fate present and taking
part at marriages

The names
Atropos.
to exercise

and

births.

Lachesis, and

of the three sisters were Klotho,

To express the influence which they were believed

on human life from birth to death, they were con

ceived as occupied in spinning a thread of gold,

now

tightening,

now

slackening, and

at

last

silver,

or wool

cutting

it

off.

This occupation was so arranged among the three, that Klotho,

the youngest, put the wool round the spindle, Lachesis spun it,
and Atropos, the eldest, cut jt off, when a man had to die.
Tyche, or Fortuna, has been taken as a fourth
of the similarity of her functions.

It is not,

sister,

on account

however,

so.

They were represented in art as serious maidens, always side

by side, and in most cases occupied as we have mentioned

there being instances, however, in which Atropos, the

terable,

is

represented alone.

They were worshipped very

Italy

unal

sacrifices of

honey and

seriously both

flowers,

in

Greece and

sometimes of

e\ves.

INFERIOR DEITIES.

86

offered to them, while in Sparta

and

and

in

Rome

they had temples

altars.

NEMESIS,
Called also

Adrasteia and Rhamnusia, from Rhamnus

Attica, the principal centre of her worship,

in

was a personifica

vengeance which appeared to overtake every act of

She was the goddess of punishment, and as such a

tion of the

wrong.

figure of her

was placed beside the bench of the judges.

mysterious power, watching over the propriety of life, she was

conceived as shaping the demeanour of men in their times
of prosperity, punishing crime, taking luck away from the
its doer, and keeping society
She
was
equipoise.
represented as a thoughtful, beautiful
of
figure
queenly aspect, with a diadem or crown on her head,

unworthy, tracking every wrong to

in

winged, except in the case of early sculptures, or driving in a

car drawn by gryphons.
Among her several attributes were a
wheel, to indicate the speed of her punishments, a balance, a
bridle, a yoke, a rudder, a lash, a sword, and an apple-branch.
Special festivals, called
sacrifices to assure

and

in

is

To

will,

public

were held annually in Athens

Smyrna.

Now Erebos, now

Zeus

Nemesia, accompanied by

her good

Okeanos,

is

mentioned as her

said to have been her lover,

execute her

commands

and Helena

father, while

their daughter.

she had three attendants, Dike,

Pcena, and Erinys (respectively justice, punishment, and

vengeance). She was a terror to evil-doers. At the same time
her endeavours to preserve an equal balance in the attitude of

man
love,

to

man were

recognised as springing from a deep-seated

In

and therefore she was placed beside the Graces.

Smyrna

several

winged beings of her type were worshipped.

ENYO.

ERIS

187

KRIS,
Called by the

Romans Discordia,

employed by the other gods to

among men.

quarrels

It

the goddess of
fierce disputes

stir

strife,

was

and mortal

up
was she who caused the dispute

between Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite for the possession of the

golden apple, the prize of beauty, which she threw among the

company assembled at the marriage of Peleus.

Terrible in form and aspect, with attributes like those

Eumenides,

with

whom

home was

her

in the

of the

realms below,

and companion, sometimes

Her daughter was
of Ares, the god of massacre.

she was looked on as the

the wife,

sister

as

ENYO,

Whom

the

Romans

called

and now the

the wife

Bellona, now

sister

of Mars.

believing her to be

Similarly

among

the

Greeks, Enyo, the murderous goddess of war, delighting in de

vastation,

was associated with Ares, who also bore the

Enyalios,

cither driving his

to battle.

The

title

chariot or rushing in front of

peculiar fierceness

and

fury with

of
it

which she

spread terror and alarm in a battle distinguished her from Pallas-

She was represented as of frightful aspect, with flowing

rushing wildly hither and thither, with a lash in her hand,

Athene.
hair,

and armed with

was that

at

shield

Komana,

At the close of the

erected to her in

and

in

spear.

Her most

celebrated temple

Asia Minor.

war against the Samnites a temple was

Claudius. There the Senate

Rome by Appius

used to meet when they had to deliberate with an embassy from

a hostile power, or when they had to decide whether the honour
of a triumphal entry into the city should be bestowed

upon

:i

88

INFERIOR DEITIES.

general.

At

the entrance to the temple stood a

pillar,

which,

on the occasion of declaring war, was viewed as marking the

boundary between Roman and hostile territory. The ceremony
of declaring war was to throw a spear over this pillar
into

the territory of the enemy.

There

festivals of

Her

wild excitement were held in her honour.

that

is,

din and

priests

were

styled Bellonarii.

PHEME,

OR

FAMA,

The goddess

of fame or report, whether good or bad, was said

be a daughter of Gaea, and born at the time of her great
Sleepless, always
indignation at the overthrow of the Giants.
to

prying, swift of foot,

Pheme announced whatever

she saw or

addressed only to a few persons,

heard
then by degrees louder and to a larger circle, until finally she
of, at first in a whisper

had traversed heaven and earth communicating it. She was

represented as a tender, gentle figure, winged, and holding a
trumpet.

ATE
Was
men

the goddess of infatuation, mischief,

to actions that involved

them

and

in ruin.

guilt,

For

misleading

this her father,

Zeus, cast her in anger from Olympos, and from that time she

wandered about the earth

influence.

in search of victims to her malignant

She was spoken of as powerful

of foot, running before

men

and

swift

sisters

were

in person

to mislead them.

Her

the

Sweet-natured goddesses, whose special duty was to recom

pense the persons whom Ate had reduced to distress and ruin.

XXIX.

One

of the Erinys.

Eros Grieving for Psyche.

THE ERINYS, OR FURLE.

Their name

in this case is
for

prayers of the

"

signifies

not

penitent,"

189

and the allegory

Prayers atone and

far to seek.

what a man does to the harm

make amends

of others in thoughtlessness

or from infatuation, without wicked thought or design.

Homeric poems they

are described as

In the

lame, wrinkled, and

those deformities being caused by the trouble they

squinting

making good the harm done by Ate. Penitent prayers

were at best but sorry aid in making good the evil done from
had

in

infatuation or carelessness.

The

Litae

before

place

were supposed to be daughters of Zeus, and to

him the prayers of those who invoked his

assistance.

THE

ERINYS, OR
(PLATE xxix.,)

Called also

Dirse,

Eumenides,

or

Semnae

that

is,

the

of Night, or, according to

goddesses, were daughters
while a third account
and
Earth
the
Darkness,
of
another myth,
"

"

revered

Kronos and Eurynome. They were

attendants of Hades and Persephone, and lived at the entrance
calls

them the

offspring of

Their first duty was to see to the punish

ment of those of the departed who, having been guilty of some
crime on earth, had come down to the shades without obtain

to the lower world.

At the command of the higher

sometimes of Nemesis, they appeared on earth pursuing

ing atonement from the gods.

gods,

criminals.

Nothing escaped

the evil-doer with speed

\

avenge

no

him
fury, permitting
the story of Orestes, the son of

and

id instance of this

Agamemnon, who

their sharp eyes as they followed

is

slew his mother,

his father s death.

The

rest.

Klytaemnestra,

to

committed
atrocity of the crime

INFERIOR DEITIES.

90

by Klytsemnestra was held by Zeus and Apollo to be no excuse

for the act of Orestes, and accordingly he was subjected to the
long and cruel pursuit of the Furies, from which he was at
length freed by bringing, on the advice of an oracle of Apollo,

an image of Artemis from Tauros to Argos.

In Plate XXIX. is represented one of the Erinys pursuing
Orestes the face reflected on the mirror which she holds is
;

perhaps that of Klytsemnestra.

The number

of the Erinys, varying in early times, was after

Tisiphone (the avenger of murder),

unwearied
persecutor), and Megsera (the grim).
(the
as
female figures of odious aspect, clad
were
represented
They
sometimes
in black,
winged, with hair formed of vipers, and
wards fixed to three

Alekto

or a torch in their hands.

In time
carrying a serpent, a knife,
this grim conception of them fell away, and they came to be

represented as beautiful serious maidens, clad something like

As divine beings, whose office it was to punish
Artemis.

and crimes committed against

neglect of duty, breach of faith,
be
looked
to
came
upon as aiding the preserva
parents, they
tion of a high morality, and were called Eumenides, or the
"

well-minded

goddesses."

them, the place

racter, the time

chosen
night,

When

for the

and the animals

Greece there were several temples

to

them

as, for

sacrifices

were offered to

occasion was of a wild cha

sacrificed, black.

In

and solemn groves dedicated

example, at Colonos, close by Athens.

THE HARPYS
Also were creatures employed, according to the belief of the

Greeks and Romans, by the higher gods to carry out the

punishment of crime. They were three in number Aello,
:

THE GORGONS.

Okypete, and Kelaeno,

or

Podarge; and were

Their body was that

Elektra.

said to

be

Thaumas

daughters of the giant

woman and

191

and the Okeanid nymph

of a bird, their head that of a

would seem that they were originally goddesses

of the storm, which carries everything along with it.
Their manner of punishing those whom they were sent to
;

it

punish was to carry off

devour

it,

all

the food set before their victim, and

or failing that, to render

it

uneatable.

Among

others

way was Phineus, a king of Thrace,

been
his crime having
cruelty towards his own son and con
tempt of the gods. For showing the Argonauts the way to

who were punished

in this

freed from their persecution by

Kalais and Zetes, the winged sons of Boreas, who, in grati
At other times, as the case of the daughters
tude, killed them.

Kolchis he was, however,

of

Pandareos,

they are described as carrying off their victims

on the so-called Harpy tomb in

Museum, they appear to be represented as daemons

bodily from the earth

the British

while,

of death carrying away the souls of deceased persons.

THE GORGONS,
By name Stheino, Euryale, and Medusa, were daughters
of

Phorkys and Keto.

immortal, while the third,

beautiful

of them,

was mortal.

having met him once

ghastly

than

into
that

She loved Poseidon,

and

the temple of Athene, to the dese

in

cration of that building,

hair turned

Two of them were believed to be

Medusa, the youngest and most

was punished by having her beautiful

thus making her appearance more

snakes,

of her

sisters.

Her

face

behold, turning the spectator into stone.

finding her asleep, cut off her

head with

his

At

was
last

u-rribk-

to

Perseus,

curved sword, and

INFERIOR DEITIES.

IQ2

to

be worn on her

The

who had

to Athene,

it

presented

tegis

assisted

him

in the enterprise,

or shield as a terror to her enemies.

ancient poets describe the Gorgons generally as horrid,

aged women, and frequently place them by the side of the

In early times there was only one Gorgon Medusa
Furies.
instead of the three of later times.

Pegasos, was

XXXI.

In Plate
in

the offspring of her

horse,

and Poseidon.

represented standing with sword

is

one hand and the head of Medusa in the other, turning

face

to avoid seeing

it.

away
head of Medusa occurs

off the

of Greek sculpture
Selinus, in Sicily

her face

is

some time

Gorgon

face

it is

to

was

The
in

his

subject of Perseus cutting

one of the

earliest

examples
one of the metopes of the oldest temple at
and from the conventional manner in which

represented,

the sculpture,
for

Perseus

The winged

with the

compared

agreed that the type

Greek
to

art.

To

other parts of

must have been

familiar

possess a representation of a

be provided with a charm against

ills,

and

was frequently employed as a personal ornament.

of such faces worked in thin gold, and intended
hundreds
Many
accordingly

it

be stitched down on garments, were found in the tomb of

a priestess of Demeter in Kertch, and are now in the hermitage
to

of

St.

Petersburg.

cutting off the

Gorgon

representation of Perseus escaping after

s

head, and being pursued by her

occurs on a small vase in the British

Museum, where

sisters,

also

is

to

be seen, on a fragment of a terra-cotta relief, Athene holding up

the shield, the polished surface of which reflected her face, and
thus guided Perseus to the spot without his encountering

deadly

stare.

its

THE

GRAEME.

193

THE
Daughters of

Phorkys and Keto, were

Deino, Pephredo, and

spectively

"alarm,"

Enyo

"dread,"

and

their

three

in

number

names meaning re
Sisters and at the

"horror."

same time guardians of the Gorgons, they were conceived as

misshapen hideous creatures, hoary and withered from their
use of
only one eye and one tooth for the common
the three, and were supposed to inhabit a dark cavern near the
The belief in their existence seems to
entrance to Tartaros.

birth, with

have been originally suggested by the grey fog or mist which

lies upon the sea and is a frequent source of danger to the
It is said that Perseus obtained from them the
mariner.
necessary information as to the dwelling of the Gorgons by
seizing their solitary

them

eye and

tooth,

and refusing

to return

they showed him the wa^.

until

NYX, OR NOX,
be remembered, a daughter of Chaos. She be
came the wife of Erebos (darkness), and bore to him two
In the
children, ./Ether (the pure air) and Hemera (day).

Was,

it

will

form of the myth she was one of the seven elements

that constituted the world
fire, water, earth, sky, sun, moon,
earliest

and

night.

imagination of the ancients associated

mysterious goddess of night a control over illness,

In time the
with

this

dreams, misfortunes, quarrels, war, murder, sleep,

sufferings,

and death

lively

befel
everything inexplicable and frightful that

men

being personified and described as her offspring.

She was supposed

jointly with Day.

to inhabit a palace in the lower world

When

the latter entered the palace, Night

13

INFERIOR DEITIES.

194

rode out in a chariot drawn by two black steeds, and, accom

panied by many stars, traversed the heavens till daybreak, when
she returned to the palace.

She was represented as a serious

figure clad in long

heavy

drapery, on her head a black star-spangled veil; with black

wings, and carrying two children in her arms (one of them being
white, to personify Sleep, the other black, to personify Death),

or riding in a black chariot,

holding an extinguished torch

inverted.

HYPNOS, OR SOMNUS,
Was, as we have

son of Night, and twin-brother of

with
whom
he lived in deep subterranean
(death),
darkness at the entrance to Tartaros.
His influence extended
just said, a

Thanatos

men, and by the

to gods as well as

benefactor,

special

the

giving

latter

he was viewed as a

weary refreshing

rest,

and

sufferers alleviation of their*pain.

He

was represented

different attributes,

standing,

or

in different forms

now nude,

striding

trickled

down on

poppy

those reposing

as a

bearded aged man.

hawk

or a night bird,

On

attitudes, with

or lightly or heavily clad,

or reposing

hastily,

powerful. youth holding a

and

heavily; or

now
as

or a horn, from which sleep

or as a child,

and sometimes

head were the wings of a

and beside him frequently a lizard.
He
his

was looked on as a favourite of the Muses, apparently because

of the dreams he was supposed to communicate to men.
In the British

Museum

is

a very beautiful bronze head of

hawk growing out from the

Hera commands him to take the form of

Hypnos, with the wings of a

temples.

In the

the bird

which

Iliad,

men

call

a hawk.

wings to the temples,

is

How

the idea originated of attaching

uncertain.

ONEIROS.

195

ONEIROS AND MORPHEUS

Are two

different forms of the

god of dreams.

According

to

the meaning of their names, the office of the latter would be

to fashion dreams, as the gods desired them to be sent to

men.

In

this task

dreams

he was assisted by Ikelos,

had

who
of

fashioned

by
Phanand
Phobetor,
alarming dreams,
tasos, who tricked sleepers with innumerable and strange
phenomena. But we find Morpheus also represented in the
as
capacity of a sort of watchman and guardian of dreams,
those

that

the

all

the

appearance

reality,

author of

yEolos was of the winds.

(

>neiros

was properly a personification of dreams, whether

and deceptive or

idle

class

really prophetic.

Dreams

of the former

were supposed to issue from the ivory gate, those of

the latter class from the horn gate, of the palace where they

were kept, beside the Western Okeanos. They were called

of Night, sometimes children of Sleep, and were
directly under the control of the superior order of gods,
children

who, as they pleased, despatched deceptive or prophetic dreams

men.

to

MOMUS
Was

a deity

whose delight and occupation was to jeer bitterly

both of gods and men, sparing no one with

at the actions

except Aphrodite, in whom he could find

nothing to blame, and vexed himself to death in consequence.
As an example of his behaviour, it is said that he complained

his

insinuations

uf the

man

that

Prometheus had

made, because there was

not a window in his breast through which his thoughts might

U- seen.

INFERIOR DEITIES.

196

THANATOS,
The god

of death, was, as

OR MORS.

we have

said, a

son of Night and

twin-brother of Sleep.
He was, however, also described as
a son of Earth and Tartaros, to whom it was his office to
introduce,,

some time

The

or other, the whole of mankind.

which he discharged the task caused

him to be frequently regarded with pain, and to be repre
sented as of a powerful figure, with shaggy beard and fierce

relentless severity with

countenance, with great wings to his shoulders, and resembling,

on the whole, the figures of Boreas, the god of the wild north

wind of

winter.

This form, in the case of both

deities,

was

expressive of the violent nature of their functions.

Thanatos

was, however, more frequently regarded with

submission, or as coming opportunely, and in such cases was

represented in

the

form of a quiet pensive youth, winged,

crossed, often beside an urn with a

standing with his legs

wreath on

it,

and holding an extinguished torch

reversed.

Or,

as a personification of endless repose, he appeared in the form

of a beautiful youth leaning against the trunk of a tree, with

one arm thrown up over his head

artists usually

expressed repose.

an attitude by which ancient

was probably owing to the

It

spread of the belief that death was a transition from

Elysium, that in later times this

more

life

to

attractive representation

god of death took the place of the former repulsive

representations whether, as a powerful and violent god, or as
of the

a black child in the arms of his mother, Night.

Among

the

figures sculptured on the chest of Kypselos, a description of

which we have still in Pausanias, was that of Night carrying

twin children in her arms

the one white, representing Sleep,

and the other black, representing Death.

On Roman

sarco-

DEMONS, OR

GENII.

197

phagi, Mors, or the genius of death, was represented in the form

of a winged boy, resembling Cupid, resting and holding a torch.

In the Alcestis of Kuripides he

described as armed with a

is

sword.

DAEMONS, OR GENII,
Were an order of

invisible beings,

one of

whom

was assigned by

Zeus to every man, to attend, protect, and guide him. They were
nameless, and, like the multitude of mankind, innumerable.

Some

them acted

of

attendants to deities of a

as personal

were represented under particu

higher order,
lar forms, and enjoyed distinctive names, while others were

and

in that case

believed to watch over particular districts, towns, or nations.

While the Greeks regarded these Daemons as deities of an
inferior order, the

Romans

believed

them

to be a sort of inter

The Daemons
mediate beings linking mankind
assigned to women were supposed to be feminine.
to

To
itself

in a

every

man was assigned

with him,

it

Diumon

at his birth. Identifying

endeavoured, throughout his

life,

to guide

wise course, and at his death died with him.

cheerful mood, and

in

the gods.

obedience to a

to be careful of prolonging

man

vexed, or to shorten

attendant

spirit.

On

Daemon

or Genius.

life,

To be
was

To be

him
of

to live

sad and

by recklessness, was to wrong the

birthdays it was usual to offer a sacrifice
life

of wine, milk, flowers, or incense to the Genius, while at most

meals

some unmixed wine was poured out

Daemon (Agathodaemon).
The usual representation

to the

"Good

"

of a being of this class was in the

form of a youth holding a horn of plenty and a dish in one

hand, and sonu- lu-ads of poppies and ears of grain in the other

INFERIOR DEITIES.

198

The presence

of a

Daemon was

by the

also symbolised

figure

of a serpent.

Romans had one

Besides the general family of Genii, the

great Genius

rank,

whom they reckoned among

and esteemed

the gods of the second

highly, believing that

he had some control

over the others.

LARES AND PENATES

Were beings

peculiar to the religion of the Romans.

Every
household was supposed to be under the protection of one
Lar and several Penates, whose presence was symbolised by
images in the form of a youth wearing a short tunic, girt at the
waist,

or

flat

and holding a horn of plenty

and Penates were kept

one hand, and a patera,

in

circular dish, in the other.

Such images of the Lares

in a particular part of the

house called

the Lararium, received constant offerings of incense

tions,

When

and were decked with garlands of

a slave obtained his freedom,

it

and

liba

and rosemary.

violets

was the custom of

his

former master to hang a chain upon the figures of his Lares.

When a youth left the paternal roof he prayed "Ye Penates
:

of

my

fathers,

and you, Lar,

you my
and another Lar
to

protect them.

parents, that

Besides

these

public Lares,

whole

states

father of our family, I

you may
must now seek."

private household

who were

deities

there were also

recognised as the protecting

and towns.

Of

commend

Other Penates

spirits

of

these there were originally two in

Rome, and later three, the spirit of Julius Caesar having been
added as the third for the Lares were considered to be the
;

spirits

of deceased persons

influence the living.

The

who continued

to

watch over and

other two were, however, regarded

THE MANES.

99

sometimes as sons of Mercury and a nymph called Lara.

Sacrifice
Statues and temples were erected in their honour.
for the safety of the

and prayers

which

their altars,

decked with
travellers,

called
roads,

and

offered

summer were

frequently

They were protectors of highways and

this capacity had the honour of a festival

in

sacrifice of cakes, the

To

the Lares

who

and pigs were

lambs, calves,

ceremony being conducted

protected the

fields, sacrifices

their death kindly Lares, while the Genii of evil-doers

Lemures

or

Larvae

about the earth

afflicting

that

is,

evil

who

spirits

mankind with

was no remedy but expiatory

Persons

died without

of

offered.

was believed that the Genii of good people became

there

at

up

Compitalia, which was annually celebrated at cross

a few days after the Saturnalia, and consisted of a

slaves.

It

in

were

flowers.

banquet and

by

and

in spring

state

became

who wandered

illnesses

sacrifices

expiation for

after

to

for

which

the gods.

every wrong

they

had done were pursued by these Larvae in the lower world.

THE MANES,
the departed inhabiting
Generally speaking, were the souls of
Survivors, however, who believed that
the realm of shadows.

a higher and nobler existence, re

departed souls sustained

them Dii Manes, offered

garded them as divine beings, calling
sacrifice

to

them

at

tombs, and thought

them up from the lower world.

it

possible to call

III.

DEMIGODS, OR HEROES.
or heroes, were a class of beings peculiar,

DEMIGODS,
would seem,

to the mythology of the Greeks.

They
were regarded partly as of divine origin, were represented as
it

men

possessed of godlike form, strength, and courage ; were

believed to have lived on earth in the remote dim
ages of the
nation s history ; to have been occupied in their lifetime with
thrilling

human
cases

translated

sacrifice

the

adventures and extraordinary services in the cause of

civilization,

first

and
a

to

have been

after

death in some

and entitled to
among
and worship. They were described as having been
sovereigns and legislators of the nation, and as the
to

the gods,

life

all the kingly and noble families.

Monsters that
devastated particular localities were
destroyed, the oppressed
were set free, and everywhere order and peaceful institutions

founders of

were established by them.

They

were, in short, the adven

turous knights the history of whose deeds formed for the mass
of the people the first chapter of the national
history, and that
in a

had

manner worthy both of the civilization to which the nation

and of the gods to whose influence the progress

attained,

was due.

The

and

an inexhaustible treasure of

artists

legends of their adventures furnished to poets

striking figures,, wonder

deeds, and strange events, while they formed at the

time a most powerful element in the national education.

ful

same

It

ORIGIN OF THE HEROES.

2OI

has been suggested that the belief in these beings

may

have originated in later times, in an impulse to people the

blank early pre-historic age with ideal figures of a sublime
order of men, to
or that

it

memory
and

whom

the nation might look back with pride;

may have originated

of distinguished

in

a desire to dwell on the

persons who had

actually existed,

time, by so doing, to exaggerate their actions to a

in

human

degree quite beyond

powers.

But

it

is

far

more

probable that, like the gods, the heroes had originally been
divine personifications of certain elements of nature, and the

them merely a mythical

form of describing the phenomena of these elements. The
idea, for example, of a long struggle and ultimate victory over

legends of adventures ascribed to

grim enemies, which

is

the

same idea

is

that

which the powers of

so characteristic of these adventures,

we

find pervading the early myths,

in

light are represented as struggling with,

But while
overcoming, the powers of darkness.
elements
to
the
their
maintained
the gods always
relationship
marine
of nature, of which they were divine personifications

and

finally

deities

for

instance,

celestial deities in

dwelling in the depths of the sea, and

the pure ether

had ceased

the other hand,

to

the heroes or demigods, on

be identified with any particular

element, and though retaining the form, strength, and courage

of gods,
that

came

in

time to be regarded as

had once inhabited

legends, which, as

men

of a high order

had passed away. The

had been intended to lie the

(ireere, but

we have

said,

natural phenomena* were ex

embrace the new variety of adventures which

mythical descriptions of certain

panded

so as to

wide scope now assigned to the heroes.

There appear^ to hu\e been a time when the gods gene
rally were in danger of being reduced in this maimei to the
imagination with

its

202

HEROES.

condition of demigods or heroes,

such events,

for instance,

war of Zeus with the Titans and Giants, the contests

Apollo with Tityos and Python, or of Dionysos with his

as the
)f

enemies, being calculated, from their adventurous nature, to

more

present their authors

gods, and

the

in

form readily subjects

to

the contests of Dionysos did.

arrested

by the necessity of

light

of heroes

for the epic poets, as

the position

of the gods was

and

indeed

This tendency was, however,

defining,

for

worship, the provinces of the various deities.

became

than of

the

purposes of
that time

From

the heroes

determined, while

from men, the legends

concerning them assuming gradually more of a historical
than of an ideal character.
Traditions of early battles and
less

victories that
circle

less distinguishable

still

lingered

among

the people, were

round these imaginary heroes, who

centres of

all

in time

made

the earliest national recollections, the accredited

founders of most of the elementary institutions of social

and the guides of colonists.
It

to

became the

life,

does not, however, follow that the particular elements of

nature over which the heroes or demigods had originally pre

sided,

beings.

were

left

For

after this separation unrepresented

in addition to

Greek national

religion,

deities,

in

who, when

coalesced

in

have appeared

after

in

number of gods in the

have already described as

the vast

whom we

identified with this or that

must have been

department of the universe, there

the early ages a large

the tribes to

times

many

by divine

into

cases

number of

local

which they were peculiar

one Greek nation,
must

quite

identical in

character,

though probably very often different in regard to the details

of the deeds or adventures ascribed to them.
Thus many

who may have been

dispensed

with

as

gods

would

be

ORIGIN OF THE HEROES.

203

retained, on account of their local adventures, as heroes or

demigods.

Turning to the oldest examples of the Greek epic poetry

which we possess the Iliad and Odyssey we find the heroes
More power
represented as hardly distinguishable from men.
were
ful, more beautiful, and more courageous they certainly
than the ordinary

looked on

of their day, and on this account were

still their ways of life
;

men

as descendants of the gods

were distinctly the ways of men, not of gods.

By the time of Hesiod we find this opinion of the heroes

The
The people of

heroic age

changed.

his time,

is

lamented as a thing of the

past.

aware of their weakness and wants,

looked back with reverent feelings to the happy age in which

the great heroes stood between the gods and feeble mankind.
Zeus,

it

was taught by Hesiod, had translated the heroes to the

removed from men, where they lived in

islands of the blest, far

The
perpetual golden age under the sovereignty of Kronos.
ancient
the
that
people, however, thought otherwise, believing

;i

tumuli in Greece and in Asia Minor were the graves of the

heroes.

The imposing

for instance,

tumuli at the entrance to the Hellespont,

were viewed as the tombs of Achilles, Patroklos,

and Ajax. Sanctuaries and temples were erected to heroes,

their bones were searched for, and when found regarded as a
r
^ reat source of strength to the town that possessed

relics

of their stay on earth were hallowed,

them

all

and a form of

worship was specially adapted to them.

In later times the heroes came to be identified more or less
with the

Daemons.

individuals who,

The consequence

of this was

on account of extraordinary

that

all

strength, courage,

beauty, talent, or self-sacrifice, were supposed to be possessed

of special Daemons,

were reckoned as heroes.

And

this

was

HEROES.

204

not confined to persons remarkable for their

good qualities
successful daring entitling a robber to this rank as much as did
;

the bravery of the

In

men who

later times,

still

fell

at

Marathon and

Plataese.

as the belief gained

ground that every

had something of the nature of a Daemon in it, and was
destined to a higher and nobler life, heroic honours were
paid
soul

to almost all the

dead

so that

when a man

of particular

distinction died, the only course left

open of paying him signal

honours was to regard him as having been, after the manner
of Herakles, translated to a life
among the gods, and to worship
him as a god.
It

in

is,

however, only with the heroes or demigods that occur

the mythology

and the epic poetry

They may be divided

into

three classes

associated with the creation of

cidents of
figure

human

history and

among them being

that
:

we have

First,

mankind and the

civilization,

to do.

the demigods
earliest

in

the most striking

that of Prometheus.

Secondly, the
such as Herakles, Theseus,
Minos, Pelops, Perseus, or Bellerophon, who were distinguished

earlier heroes properly so called

for their

such,

for

extraordinary adventures, labours, and expeditions,

example, as that of the Argonauts to Kolchis.

Thirdly, the

expeditions

more recent

heroes, the tales of

for instance,

whose deeds and

those against Troy

and Thebes

read more like historical traditions magnified

by the imagina
tion of the poets, than allegorical narratives such as those of
the two preceding classes.

PROMETHEUS.

THE CREATION OF MAN.

PROMETHEUS

AMONG

AND THE FIRST DEMIGODS.

the various opinions in ancient times concerning

the origin of mankind, the most generally accepted one

to have been that in which it was asserted that man

appears

and

all

had, like the gods, originally sprung

mother earth. It was not supposed that the

other forms of

from the

common

life

whole human race could trace

pair

been created

in all

-afterwards found

its

lineage back to one primeval

was believed that a primeval pair had

the chief districts in which mankind was

on the contrary,

it

settled.

As

the natural features of these

districts varied, so varied the opinions with regard to the exact

substance from which the

and mountainous

first

beings had sprung.

In

wooded

they were held to have

in valleys, from the moist

districts, for instance,

sprung from rocks and trees

element of nature. As to the time
;

at

which

this creation

took

took place simultaneously throughout

place, and whether
the various inhabited regions, we have no means of knowing
it

the current belief.

From
in

the primitive condition of savages living like anim iN

and caves, they advanced slowly in the direction

the forests

of dvili/ation,
,ind

sometimes visited with

terrible

punishim

sometimes assisted by the gods; the different classes or

becoming in time united into two great races, the

The former traced its origin to
IVlasgic and the Hellenic.

tribes

206

HEROES.

Phoroneus, and appears to have been resident

mainly in the Peloponnesos, while the latter looked back to
Deukalion as its founder, and was resident in Thessaly
the Argive

and round Parnassos.

According to the story, a great flood

had swept away the whole human race except one pair,
Deukalion and Pyrrha, who, as the flood abated, landed on

Mount
and

Parnassos, and thence descending, picked up stones,

cast

them round about,

sprang a

these stones

Deukalion, and

as Zeus

new

women from

From

had commanded.

men

race

those cast

from those cast by

by

From

his wife.

Hellen, the son of Deukalion, the Hellenic race derived

its

name, while its four great branches, the ^Eolians, Dorians,

Achaeans, and lonians, traced their descent and names from
four of his sons.

In such a primitive condition of

life,

regarded as of greater importance, or

nature,

and

its

than

fire.

Its

beam

warmth removed the

perhaps nothing was

more mysterious

in its

dispelled the dread of darkness,

chill

of winter.

hearth was the centre of domestic

life.

The

At the

fire

of the

forge, tools

and weapons were fashioned. It was an emblem of the life

of man, with its flash and sudden extinction on the one hand
In
prolonged blaze on the other.
was seen descending from the sky, and in volcanic

and the illumination of

storms

it

eruptions
it

was seen issuing from the

was readily believed to be

all

gods

it

its

and how mankind came

explained in the story of

earth.

in the close

The

source of

keeping of the

to obtain the use of

it

was

Prometheus.

Zeus, foreseeing the arrogance that would arise from the

possession of so great a blessing, had from the first refused

Their
to transmit any portion of his sacred fire to men.

deplorable

condition,

however,

owing to the want of

it,

HEROES.

207

found a champion in the person of Prometheus (a son of

the Titan Japetos), who had previously identified himself

Mekone

with the cause of humanity in a dispute that arose at

(Sikyon) as

to

the rightful share of the gods in

offered to them.

On

that occasion

all

sacrifices

an ox had been slaugh

and Prometheus, having wrapped up

tered as a sacrifice,

all

the eatable parts in the skin of the animal as one portion,

worthless parts
and
cleverly covered the bones and

having

with

the

thought

what he

the other portion, asked Zeus to select

fat as

better

portion

for

the

gods.

Zeus,

though

chose the worthless parts, and

perfectly aware of the deceit,
more firmly than ever determined to withhold his fire from

men.

Prometheus, however, resolved to obtain it for them,

in snatching some of it from the hearth of

and succeeded

/eus, or, as another version of the story has

of Hephaestos in

demned

to

Lemnos.

be chained

it,

from the forge

As a punishment, he was con

alive to a rock in the

remote Caucasus

mountains, and to submit while every day a vulture came to

For a long
gnaw away his liver, which daily grew afresh.
time he bore this

been released but

suffering,

for

which he possessed con

of the dominion of Zeus, who, for

the

cerning the ultimate fate

and indeed would never have

secret

the purpose of learning the secret, permitted Herakles to

shoot the vulture, to free Prometheus, and bring him back to
(

Mympos.

Meantime the human race enjoyed the many benefits of

advance in civilization rapidly. But
fire, and continued to
that their cup of happiness might be mixed with sorrow, Zeus
ordered Hephajstos to fashion a woman of clay, of divine
as charms
beauty, but possessed of all the weaknesses as well

of

human

nature.

Athene instructed her

in

the

industrial

208

HEROES.

occupations of women, Aphrodite gave her grace of manners,

and taught her the arts of a beauty, while Hermes qualified

her for the part of flattering and soothing.

With the help of

and Horse, Athene robed her with costly, beautiful

decked
her with flowers, so that, when all was done,
and
robes,
as
Pandora,
they called her, might be irrestibly attractive to
the Graces

gods and men.

Hermes conducted her

Epimetheus, who,
though warned by his brother Prometheus to accept no gift
from Zeus, yielded to the besetting weakness from which he
obtained his

He

name

to

that of being wise

when

received Pandora into his house, and

She brought with her a vase, the

lid

it

was too

made her

late.

his wife.

of which was to remain

The curiosity of her husband, however, tempted

open it, and suddenly there escaped from it troubles,
weariness, and illnesses, from which mankind was never after

closed.

him

to

wards

free.

All that remained was Hope.

We

have thus, in contrast with the general belief described

above as to the spontaneous origin of man from the earth, an

human being directly fashioned by the gods from

this mean substance it was also asserted the first
From
clay.
men were made by Prometheus, Athene assisting him by
instance of a

into his figures.

But

learned speculation, indulged

in to

breathing

life

was probably only a

account for the zeal dis
this

It
played by Prometheus in the cause of human civilization.
is better to account for that zeal by assuming Prometheus to

have been originally a god of fire, who, asserting his right to

employ that element for the benefit of mankind, provoked the
hostility of the other gods,
tified

for

and from that time forward iden

himself with the cause of men.

assuming

this in the fact that

There is good ground

Prometheus was intimately

associated with Hephaestos in the very ancient worship of that

god

in

Lemnos and

in Attica.

THE FIRST HEROES.

While the progress of civilization,

209

as far as

it

had depended

with
could be symbolized by, fire, was connected
in primitive times was
Prometheus, the progress of agriculture

on,

or

two giants Otos and Ephialtes,

Small and puny
sons of Aloeus (the planter) and Iphimedeia.
on grain, and soon
at their birth, they grew quickly, living
size and beauty.
became the wonder of men for their great
not
could
together, they
go
and
agriculture
Finding that war
him in a
confined
and
bound
seized Ares, the god of war,
have
would
He
perished
brazen vase for thirteen months.
reflected in the story of the

lar-e

in

had not Hermes

"it

and

him

set

free.

at length

heard of his imprisonment,

Becoming more and more arrogant

in

next determined
the pride of their strength, the two brothers

Olympos itself, and for this

Mount Ossa on the top of Mount
purpose they had placed
had heaped Mount Pelion, when
Olympos, and upon Ossa
They perished in youth, ere
.ifts of Apollo felled them.
the immortal gods in

^iil

beards had grown.

their

HE EARLIER RACE OF HEROIC

will

ITof

be convenient

to separate, lor the present, the

the adventures of Herakles, together with

k-ends

those that

different disrelate to combined expeditions of heroes from

the other
from
the
of
as the expedition
tnArgonauts,
.

Of this earlier race of heroes,

dan
scem->

according

to

the

localities

and

to

assigned

arnn-e the
as

the

latter

principal

of their actions, beginning with

210

HEROES.

(a.)

At the head of the Argive

ARGOS.
line of heroes

the river-god, a son of Okeanos, like

all

stands

Inachos,

the other river-gods.

With the nymph Melia for his wife, he became the father of
Phoroneus and lo, of whom the former, according to Argive
legends, was the

first

man upon

the earth.

Prometheus was elsewhere believed

Such services as

have rendered to early

were there ascribed to Phoroneus.
He was re

civilization,

to

puted to have founded the town of Argos, and to have estab

lished there the worship of Hera.
With regard to lo, we have

Hermes) how she was loved

by Zeus, and, to escape the jealousy of Hera, was transformed
by him into a cow how Hera, discovering the transformation,
already related (in connection with

set a

watch over

dred eyes, and

lo, in the

person of Argos, a giant with a hun

slew the watchman and released

how Hermes

Another version of the story says

lo.

that

it

was Hera who

transformed lo into a cow, for the purpose of thwarting the

love of Zeus for her.
Argos had tethered her to an olive-tree
Hera, between the towns of Mykenae and
and
was
there
Argos,
keeping guard when Hermes arrived and
in a grove sacred to

slew him.

Though

set free,

form, but was compelled to

lo did not yet regain her

the form of a white horned cow,

was restored

to

in

by a vexatious insect

goaded
on reaching Egypt, she obtained rest,
her human form, and became the mother of

At

sent by Hera.

human

wander through distant lands

last,

Epaphos.
lo,

the white horned cow, appears to have been a

personifi
moon, like the Phoenician goddess Astarte, who

cation of the

was

Her wanderings were like

Hera, who punished her, was the

also represented in this form.

the wanderings of the

moon.

DANAOS.

21

supreme goddess of the heavens. Argos, with his many eyes,

reminds us of the stars.
The slaying of Argos by Hermes was
a favourite subject with ancient

Epaphos became king

artists.

of Egypt,

Libya (after the district of that

Mediterranean),

who bore

and had a daughter

name on

called

the shore of the

to Poseidon, the sea-god,

two sons

While the former became the head of a

Agenor and Belos.

race that spread over Phoenicia, Cilicia, and on to Thebes in

Greece, Belos remained in Egypt, succeeded to the throne,

and marrying Anchirrhoe, a daughter of the Nile, had two

The latter was appointed to
sons, /Egyptos and Danaos.
^Egyptos had

rule over Arabia, the former over Libya.

fifty

and Danaos the same number of daughters. A dispute

arose between the two families, and Danaos yielding took ship
sons,

with his daughters and sailed to Argos, pursued

all

the

way

by the sons of yEgyptos. At Argos, the home of his race, he

was kindly received by the reigning king, and protected against
the pursuers.

At that time the

district of Argos was suffering from a

which
Poseidon
had angrily caused. Danaos sent out
drought
his daughters to search for a spring, and while they were so

ed

happened

it

her spear at a stag

in

one of them,
it,

but hit

Amymone,

a Satyr

asleep

Pursued by the Satyr, she (ailed on the name

eidon for help, and the god instantly appeared, drme
Satyr,

perennial

Amymone

and

spring

for love

to

flow

of the beautiful
at

I.erna,

who by false lights misled many ships

among rocks, and enriched himself from
singular

Danaul caused

where

lie

met

her.

bore to Poseidon Nauplios, the wrecker of Nau-

plia,

throwing

who was

the brake.

off the
a

that

missed

fatality

he perished

in

this

to their destruction
their

cargoes.

way himself

at

H\
last.

212

He

HEROES.

had three sons

Palamedes,

celebrated for his inventive

Oiax, the steersman, and

faculty,

Nausimedon,

the ship

captain.

Meantime

the sons of ^Egyptos,

it is

having besieged
proposed to forget their
difference with Danaos, and to marry his daughters.
Without

some

for

Argos

at

time,

said,

length

relenting in the least, he agreed to give his daughters to

them

each daughter he presented a knife, and

them all to slay each her own husband on the

in marriage, but to

commanded

marriage night.

who,

All obeyed his order except

Hypermnestra,

weak

resolution than as

preferring to

be regarded

as of

Lynkeus, and became

a murderess, spared her husband,

the

mother of the Argive line of kings. While Zeus approved

the murderous deed of her forty-nine sisters, and sent Athene

and Hermes
into a

to give

them

expiation,

Hypermnestra was

cast

dungeon by her indignant father, her husband, Lynkeus,

On being brought to trial she was

saving himself by flight.
however publicly acquitted her husband returning to Argos,
succeeded Danaos on the throne, and in after times was
;

among

widely respected,
great

victory

in

the

other things for having founded the

games

that

accompanied that

a shield, not a wreath, as was elsewhere usual

being

that

on the

presented his son

to

The

honour of the Argive Hera.

festival in

first

occasion

Abas with the

of these

prize of

was

festival

the tradition

games Lynkeus
had belonged

shield which

Danaos.

Whether

it

was

had accomplished
decide

among

to

obtain husbands for his daughters

their

own widowhood,

or whether

a multitude of suitors for their hands,

it

who

was

to

Danaos

held a kind of tournament, the victors in which were to be-

accepted as husbands.

On

the

morning of the contest he

AND

AK.RISIOS

213

daughters together on the course, and by noon

his

ranged

PRrKTOS.

each had been carried

off

athlete

by a victorious

ot

some noble house.

was said that

It

after

death the Danaides, with

tl

in Tartaros by having
ception of Hypermnestra, were punished
in
the vain endeavour
it
and
pour
continually to carry water,
form of punish
this
It may be that
a broken cistern.
of
filling

ment was selected

who

generally in

for

them

most suitable

as the

for

Greece were the drawers of water.

women,
At the

was very suggestive of the dry parched soil of

in summer.
Argos, the streams of which were always dried up

same time

it

From Abas,
brothers

the

the son of Hypermnestra

Akrisios

and

and Lynkeus, sprang

famous for their

Prcetos,

When

hatred of each other from infancy onwards.

up, Proetos, finding

grown

fraternal

encounter-, lied

they had

himself constantly defeated in the

to

I.yna,

and was there hospitably

received by the king, lobates, and the queen, Amphianax,

whose daughter, Stheneboea, he married. With the assistance

army he was p-instaied in his rights of sovereignty

over Argos and Corinth, fortifying himself in the citadel of
of a Lycian

held out in that of Larisa.

Tiryns, while his brother Akrisios

Of both

citadels,

now

the massive structures,

in

ruins,

bear witness to the fierce assaults which must have been

still

made

upon them.
Pnetos had three

them

d.

nighk

rs,

whose exceeding beauty made

to
pri/es which the noblest youth of the country sought

win.

the times scorned to take

and made
shrine.

common

Hut they were haughty, despised the

part

in

the worship of

ridicule of the sanctity of Efciu

For

this

they were punished

which drove them ever to

wander

by

ancient

fl

restlessly

usages
I

ot

>iom

image ami

form of insanity

among

the

woods

HEROES.

214

and

hills

of Argos and Arcadia.

It is

further said that, being

under the hallucination that they were cows, they lowed

The

kine as they wandered about.

father

like

summoned Melam-

pos, the prophet and priest, to work a cure upon his daughters,
but on the prophet s stipulating a third of the kingdom as his

The

reward, dismissed him again.

other

women

evil

grew worse,

for

the

of the country began to yield to the infatuation

of abandoning

Melampos was

their

husbands and

and

recalled,

this

time

their

children.

demanded an

additional

slaying

third of the kingdom for his brother, Bias.

Proetos agreed,
and Melampos, collecting a body of active youths, pursued
the three princesses over the mountains, and on to Sikyon,

where the eldest of the three died, and the other two, after
being purified, were given in marriage to Melampos and Bias
respectively.

This legend also would seem to have originated in connec

tion with the very ancient worship

of Hera, as queen of the

the wanderings of the three daughters of

;
under the imaginary form of cows, having reference,

heavens, at Argos
Prcetos,

like the similar

Returning

wanderings of

to Akrisios,

we

lo, to the

find

of having no heir to his throne.

moon.

him troubled

To

at the prospect

his question the oracle at

Delphi replied that a daughter would be born to him, and that

she would bear a son who would slay his grandfather, and
rule in his stead.

and

The

daughter,

Danae

to prevent the latter part of the oracle

by name, was born,

from being fulfilled,
But a shower

she was imprisoned in a subterranean chamber.

of gold, sent by Zeus, penetrated to her, and she became the

mother of an infant destined to fulfil the oracle and to become

conspicuous

among

the

ancient

heroes.

He

was named

Perseus, probably with reference to his being a son of Zeus,

DANAE.

215

in darkness,
god of light, and to his having been born
which respect, as in several others, he may be compared with
Leto (darkness), while his father
Apollo, whose mother was

the great
in

The shower

was Zeus.
golden

of gold would thus signify a

beam

of

light.

hearing

Akrisios,

the

voice

of the

child,

summoned

his

to give a solemn explanation of

daughter to the altar of Zeus
mother
the circumstance.
Disbelieving her story, he placed
waves.
the
to
them
committed
and child in a closed box, and

After rocking about on the bosom of the sea, the box was at
was there
last carried towards the island of Seriphos, and

a fisherman named Diktys, who

caught in a net belonging to
It was
acted kindly by them.
and
his
to
took the waifs
house,
a very barren island, affording little but shelter to the families
The chief or king of it was
of fishermen that inhabited it.

Polydektes, a brother of Diktys,

just

mentioned, and as

the gaiety of his habits as was his brother for

Struck with the beauty of Danae, and finding
his simplicity.
that her son Perseus stood in the way of the fulfilment of

notorious for

to get rid of him, and

Polydektes became anxious
of the opportunity that presented itself
gladly availed himself
be outdone in professions of loyalty,
to
not
when Perseus,

his desires,

vowed

he would even fetch

that

Medusa
Perseus

the head of the

for the king, should he wish

set

forth sadly

on

his

mission, but took coura-e

when Hermes and Athene, who often lent

adventures, appeared to him, and led him
li

ve(l T

in

three aged

common.

their aid in heroic

to

where the Graeae

with only one eye and one tooth

Perseus, sei/ing the indispensable eye and tooth,

refused to give
the

women,

Gorgon

it.

them back

nymphs who had

in

until

they told

him where

to fincf

keeping the helmet of Hades, the

2l6

HEROES.

winged shoes, and the pouch necessary for his future move
On arriving at where the nymphs lived, he obtained

ments.

from them the objects in question, to which Hermes added the

knife (harpe) with which he had cut off the head of
Argos.
Buckling on the winged shoes, he

proceeded towards the

Gorgons with the speed of a bird, the helmet of Hades
making him invisible, but concealing nothing from his sight.

Athene instructed him how

It is further said that

Medusa without being petrified,

To this end she gave him a shield

to

approach

as was usual,

by her stare.
of polished brass, on which,

as in a mirror, he could see the reflection of the

Gorgon, while

he himself, unseen, advanced and cut off her head.

The
he had done this there sprang from the trunk of Me
dusa Pegasos, the winged horse, and Chrysaor, the father of
instant

Geryoneus.
Perseus, placing the head quickly into the pouch
which the nymphs had given him, hastened from the scene,
pursued by the two sisters of Medusa for some distance.
adventures on the way back to Seriphos were
Among
the turning of Atlas into stone because the
giant refused to
receive him hospitably, and the release of Andromeda,
his

whom

he found, on passing over ^Ethiopia, bound

the sea-shore as a victim to a great sea-monster.

daughter of

to a

rock on

She was a

Kepheus and Kassiepeia,

the king and queen

vaunted
herself equal in
having
to
the
offence
to
them
and
to Poseidon
beauty
Nereids, gave

of ^Ethiopia.

The

latter

also, who thereupon visited the country with a flood, and sent
a dreadful monster from the sea to destroy both men and
cattle.

On

appealing to the oracle of

pheus was told that the

his beautiful daughter,

pelled

by

evil

Ammon

would not abate

Andromeda,

his subjects to yield, the

in Libya,

until

Ke

he exposed

to the monster.

Com

luckless father took her to

XXXII.

Bellerophon,

Perseus and Andromeda.

PERSEUS.

the shore,

and chained her

Perseus found her.

to a rock, in the position in

which

Struck with her beauty, Perseus undertook

become

save her on condition that she should

to

his wife?

and Perseus, after slaying the monster,

Kepheus
unchained the maiden.
She had, however, been engaged
agreed to this,

beforehand to Phineus, her father s brother, who, arriving

with a strong body of soldiers, burst in

upon the marriage

But the sight of the Gorgon s head turned them

and Perseus triumphantly carried off his bride.

he found that

Arriving at Seriphos,

his

all

feast.

to stone,

mother and Diktys

were being persecuted by Polydektes, and obliged to seek pro

tection at the altars of the gods.
His course was to announce

who

arrival to the king,

iiis

how

the

at

once assembled

had

young hero

kept

his

his nobles to

Perseus

word.

appeared
assembly, and producing the Gorgon s head,
Not
turned the king and all his nobles instantly to stone.
content with punishing in this manner the principal perse
in the

cutors of

his mother, Perseus

said

is

island itself into a great barren rock,

the excellent Diktys

him.

Even the

and the

frogs of

to

have

turned

the

have spared only

population attached to

fishing

the island

to

and

became dumb,

said

an

ancient proverb.
ing thus fulfilled his promise, and rescued his mother,
Perseus handed over the winged shoes, the pouch, and the

made him invisible, to Hermes, to be restored to

nymphs. The head of Medusa he gave to Athene, who
that

the

:itcr

wore

it

Andromeda, he

on her
set

shield.

Akrisios, who, however,

in

be

in

the

consequence of an in
fulfilled

regarding

Accompanied by Danae and

out for Argos

his

to find

dread
death,

his

grandfather,

meantime having
lest

left

the oracle should

had established

himself at

2l8

HEROES.

Larisa in Thessaly.

on

his arrival, the king,

honour of

in

his

Thither Perseus proceeded, and found,

Teutamias, occupied with public games

deceased

father.

Perseus took part in the

games, and by a fatality which justified the oracle, the disc

which he threw fell upon the foot of Akrisios, and caused
his

death.

After

honourably at
Argos to his mother and wife,

his

burying

Larisa, Perseus returned to

grandfather

but instead of establishing himself there, exchanged Argos for

Tiryns, which was then held by Megapenthes, a son of

Proetos, and soon

its

after

founded the ancient Mykense, with

massive walls.
Perseus and

Alkseos.

Andromeda had two

Alkmene,

mother

the

sons
of

daughter of the former, and her husband,

son of the

latter.

It

was

Elektryon and
Herakles,

Amphitryon,

also said that before

court

of her father, Kepheus,

whom

they called Perses, and

was

behind with

leaving the

Andromeda had born a

left

son,

his grandfather.

From

this Perses the Persian kings traced their lineage.

The
of
Pontos
and
the
same
descent,
kings
Cappadocia, claiming
introduced a figure of Perseus on their coins.
In Tarsos and

Egypt also were traditions of ancient benefits derived from

the Greek hero.

in

While the wanderings of lo remind us of the wanderings of

and lead us to connect the origin of the legends

the moon,

concerning her with the worship of Hera at Argos, the adven

tures of Perseus similarly suggest the apparent

movement of

the sun, and the effect of his light, particularly in slaying the

dread monsters with which the imagination peoples darkness.

It

would seem,

therefore, that the origin of the belief in these

adventures must have had some connection with the Argive

worship of Zeus and Athene.

AND

SISYPHOS

ASOPOS.

219

His adventures, either as an entire story or

a

most

attractive

subject

to

ancient

in parts,

poets,

formed

and were

fre

of which we still
quently represented in works of art, many
Greek sculpture
of
earliest
the
of
One
examples
possess.

which an approximate date can be assigned, is a group

on a temple at Selinus in Sicily, which represents him cut
to

ting off the

Gorgon

head, and belongs to the seventh century

B.C.

In Plate
in

is figured holding the head of Medusa

In Plate
curved sword in the other.
the
and

XXXI. he

one hand

XXXII.

is

the rescue of

Andromeda.

(b.)

Owing
two

seas,

to

its

CORINTH.

convenient situation on the isthmus between

Corinth was from very early times an important seat

commerce; and

dependent for its

the sea-god Poseidon, had at an
prosperity on the benignity of
his worship, and exalted him as its
established
early period

of

as such being chiefly

In the legends concerning the Corinthian heroes

therefore expect to find decided traces of this

principal god.

we would

worship, just as in those of Argos

we found

traces of the early

worship of Hera.

With regard

to

Sisyphos,

the

first

of these heroes, the legend

was that he had chanced to see Zeus carrying

off

^gina,

the

daughter of the river-god Asopos, and having marked the

direction of their flight as towards the island of

^gina,

deter

to make capital of his knowledge, by informing Asopos

what he had seen, on condition that the river-god would

mined
of

create a spring of water

Acrocorinth, as

it

on the parched

was called.

The

citadel of Corinth

terms were agreed

to,

and

220

HEROES.

Sisyphos at once secured the afterwards famous fountain

of

Peirene.
But Zeus could not permit the act of treachery to
He sent the god or daemon of death to claim
pass unpunished.
him.
Instead of yielding, Sisyphos bound the daemon with

strong chains, and retained him, no one dying in the

Ares arrived and broke the chains.

till

time,

mean

Sisyphos was

then handed over to the daemon, but before departing charged

Merope, not

his wife,

to offer the

customary

sacrifices for the

dead, and thus to disappoint Pluto and Persephone.

Hades, he began to denounce

Arrived

on the part of
his wife, and repeated his complaint so often that he was at
last allowed to return to the upper world.
Another version

in

of the story has

it

this neglect

that Herakles carried

him

off

by force from

Hades.

In either case he returned to Corinth, lived to an

advanced age, and after death was punished, as we have
already related, by having to

which when

it

roll

a huge stone up a height,

had gained the summit

immediately rolled

back.
It

may be

that the idea of such a

punishment was suggested

by the backward and forward rolling of stones by the treacher

ous waves on the shore.

At any

rate

we

find a connection of

Sisyphos with the worship of Poseidon in the statement that

command of the Nereids, received the dead body
of Melikertes from his mother, and instituted in his honour

he, at the

the Isthmian games, which afterwards were held in honour of

Poseidon.

More

directly

the legend of
in his
title

of

connected with the worship of the sea-god

Glaukos,

the son of Sisyphos.

name to the colour

Pontios which he

of the sea
bore,

is

and yet

The

is

reference

strengthened by the
it is

not with the sea

directly, but with horses, the accredited symbols of the waves,

221

BELLEROPHON.

that he

from having been fed

For some reason

associated.

is

one report
flesh, according
and tore their master to pieces.

on human
furious,

to

name was a

terror to

equestrians

in

his horses

became

In after times his

the hippodromes, the

current belief being that Glaukos survived as an

evil spirit

wandering about and frightening horses.

in the
greater importance than Glaukos
son
his
was
of
Bellerophon. Not
Corinth,
legendary history
scene of his exploits ;
the
that Corinth had been to any extent
for,

figure of far

his
excepting the incident of the bridling of Pegasos,
in Argos
all conducted elsewhere

n icmorable ad ventures were

at

and afterwards

first,

in Lycia.

His story was, moreover,

It may be
strangely blended with that of the Argive Perseus.
that the proximity of the two towns, and the political depend

ence of Corinth on Argos, wrought in time an assimilation in

the legends of two heroes originally quite distinct.
Or, on the
it may be that the difference in the pursuits and

other hand,

religious inclinations of the

in

so
its

two towns acted on the imagination

such a way as to alter a legend originally common to both,

much that each might in time fairly claim a separate hero of

own.

Whichever way

it

may have

been, the Corinthians

were proud of Bellerophon, and in early times had a figure of

his horse, Pegasos,

on

their coins.

winged horse, we have already

the
neck
of the Gorgon Medusa,
from
sprang
when Perseus cut her head off. The legend proceeds to tell
how it flew through the air, and did not set foot on earth until

With regard

related

it

how

to that wonderful

it

reached the citadel of Corinth, where

thirst at the

trying in vain to catch

and was

it

famous fountain of Peirene.

it,

halted to quench

its

Bellerophon, after

applied to the seer Polyidos for advice,

down to sleep at night beside the

told to lay himself

222

HEROES.

This he did, and in the course of his sleep

dreamed that the goddess came and gave him a golden bridle,
altar of

Athene.

bidding him show it to his father, Poseidon, and at the same

time sacrifice a white ox to him.
Waking, he found the bridle,
sacrificed the ox, and,
altar to

Athene.

on the advice of the

The

seer,

horse at once took the

that time proved of the utmost service to

its

dedicated an
bit,

and from

master.

According to the ancient derivation, the name of Bellerophon

signifies the "slayer of Belleros," the story being that he had
accidentally caused the death of a person of that name, either
his

own

brother, or a Corinthian noble.

To

obtain the neces

sary purification, he repaired to Argos, and was there kindly

received by Proetos, the reigning king. Unfortunately, however,
the wife of Proetos, Sthenebcea (or, as Homer calls her,

Anteia), resembled Potiphar

wife in the bent of her passions,

and finding the young hero firm against her temptations, re

solved to accomplish his ruin, to this end charging him before
the king with an attempt to violate her.
Proetos, on hearing
the charge, decided to send the youth to Lycia, to the court of
lobates, the father of Sthenebcea, with a letter written in strange
characters, in which the Lycian king was instructed to compass

The parting scene, where Bellerophon

receives the letter, and Sthenebcea still gazes
affectionately on
the death of the bearer.

is represented on several ancient

painted vases.
Arriving at the Lycian court, Bellerophon was entertained
On the tenth day the king inquired
hospitably for nine days.
the business of his guest, and received the letter of Proetos.

him,

Acting on the instructions of the

with orders to slay the
*

It

was represented

letter,

Chimsera*

in art as a lion with

(a

lobates despatched him

monster composed of a

a goat

head springing from

BELLEROPHON.

lion in front, a goat in the middle,

his

and a serpent behind), which

and slaughtered

all

master up in the

air

infested the mountains,

But Pegasos carried

223

who

attacked

it.

beyond the reach

of the monster, and yet not too far for his spear to have deadly
effect.

(Plate

XXXII.)

Bellerophon

returned triumphant.

scheme had not succeeded, the king had at any rate

Though
a
terrible enemy to his subjects, and determined a
got rid of
his

second time to
should

in

fail

by the prowess of the young hero, if he

Accordingly he sent him to fight

profit

causing his death.

against the Solymi, a hostile neighbouring tribe, from which he

again returned victorious.

With

the Amazons, those warlike

women

cient poets

and

artists

like success

he fought against
whom the an

of Asia Minor,

delighted to represent as fighting stoutly

against the best heroes of Greece, but always being vanquished.

With

this result

seus,

and afterwards,

Greeks.

they opposed, for example, Herakles and

(See Plate

in the

The

Trojan war, took part against the

It would seem from their con

XXXIII.)

nection with the Ephesian Artemis,

among other reasons, that

the legends concerning them originated in the worship of the

moon

goddess.
In a last effort to secure the death of Bellerophon, the
Lycian
king planned an ambush for him of his bravest knights, all of

whom, when
who,

it

the time came, perished at the hands of the hero,

then became clear, could be no other than the son of

Instead of bcinLj put to further

encounters,
the hand of the king
half of the

back.

canic feature

daughter

in

be -tatement

.if

iN -pittm^

he received

marriage, and with her the

Lycians bestowed on him a

The grateful
wooded and fitted

kingdom.

large estate, well

its

fire

for agriculture.

may have

reference

His wife

U>

the

\t>I-

HEROES.

224

bore him three blooming children Isandros, Hippolochos,

and Laodameia. In short, he had reached the pinnacle of
:

But the gods prepared* a catastrophe for him. He

became insane, and wandered about sad and alone, avoiding
His son Isandros was slain by Ares,
the company of men.
happiness.

Laodameia, by Artemis.
According to another
in hazardous adventures had inflamed
success
report, repeated
him with the desire to mount to Olympos on the back of his
his daughter

In the attempt he

wonderful horse.

fell

to earth, smitten

by

the thunderbolt of Zeus, and died.

THEBES.

(t.)

It is

a relief to turn from the bloodshed and perilous adven

tures of the Corinthian

tranquil tone of the

and Argive heroes,

Theban

We

character and incident.

that the tales of

to the comparatively

legends, with

variety of

all their

would not be understood

to say

from horrors, but only that the

especially by the earliest of them, con

Thebes are

free

general impression left,

cerns the daring and achievements of

mind

rather than the

exploits of physical courage.

First

among

Thebes

is

the Kadmeia, as

it

the heroes of

of the ancient city

Kadmos,
was called

the founder

who, while

to the population gathered round

rendering important services
of their public affairs, is said to
him there in the

management

have conferred on Greece generally an inestimable blessing

the form of an alphabet, or
in writing,

previously

or
alphabet, more

he found the

who

visited

Greece

means of communicating thoughts

unknown

in

less modified, that

letters of

in

it

in

in use

that

we

among

land.
still

It

is

employ.

this

That

the Phoenician traders

remote early times, establishing

factories

KADMOS.

in

many

among

places,

others,

225

in

the

neighbourhood

of

but to believe, as the Greeks did, that

was a Phoenician by birth, and that the system of

Thebes,

is

Kadmos

probable

which he introduced was, like the alphabet, Phoe

was
nician,
only another instance of the readiness with which
the Greeks listened to stories that traced the
beginni
civilization

their civilization
n;ii ions

back

to the influence of the

The genealogy of Kadmos, according

menced with

ftgypt* the lat ter of Phoenicia.

com
who had two

to the legend,

the sea-god Poseidon and Libya,

Belos (Baal) and Agenor

sons

more ancient

of the East.

the former

becoming king of

his wife, Telephassa,

By
Agenor
one daughter Euro pa and three sons, Kadmos,
Phoenix, and Kilix. The sister having disappeared carried

had

off,

it

was

said,

on the back of a white

had transformed himself for love of her

bull, into

to search for her in different directions.

wearied of searching in vain, settled

named

after

them, while

should

come

in his way,

which Zeus

the brothers were sent

Phoenix and Kilix,

down

in

the countries

Kadmos, accompanied by his mother,

proceeded through the Greek islands northwards to the coast
of Thrace.
There his mother died and was buried. He pro
ceeded to Delphi, to ask the oracle
The
concerning his sister.
was to search no longer, but to follow a cow which
found a
h

cow

it

lay

down

to rest there to

Leaving Delphi, he saw a cow, and followed

Itootia, till it reached the place where Thelu

city.

irds built,

the

and where

in

and there

lay

honour of Athene,

down.

it

Intending to sacrifice

his protecting

god<lc<

Kadmos

sent his attendants to a fountain not far off to fetch water.

It

happened, however, that the fountain was watched ], v a terrible

:., which killed his
men. With the aid of Athene, Kad15

HEROES.

226

mos

slew the monster, and, at the

sowed

teeth in the

its

command

of the goddess,

ground, from which there instantly

sprang a number of wild armed giants, called Spartse.

By
throwing a stone among them, Kadmos so roused their pas
sions that they

families of

To

upon each other with such fury and effect

them survived. From these five the noblest

fell

that only five of

Thebes afterwards traced

their lineage.

appease Ares, whose dragon he had

compelled
years, or a

slain,

to devote himself to the service of that

"

"

long year

as

it

was

Kadmos was
god

for eight

called, the usual period pre

scribed for penance in such cases.

His term of service having

and
expired, he was raised by Athene to the throne of Thebes
to complete his happiness Zeus gave him Harmonia, the
;

beautiful daughter of Ares

and Aphrodite,

gods of Olympos went to the marriage

to the pair.

Kadmos

to

The Muses sang

his wife consisted

which Athene had worked

feast,

for his wife.

The

and made presents

a marriage song.
The gift of
of a splendid dress (peplos\

for him,

and the famous necklace

made by Hephsestos. From the marriage sprang four daughters,

Semele, Ino, Autonoe, Agaue, and one son,
Polydoros.
Autonoe married Aristaeos, to whom she bore Aktaeon, the
young huntsman who, for the misfortune of having once seen
Artemis bathing, was transformed into a stag, and devoured by
his own hounds.
Ino married Athamas, of whom it is said
that,

being seized of a frenzy, he pursued his wife to do her

and that she eluded him by leaping into the sea, after
which she was regarded as a marine goddess under the name
Semele became the mother of the wine-god
of Leukothea.

violence,

Dionysos, and at the birth of her child was, as has been

already related,

struck

dead by the thunderbolt of Zeus.

AMPHION AND ZETHOS.

227

Agaue, marrying Echion, one of the five surviving Spartre,

became the mother of Pentheus, who, after the death of
Polydoros, succeeded to the sovereignty of Thebes.
Semele being dead, her statement that Zeus himself was the
father of her child

But

by Agaue.

was disbelieved by her sisters, especially

her son Dionysos had grown up, and

after

returned to Thebes from his triumphant journey eastward to

Agaue and the other women of Thebes changed

minds, and embraced his worship with its extravagant

their

India,

rites.

Pentheus, then king of Thebes, opposed the introduction of

new

the

religion, but in the course of his opposition

was

slain

mother and her excited companions. Labdakos, tinby

Meantime Agaue,
son of Polydoros, succeeded to the throne.
his

recovering her senses under the

Grief at the calamities that

drove

at last

affliction, fled to Illyrium.

fell

so thickly

on

their children

Kadmos and Harmonia from Thebes.

They

Illyrium, and there found peace in the grave.

Their bodies, it was believed, had been transformed into two
snakes that lay beside their tomb, while their spirits had been

wandered

to

placed in Elysion by Zeus.

After

brothers

Kadmos,

the next figures of importance are the twin-

Amphion

respects the

"great

and Zethos, who resemble in many

twin-brethren" Castor and Pollux, being

them represented riding on white horses, and appearin_

Between the two brothers there
with aid in times of distress.
like

was a great difference of character,

Amphion being devoted

t<>

music, and excelling in the skill with which he played the lyre
-iven him by Hermes, while Zethos applied himself wholly to

rough

life,

such as hunting and herding.

physical force,
strains, as

Amphion accomplished by

was shown

What /ethos

did

the persuasion of his

in the case of their building the walls of

228

HEROES.

Thebes, the population of which had so

Kadmos

of the old town lounded by

against invasion.
for this purpose,
lyre,

and

still

Amphion,

outgrown the

new

limits

barriers

in bringing

huge stones

Orpheus, had only

to strike his

he led the way.

the intention of which seems to have

larger stones followed whither

Such was the

originally

While Zethos toiled

like

far

as to require

story,

been to point

to the

combination of actual strength

with harmony in placing the blocks required in good masonry.

The same idea recurs in the legend of the building of the

Trojan walls by Apollo and Poseidon, the former god corres

ponding to Amphion and the latter to Zethos. The seven
gates of

Thebes answered

The mother

of the two

to the seven strings of the lyre.

Theban brothers was Antiope, who,

according to an early report, was a daughter of the river-god

In the usual genealogy, however, she was described
Asopos.
as a daughter of Thebe and Nykteus (the "dark and

who

regent in Thebes during the

Zeus having approached Antiope in
the form of a Satyr, she was driven from her father s house,
and forced to seek refuge, which she found with Epopeus,

stormy

"),

held the

office of

minority of Labdakos.

the king of Sikyon.

time, her father

Under

his protection she

remained some

meanwhile demanding in vain that she should

Ultimately she was given up to Lykos

be given up to him.

the brother of Nykteus, but, as his name implies, of

an
quite
opposite character.
Returning with him, she gave
birth to twin boys on the way, in the neighbourhood of

("

light

")

Eleutherae.

brought up.

The infants were

The mother was

entrusted to a herdsman to be
carried off to Thebes, where, as

a contrast to the gentle treatment she had experienced from

Lykos, she was subjected by his wife, Dirke, to relentless

cruelty.

After enduring continued persecution for

some

years,

(KIM!

from Thebes, and taking the direction of Mount

Kithceron, where her children had been left, at last reached
She
the house of the herdsman who had taken care of them.

Antiope

tied

did not, however, recognise him, nor was she aware that the
who took kindly to her, were her sons. It
two
youths,

happened

just

then

that

take part in

Fvithceron to

who had come

Dirke,

to

Mount

some Bacchic ceremony, detected

her escaped victim, and ordered the two young herdsmen to

fetch a wild bull from their herd, and to bind her to its
horns, that she might be dragged to death.

They would have

command, had not the old herdsman at the

obeyed
moment recognised Antiope, and revealed her as their mother.
her

On

Amphion and
bound her to

hearing the story of her former troubles,

in

/ethos,

their

indignation,

seized

Dirke,

on while she

the bull which they had brought, and looked

H .ed miserably.

The legend adds

was trans

that Dirke

formed into a fountain, which bore her name.

On

with her sons to Thebes, Lykos

and then commenced the building

the return of Antiope

abdicated

in

their favour,

of the walls, of which

married

Niobe,

we have already spoken.

the daughter of the Lydian

Amphion

king Tantaios,

and had a family of sons and daughters, whose beauty, in their

mother - eyes, might measure with that of Apollo and A temis.
How she was punished for her pride has already been related.
After the death of

Amphion and

/ethos, caused,

the arrows of Apollo, the sovereignty of

to
(

Labdakos, of whose reign

hietly in his

little is

being the father of

Thebes

said, his

it

prafl 8 :id,

by

finally pa

fame consisting

Laios and

grandfather

01

CEdipos.
This Laios married Jokaste. a daughter of MenoikeUS, and

had by

An

oracle had said tha

the child,

HEROES.

230

on growing

To

to

manhood, would cause the death of

his father.

avert this danger, Laios exposed the newly-born infant on

Mount

it

Kithseron, expecting

to perish.

It

\v-as,

however,

found by some

herdsmen, conveyed by them to Corinth,

and there given over to the king, Polybos, whose wife was
childless, and took readily to the castaway.
Arriving at years
of manhood, CEdipos inquired at an oracle concerning his
parentage, and was told in reply to avoid the lands of his
ancestors, for otherwise he would cause his father s death, and

Puzzled by an answer so
marry his own mother.
and
uncertain
whether
being
mysterious,
Polybos might not
have been his father, he left the court at Corinth, and wandered
thereafter

In the course of his wanderings he met

about the country.
A quarrel arose between
Laios travelling with a retinue.
and
some
of
the
Laios took the
attendants.
CEdipos
royal
part of his

men, and was

slain

in the

ceeded on

his

way

to

Thebes.

by his son, who,

had committed, pro

fight

unaware of the blackness of the crime he

There he found great

distress

consequence of the loss of life caused by a

a
monster
with the body of a lion, and the head,
Sphinx
arfns
of
a
and
woman. This creature had a riddle
braast,
prevailing,

in

which she propounded to

failing to resolve

it,

all

rock,

her,

as always happened, threw

high rock where she lived.

riddle rightly

who approached

and on

their

them from the

Not so CEdipos, who read the

upon which the Sphinx cast herself from the

and perished.

The

prize offered to the

man who

should

succeed in getting rid of the Sphinx was the hand of Jokaste,

the widow of Laios, along with the throne of Thebes.
CEdipos
married her, and

They had two

fulfilled the oracle.

sons,

Eteokles and Polyneikes, and two

daughters, Antigone and Ismene, neither being aware of the

23

THESSALY.

on inquiring at the oracle

criminality of their marriage, until,
had befallen the country,
that
misfortunes
use of certain
answer which revealed the facts in all their
they received an
while (Edipos, after putting out
horror.
Jokaste slew herself,
his eyes, forsook

Thebes, and wandered about, accompanied by

His two sons succeeded him
Antigone.

his faithful daughter,

in

thu government, quarrelled with each

ultimately

fell,

both

other, however,

of them, in a personal encounter, as

and

we

shall relate afterwards.

The

on
various acts of this terrible tragedy were reproduced

the Athenian stage with

all

the poetic

and
power of ^schylus

Sophocles.

(</.)

In

harmony with the

THESSALY.

the country, the

wild, rocky features of

tell
early legends of Thessaly

of furious wars, in which the

and even
combatants fought with trunks of trees, or hurled rocks
It was there that the war of the gods against
hills at each other.
took place. There the brothers Otos and
Titans
and
the (iiants
Kphialte sheaped

hill

on mountain

in their

ambition to scale

asunder
the heavens. There Poseidon cleft the mountain-range
of
vale
Tempe.
with his trident, and formed the pleasant

Mount Olympos,

with

its

clouded summit, where the gods were

once supposed to dwell, was

there,

and there

the seat of the ancient race of the Minyae.

also

was lolkos,

Gyrton was the

combats behold of the Lapithse, and the scene of those

after times
in
formed
them and the Centaurs which
,,
BO attractive a subject to

Greek

sculptors.

are Ixion
Lapithse the two principal figures
Among
Ixion s wife was Dia, a daughter of
and his son Peirithoos.

the

232

HEROES.

Deioneus.

Previous to the marriage he had

promised her
according to ancient usage, many valuable presents,
which he afterwards refused to
give. Deioneus endeavoured to
but
in
the
indemnify himself,
course of the attempt perished in
a great hole, full of
fire, which had been
cunningly prepared
for him by Ixion.
For this the first murder of a relation, it
father,

was believed, that had taken

Ixion was
place in the world
punished with frenzy, and wandered about, unable to obtain
expiation from gods or men, till at last Zeus received him com
passionately,

and

purified him.

But the

purification

was not

so complete as to
prevent
the goddess Hera,

him from conceiving a passion for

who, knowing his desires, deceived him witli

a cloud shaped like herself.

of Centaurs.

From

this

union sprang the race

Ixion, being blind enough to boast of his sup

posed success with Hera, was despatched by Zeus to Tartaros,

there bound by Hermes to a
winged wheel, which con

and

stantly revolved, as

an eternal example of the punishment due

to such crime.

The same passion for a goddess descended to his son Peirith6os, who tried to carry off Persephone from Hades, for which
he was placed in chains in Tartaros.
fame chiefly turns was his

his

his

But the event on which

marriage with Deidamia.

By
invitation, the Centaurs of the neighbouring mountains

went

to the banquet,
and, being unused to the influence of
wine, could not suppress excitement.
The wild Eurytion
laid

hold of the bride, his fellows rushed towards her

maidens,
of grand confusion took
Peirithoos and
place

and a scene

the Lapithse, with the

help of his friend
at last

Theseus, from Attica,

succeeding in driving the Centaurs away.

Of Kaineus, another
having been

of the Lapithse,

it

is

related that,

originally a beautiful virgin, he was changed into a

THRACE.

man by

made

Poseidon, and

fight with the Centaurs

233

invulnerable, as was proved in a

for, in spite of the

rocks and trunks of

which they struck him with, and heaped above him, he

remained unwounded, and sank into the earth alive, a scene
trees

represented
painting

works of sculpture and vase-

several ancient

in

in existence.

still

With regard

the usual form in which they

to the Centaurs,

were represented was that of the body and legs of a horse, with
In
the head, arms, and body of a man down to the waist.
early

works of

man

however, they have the legs of a

art,

in

place of the fore-legs of the horse.

Cheiron seems
but his form

re

The young

arts.

and

tuition, in

in

common

with them

well-meaning and

just,

and heroes, and

a friend of gods

and various

have had nothing

to

he was wise and

for

kindly,

skilled in medicine, music,

Achilles was brought up under

Mount

the cave where he lived, on

He was the
So also were Jason and Asklepios.
was an
death
his
and
Peleus
and
of
of
friend
Herakles,
Pelion.

example of the
In trying to

self-sacrifice

of

his

life.

make peace between Herakles and the Centaurs,

he had been accidentally

bow

which had characterised

Herakles.

causing acute pain,

hit

by a poisoned arrow from the

baffling all his skill, and

The wound
lie

offered himself to die in the

room of

Prometheus, and was accepted by the gods.

s(e.)

The burden

of

all

THRA<

the early Thracian legends

divine influence of music and song.

music, which may

be

legends, originated

among

supposed
the

to

is

the strange

Whether the passion

have given

ungenial

rise

northern

for

to the

hills

and

HEROES.

234

valleys of Thrace, or whether, as

planted thither
with

its

supposed,

by immigrants

the

ancient fountain of the Muses,

All

decide.

is

from

that

certain

is

that

is,

it

the

it

was trans

district of

belief

to

concerning

the principal figure in these legends, was

Orpheus,

Pieria,

would be hard

common

to both regions.

Orpheus was regarded as a son of the muse Kalliope and

god Apollo. From his mother he inherited the fascinating

the

power with which he played the

of the

air,

lyre

and sang, so

that the birds

the fish in the streams, wild beasts, even trees, rocks,

and hills, gathered round him to listen. The subject of his song
was always the beautiful Eurydike, whom he had loved and
lost.
She had died through the poisoned bite of a snake that
lurked in the grass over which she had to run to escape from

Aristseos, who also loved

her.

Her

sister

nymphs, accom

panied by Orpheus, wandered over the hills and valleys, filling

the air with plaintive strains to call her back again.
Orpheus
carried his search for her even

down

to the

gloomy shades of

the lower world, the sweetness of his music soothing the monsters

and wicked

spirits that

dwell there, and otherwise would have

Even

resisted his progress.

the hardened hearts of Persephone

and the merciless Erinys were touched by his passionate grief.

It was agreed that Eurydike should be permitted to return
with him to the upper world,
the only condition attached to
the agreement being that he should not turn to look

face

all

the

way

back.

bargain became null,

steps,

and be

in doleful

open

lost to

mood by

upon her

His patience, however, gave way. The

and Eurydike must instantly retrace her

him

for ever.

For seven months he

sat

the banks of the river Strymon, under the

sky, refusing food or drink.

Then he withdrew

higher wintry regions of the mountains

to the

Rhodope and Haemos,

ORPHEUS.

35

was discovered by a
torn
band of Monads out upon some wild Bacchic mission, and
The Muses, it was said, gathering
limb.
by them limb from
and
to
them
Pieria, on Mount Olympos,
the limbs, conveyed
the
down
floated
and
head
His
lyre
buried them there.

but
to nurse his sorrow in greater solitude,

the lyre sounding sweetly

Hebros, and were carried by the sea,
of Lesbos,
with the swell and fall of the waves, to the island

There
poets and musicians.
sweeter beside it
the head was buried, and nightingales sang
But in Thrace also a tomb
than elsewhere in Greece.
was
of
that
Orpheus, while a sanctuary
pointed out as being
established in his honour.

celebrated in after times for

its

In later times a religious system with mysterious

rites

and

and bear
ceremonies, said to have been instituted by Orpheus,
that
his name, was widely propagated in Greece. It maybe
ing
his

connection with the worship of Dionysos, referred to

and Thrace, was regarded as

legends both of Pieria
warrant

having
It

is

for

much

associating
in

common

said that

Argonauts, but at

To

with his

name

in the

sufficient

religious institutions

with the Dionysiac mysteries.

of the
Orpheus accompanied the expedition
what period of his life we do not know.

same region of Thrace belongs the legend of Thaa son of the king Philammon and the nymph

the

myris,
Argiope, distinguished
minstrelsy.
n

isted

He

of a

for his personal

beauty as well as his

was, however, inordinately vain,

visit to the

himself not

court of

inferior to

the

and on the

CEch
Eurytos,
Muses themselves,
at

the

But on his way homeward he was met

laughters of Zeus.
his power of
by them they put his eyes out, and took away
;

sung and music.

236

HEROES.

ATTICA.

(/)

The people
first

of Attica, generally
speaking, believed that their
ancestors had sprung from the earth, and
by some process

been transformed from

into

been direct
ascribed to

man
legs.

trees or rocks, or

perhaps from animals,

men and women.

The change was not supposed to have

and instantaneous, as we may infer from the form

Kekrops,

the

first

of the race, which was that of a

with extremities in the

shape of snakes in place of
In later times of learned
speculation this

human

Kekrops was

thought to have been an immigrant from Egypt.

Proofs of an
early immigration into Attica are certainly not wanting, but
they
.

do not point to Egypt as the source of it.

They point
Crete, which in the time of Minos held Attica, as it

to

probably

held other places, as a

dependency.

according to the legend, ruled as king over the

race
of Attica, established himself on the
primitive
Acropolis of

Kekrops,

Athens, and gathered a township round him, which he called

He gave his people laws, and taught them to

Kekropia.
It was
worship Zeus and Athene-Polias.
during his reign that
the celebrated contest took
between
Poseidon
and Athene
place
for the control of Attica.

arguing that the sea was

Kekrops was chosen

common

to

all,

to decide, and,

while the olive was

peculiarly adapted to the soil of his country, gave his decision

in favour of the goddess.

He had

Aglauros, and Pandrosos,

all

three daughters,

three

ferring to the fertilizing fall of dew.

the

first

priestess of Athene.

the mother of

Of

Keryx, from whom

in Attica derived their

lineage.

divine

herald.

Herse,

names apparently

The

re

last-mentioned was

the other two,

Herse became

the priestly family of heralds

His father was Hermes, the

Aglauros bore a daughter to the god Ares.

ATTICA.

and her

name was Alkippe,

Her

237

that

story,

Halirrhotios, a son of Poseidon, and was

I-

or that crime a court called the

to

try

tne

gd, an d

loved

she

slain

by Ares.

Areopagus was

appointed

continued thereafter to

sit

on cases of

murder.
of Kekrops was

Tin- successor

Erichthonios, who was

He

described as being altogether of the form of a snake.

was the offspring of Hephaestos and Gaea, was the fondling of

Athene, and when he obtained the throne of Attica, taught his
of the goddess,
people to worship the ancient wooden image
Panathenaic
and instituted in her honour the famous
games.
I

he story of his infancy was that Athene handed him

in

closed box to the three daughters of Kekrops, with orders not

to

open

it.

Two

of the

sisters,

Herse and Aglauros, yielded

to

a snake within, were

curiosity, opened the box, and on seeing
ith frantic terror and threw themselves from the rocks
Erichthonios was brought up within

of the Acropolis.

the

sanctuary of the goddess.

Krirhthonios was succeeded by his son

u^ain by his son

Erechtheus,

with

whom

Pandion, and

he

the dynasty of the

Kekrops came to an end, passing over to Ion, a reputed

Erechtheus
son of Apollo, and the ancestor of the Ionian race.
line of

and

all

his family perished in a battle against

The

prince of Kleusis.

result of their death,

and

the old strife between Attica

and the two kingdoms united

his

would seem that

Thebes,

Tereus,

Pandion

th.it

Eleusis was put an end

to,

in one.

Erechtheus, Pandion had two daughters

son

Prokne and Philomela,

I

the

Eumolpos,
however, was

in

of

whom

a touching story

is

told.

the course of a war with Labdakos of

had obtained

a king of Thrace,

and

important

for this

assistam e

fmm

offered him the hand

HEROES.

238

of his daughter Prokne.

Afterwards the Thracian desired her

and, pretending that Prokne was dead, obtained

sister also,

Philomela as his wife. To prevent the former from revealing

the truth, he tore out her tongue, and placed her in a cage in a
wood. But his end was not thus gained; for Prokne contrived
to send her sister a piece of drapery

on which she had em

broidered a representation of the facts, which her sister readily

The two sisters then combined to execute a

understood.
terrible

whom

his son Itys,

revenge on Tereus, placing the flesh of
drew his
Tereus
him
as
a
dish.
before
they killed,

sword, and pursued the sisters

birdshe

into a lapwing,

reversed the story of the

was Philomela whose tongue was cut

her name is the same as that of
since
object being,

sisters, saying that

out, their

three were changed into

Prokne into a swallow, and Philomela

The Latin poets

into a nightingale.

two

all

till

it

the nightingale, to account for the silence of that bird except in

springtime.

The

Attic legend of

has

Boreas,

the wind-god,

already been given,

Oreithyia,
Kephalos and Prokris.

We

as

who

has

carried off

also

shall therefore pass

that

of

on to Ion,

who, when the male line of Kekrops had become

extinct,

succeeded to the throne of Attica.

Ion was a son of Apollo and
Erechtheus,

and

at

his

birth

Kreusa,

was taken

married

a daughter of

away

Xuthos, and

from

his

remained

mother, who

afterwards

childless.

Delphi to consult the oracle about their

and Kreusa were told by
posterity, Xuthos

Going

prospects of
the

in

adopt as their son the first youth they should

This happened to be Ion, who had been brought up

god

meet.

to

to

the temple of Delphi, and

mand

who, agreeably to the com

of the god, was adopted by the childless pair.

CRETE.

239

According to another legend, Pandion was driven from

Attica by the sons of Metion, and took refuge with Pylos,
the king of Megara,
after

.vho,

Pandion

where he found and adopted ^geus,

death, advanced upon Attica, and,

with the assistance of his brothers, Pallas, Nisos,

of

recovered the kingdom

and became

Athens,

the

Theseus, whose exploits

we

(A-.)

The

adopted
of

father

and Lykos,

father,

in

reigned

renowned

the

hero,

shall relate hereafter.

CRETE.
of Crete,

island

and

extent

its

fer

Phoenician traders

tility,

to

position of the

his

its

appear to have attracted the early

shores.
They founded the towns of Knosos

(iortys,

and

and so developed the resources of the island as

to

a powerful ascendency over the other islands of the

Archipelago, and extending to various districts of the mainit

and of Greece,

including

They introduced
n,

has

as

the

Hellenised,

through

the

lueans and Dorians, there were

the people legends that

island

legends

The

(Ireck

of

planted by the

still

immigrations of
found current among

Talos, Itanos, and

Phoenicians,

in

Of
the

cornier

kind were

this

river

the towns

adapting

in

Jardanos.

that

themselves

had

Ken

to existing

traditions
appears, and accepting the ancient
island as a basis for legends of a purely (Ireek con

meats,

of the

Moloch; and

had become com

could only be explained

immigrants settled

said.

successive

tion with the religion of the Phcenicians.

the

been

just

the worship of Astarte and

gem-rations afterwards,

pletely
A<

Attica,

it

struction.

These legends commence with Europa,

whom

/eu-

HEROES.

240

and loved while she was gathering spring buds near Sidon,
where her father, Agenor (or Phoenix, as some said), was king.

The
off

god, transforming himself into a white bull, carried her

on

his

back over the sea towards the south coast of Crete,

in the district of Gortys and Phsestos,

and landed with her

where Asterion was then the reigning king.

birth

Europa gave

Minos, Rhadamanthys, and

there to three sons,

who grew up under the care of Asterion, to

Zeus had commended their mother.
How familiar

Sarpedon,

whom

the people of the island must

phases of this legend,

may

have been with the various

be seen from the ancient coins of

now

Gortys and Pnsestos, with their representations,

alone,

now

of a bull

of Europa riding on him, and at other times of

Europa seated among the branches of a plane-tree.

The oldest traditions describe Minos as ruling the
with exemplary justice,
its

He

supremacy over the neighbouring islands and countries.

established

which formed,
the

extending

island

maritime power and

its

legislation

communicated

among
it

people a wise system of laws,

his

was believed,

in after

times, the

of Lykurgos.

These

laws, he

him by

father,

Zeus, with

to

his

went every ninth year to hold communion

in the island.
So high was his reputation

when he

died, so people thought, he

in

basis

said,

of

were

whom

he

a sacred cave

for

justice,

that

was appointed a judge

in the lower world.

The wife of Minos was Pasiphae, a daughter of the sungod Helios and Perseis. It is necessary to bear her parent
age in mind for the sake of obtaining a right clue to the
explanation of the legend concerning her.
For, as a daughter
of Helios and Perseis, she may well have been originally a

goddess of the moon, and as such represented under the form

MINOS AND PASIPHAE.

such an

Pasiphae, would be appropriate

to Minos two daughtersbore
She

Her name,

of a white cow.
for

241

office.

Ariadne and Phaedra

of

whom more

will

be told here

after.

Minos,

it

proceeded
a

was

said,

on being chosen king of the

island,

to the sea-shore to offer, in presence of his people,

sacrifice

to

his

father,

Zeus,

calling

on

the

sea-god

Poseidon to send up a victim for that purpose from the

Poseidon heard, and sent a shimmering white bull. In

sea.
this

on the part of the sea-god, Minos per

Instead,
supremacy at sea was secured.

act of compliance

ceived

that

his

however, of sacrificing the white bull, he placed it among

a herd which is
his own herd which browsed near Gortys
Poseidon,
elsewhere said to have belonged to the sun-god.
bull to become wild,
the
caused
at
the
offence
deceit,
taking

same time inflamed the queen, Pasiphae, with an

unnatural desire towards it. The bull broke from his stall, and
was pursued by Pasiphae over hills and through woods, till
the great artist Daedalos succeeded in holding him to
and

at the

finally

the

meadow, and

desires of the queen,

in satisfying the

afterwards gave birth to

Minotauros,

who

a creature with the body

and limbs of a man, and the head of a

bull.

Daedalos had

now to employ his skill in making a vast labyrinth, with

intricate winding passages, from which no one who entered
could find his way out.

Within

it

Minotauros was placed, and

received as victims the persons sent to

Minos

periodically

by

Such tribute, consisting of seven boys and

tributary states.
seven girls of noble families, Minos had levied on Athens as a
satisfaction for the

murder of

his

son

Androgeos by

^Egeus,

the king of Attica.

was
Every eight years the grievous levy

despatched to Crete,

till

Theseus,

the son of

^geus, put an
16

HEROES.

242

end

to

it

in a

manner which we

shall

afterwards have occasion

to relate.

Minos met

his death at

Agrigentum, in

Sicily,

whither he

had pursued Daedalos, who had escaped from the labyrinth, into
which he and his son Ikaros had been thrown for making a
figure of

a cow for Pasiphae, so

lifelike as to be mistaken by
had escaped by means of wings which he had
made for himself and his son. The latter fell into the sea, and

the herd.

He

was drowned, while

his father, reaching Sicily in safety,

was

received under the protection of

King Kokalos, whose daughter

killed Minos by pouring boiling water on his head while he was
in a bath.
Minos was buried there, and had a tomb erected
in his

On

memory.
the coins of the town of Phaestos

is

the figure of a youth,

winged and nude, rushing with great strides, and holding what
This figure has been
appears to be a stone in each hand.
identified with the legends of

made

having been

as others said, a living

He

had been placed

his duty being to run

see

Tales, who

is

described as

of bronze, a remnant of the bronze age, or,

who landed on

work of

in Crete

art

produced by Hephsestos.
to watch over Europa,

by Zeus,

round the island three times a day, and

When the Argonauts arrived, he

the coast.

opposed their landing, but unsuccessfully; for it happened that

they were aware of the fact that, though apparently altogether

made

of bronze, he

and containing
Philoktetes,

still

managed

of Herakles.

had a vein reaching from neck

to heel,

This vein Pceas, the father of

with an arrow from the famous bow

his life-blood.

Talos

who accompanied

to hit
fell,

and

died.

Others said that Medea,

him by witchcraft.
had been the practice of Talos, when he caught any one
landing on the coast, to seize his victim in his arms, to leap
It

the Argonauts, overcame

PELOPS.

with him into a

243

and press him to his burning bosom, the

This was the origin of the phrase
the pain.

fire,

while laughing at

"Sardonic laughter."

the appointment of

Though

Rhadamanthys

as a judge in

the lower world was said to have been due to the sense of justice

which he had displayed on

benefited by his decisions

assume that he acted with

earth, the region or country that

not given.

is

his brother

It

Minos

may be

the third of the brothers, passed over to Lycia,

don,
became the founder of an

right to

in Crete.

Sarpeand there

illustrious line of heroes.

ELIS AND ARGOS.

(h.)

With Pelops commences a lineage of heroes famous in Klis

for their deeds of violence, and for the retribution

and Argos

that awaited them.

punished

How

for her pride,

Niobe, the

we have

sister

already seen.

of Pelops, was

What

his father,

Tantalos, had to endure in Tartaros has also been described.

Tantalos had ruled his kingdom of Phrygia, in Asia Minor,
well,

and on that account gained the esteem of the gods, who

him to a banquet. But he betrayed their secrets, and, to

invited

crown

all,

invited

of knowing
of his

all

them

to a feast, at which, to test their

things that happened, he set before

own son

Pelops.

The

attempt, restored the child to

power
them the flesh

gods, perceiving the outrageous

life,

giving him in place of the

shoulder that had been eaten, whether by Demeter or Thetis.

.1

His father was despatched to Tartaros.

When Pelops had grown to manhood under the care of the
his skill
gods especially of Poseidon, from whom he learned
shoulder of ivory.

in

managing horses

he resolved to win

daughter of the king of Klis,

Hippodameia, the
CEnomaos, a son of Ares, and

HEROES.

244

the

owner of horses

swift as the

wind.

The

story

was that

CEnomaos had been informed by an oracle that his death

would be caused by the husband of his daughter. Trusting to
the extraordinary speed of his horses, he freely offered his
daughter
chariot

hand

to

any suitor who should outstrip him in a

failed, it was stipulated in the

Those who

race.

This fate had befallen

challenge, should perish at his hands.

many an

ardent

suitor

previous to the arrival of Pelops,

who, with a golden chariot and winged horses, given him by

Poseidon,

won

the race.

was rather due

to

of his master

however, that his success

Hippodameia, who had conceived

and gave

love for the youth,

bribing her father

It is said,

practical effect to

charioteer,

Myrtilos,

a great

her passion by

to take a

spoke out

wheel.

With the hand of Hippodameia, Pelops obtained the throne of

Elis, and had, among other children, two sons, named Atreus
and Thyestes.

He

established, or at least greatly promoted,

His grave, the house of CEnomaos, and

were afterwards grate

the Olympian games.

monuments of

other
fully

his excellent rule,

pointed to at Olympia.

Atreus and Thyestes,

having slain the beautiful young

a
son
of
Pelops and a nymph, were compelled to
Chrysippos,
found
leave Elis.
They
refuge in Mykense, establishing them
selves in the old fort of Midea, until the death of Eurystheus,

when Atreus obtained

which

still

attest

the government of Mykense, the ruins of

the

power of

its

ancient kings.

Atreus

married a daughter of Minos ^Erope who allowed herself to

listen to proposals from Thyestes, and assisted him to carry off

ram with the golden fleece, the possession of which was sup
posed to secure the government of the country. But Zeus inter
the

fered in the cause of Atreus, the elder of the brothers, and, as a

HERAKLES.

245

in the west.
Thyestes
sign of his will, caused the sun to rise
returned to his brother s house, asking to be forgiven, and was

Instead of being

received with an appearance of good-will.

forgiven, however, he was presented, on

down

sitting

to eat,

and
Thyestes
land.
On
the
over
consulting an
thereupon famine stalked
oracle with regard to the famine, Atreus was told to find
with the flesh of his

Thyestes, and

own

take him

fled in horror,

son.

back.

He

did

so,

and moreover

confinement in Argos, at the same time trying

to persuade ^Egisthos, the son of Thyestes, to kill his father.
But events took a different course, Thyestes preferring to make
placed him

in

a victim of Atreus.

On

the death of

Atreus,

Agamemnon

succeeded to the throne of Argos, and his brother Menelaos

Of these two brothers more shall be said
to that of Sparta.
in

connection with the war against Troy.

HERAKLES.
(PLATE xxx.)
Though regarded sometimes
way appointed
long

series of

mountable, and

for immortals,

as a god,
it

arduous labours,

was

and honoured

a
chiefly as the hero of

difficulties

apparently

sufferings, that Herakles obtained the

ous honours paid to his

in the

memory throughout

Greece.

gymnasia, where the youth of every town were

insur-.

numer
In the

instructed in

Herakles was pointed to as a

model of what a perfect athlete should be while the tales of
his wrestling with this or that
giant were repeated as examples

athletic exercises, the statue of

of fearlessness and extraordinary strength.

battle thought of his fatigues

Soldiers going to

and ultimate triumphs.

Labourers

HEROES.

246

toil

oppressed by

incidents of his

relieved their sorrows

by recalling the laborious

Even the Athenians valued the rugged,

life.

stubborn endurance of Herakles higher than the litheness and

more

perfect form of their

own Theseus.

So

far,

Herakles was

looked upon merely as an example of extraordinary physical

strength and patient toiling to the end ; but in later times he

came

also to

be held up as an ideal of virtue and duty,

in

which

capacity a story invented by the sophist Prodikos concerning

him, found great applause.

Choice of

Herakles,"

That story was

and represented him

entitled

as being

"The

met

at a

crossway, while yet a youth, by two figures---Pleasure and

Duty
other a

the one promising

life

him

all

of labour and trouble,

if

possible enjoyments, the

he would follow her. He

chose to follow Duty.

According to the genealogy, Herakles was a son of

Zeus

and Alkmene, the wife of Amphitryon, a descendant of

On the day on which he
Perseus, and resident in Thebes.
was to have been born, Hera, to whose persecution all the
labours

and

sufferings

of Herakles in after

life

were due,

obtained from Zeus, in presence of the assembled gods, a vow

that the boy to be born on that day should have power and

dominion over

all

that dwelt about him.

Hastening to Argos,

she lent a helping hand to the wife of Sthenelos, and enabled

her to give birth to Eurystheus, a weakly seven-months child.

Meantime she had delayed the birth of Herakles, who, in

With all
consequence, became the subject of Eurystheus.
on the part of Hera, it is curious to compare a
scene which not unfrequently occurs on ancient painted vases,

this hostility

representing

Hera suckling the

was that Hermes,

newly-born

at the

infant

command

child to Olympos,

Herakles.

The

story

of Zeus, had carried the

and put

it

to

Hera

breast,

HERAKLES.

without her knowing whose child

it

247

was.

From
the

this divine

milk Herakles drew his godlike strength,

promise
of which was given soon after his birth, by his strangling the
serpent sent by Hera to kill him.
first

His youth was spent under the instruction of the most cele
brated heroes of the day, the wise Rhadamanthys teaching him
to be wise and virtuous, and Linos the practice of music.
Unluckily, Linos had to punish him for some neglect, and in
doing so enraged the boy so much, that he turned and slew his

For

master.
hills,

and

left

this Amphitryon carried his son away to] the

him under the care of herdsmen, with whom,

Romulus, or Amphion and Zethos, he enjoyed a wild life

of hunting and exposure to climate, his limbs growing to enor

like

mous

size,

and

his eyes sparkling with

unusual

fire.

At the age

of eighteen he slew an enormous lion that infested Mount

Kithaeron, destroying the flocks of his father, Amphitryon, and
of Thespios, the king of Thespiae.
Returning to Thebes from
the lion-hunt, and wearing its skin hanging from his shoulders

he met the heralds of the king of the

to claim the annual tribute
from
Orchomenos
Minyae, coming
Herakles cut off the
of a hundred cattle levied on Thebes.

as a sign of his success,

ears

and noses of the

heralds,

bound

their hands,

and sent

which Amphitryon and his

them home. A war
two sons, Herakles and Iphikles, did wonders on the part
followed, in

of Thebes, and were duly honoured for the same.

But the part taken by Herakles

of his

own

free will

for

in that

Hera, annoyed

war was the

to

of the

young hero, persuaded Eurystheus

and
authority given him at his birth by Zeus,
Herakles to enter his
Delphic oracle whether

service.
it

fame

exercise
to

Herakles inquired

was possible

last act

at the fast-rising

to escape the

the

call

on

at

the

summons,

HEROES.

248

but was told in reply that he must carry out successfully twelve

imposed on him by Eurystheus, and that, having

he would be reckoned among the number of im

tasks to be

done

so,

mortals.

With

Eurystheus
of

at

this

answer

mind, he presented himself to

in his

Mykenae, and commenced the serious labour

life.

THE TWELVE LABOURS

It

may

be, as has

OF HERAKLES.

been often suggested, that the legend of

the labours of Herakles, like those of Perseus in the service of

Polydektes, or of Bellerophon in that of the Lycian king, or of

Burgundy, was intended to

an
illustration
of the course and operations of the sun.
convey
His first labours are performed near home, the distance from
which increases with each new labour that is imposed, till at
Siegfried in that of the king of

last, after

carrying off the golden apples of the Hesperides in

the remote west, he descends to the lower world,

and brings

back with him the hated dog Cerberus. In later times the
twelve labours were openly brought into connection with the
twelve signs of the zodiac.
originally, this

It

however, more likely that,

signification than in the

is,

number had no more

case of the twelve higher deities of Olympos, that it was adopted

by the poets, such as Pisander and Stesichoros, who first made
these labours their theme,

became stereotyped both

and

the labours are known, there

In the Iliad

that through their influence

is

Herakles

(v. 395)
arrows wounded Hera and Hades.

and

it

In Homer, though
no mention of their number.

in poetry

is

art.

the

hero whose unerring

In the Odyssey (viii. 224)

Herakles and Eurytos are described as the most celebrated

marksmen of bygone times

and

in early

works of

art,

it is

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

bowman

his character as a

But

that

is

principally

represented.

after the time of Pisander and Stesichoros, a change

The

introduced.

club becomes

instead of a linen garment

his favourite

wrapped round

appears either carrying the skin of the

arm, or wearing

head
under
1.

Nemean

he now

lion over his

of its
hanging down his back the skin
like a cap, and the fore-legs knotted

it

fitting to his

weapon

his loins,

is

and

crown

his chin.
Tlie

Nemean

lion,

the offspring of

Typhon and Echidna,

had been sent by Hera to devastate the neighbourhood of

Nemea, and had succeeded, to the horror of the natives. What
made the matter worse, was that the plain of Nemea was sacred
to Zeus.

The

lion

was known

to

against the arrows of Herakles.

adopt novel means for

its

be invulnerable,
It

proof even

was therefore necessary to

Herakles entered the

destruction.

was, closed the entrance behind him, and at

the
monster in his arms strangled it The skin
once grappling

cave where

he tore

its lair

off with his fingers, and,

resolved to wear

legend as

it

it

knowing

henceforth in his

it

own

to

be impenetrable,

defence.

To

thus stands was added, by the Alexandrian

the

and

Roman poets, the story of Molorchos, a native of the district,

on whom Herakles called on his way to the cave, and who,
when about

to kill his only goat to

make a

feast for his guest,

was told by the hero to desist and to wait his return. It

was arranged that should he not return within thirty days
Molorchos was to sacrifice to him as to a dead person. The
thirty

days had just elapsed when Herakles returned and found

It is possible
of preparing the sacrifice.
that the thirty days may refer to the period of greatest heat in

his friend in the act

summer, when the lion and dog are ascendant.

2. The Lcrncan hydra, also the
offspring of Typhon and

HEROES.

250
Echidna, and sent by Hera.

Herakles killed

it

with his sword,

being assisted in the enterprise by lolaos and Athene.

The

given more

legend

is

late, is

proved to

fully by Apollodorus, whose version, though

have been founded on an earlier form of it by

the remains of poetry

and

The hydra

of high antiquity.

art

was a monster with nine heads, of which eight were mortal and
the ninth invulnerable.

the marshy ground beside

and
smell which spread from
even
the
Amymone,
its poison was fatal to
who
one
Herakles
any
passed near it.
arrived at the spot in a chariot, attended by lolaos, and suc
It lived in

the fountain of

ceeded

in driving the

hydra from

its

hole by firing his arrows in

upon it. The fight began, and Herakles found that for every
head of it which he cut two fresh heads started up, and to
increase the difficulty a huge crab
heel.

It

was necessary

came and

to try another

seized

him by the

form of attack.

Herakles

ordered lolaos to set the neighbouring wood on fire and to

fetch him a brand from it ; with the brand so obtained he pro
ceeded, the moment he had cut off a head, to burn it up, and
in

this

way destroying them one by

the invulnerable head, cut

huge rock.

When
to

his

reckon

it

and buried

it

came

to

under a

dipped his arrows in the poison of the hydra.

success was reported to Eurystheus, the latter refused
it

as

one of the labours, on the ground that lolaos

assistance.

The

that the hydra or water-snake

district,

sents the

one, he at last

He

had rendered

marshy

off also,

and

that

miasma whch

its

interpretation of the legend

is

poison, with

arises

is

a symbol of the horrors of a

from such

its fatal

smell, repre

districts.

3. The Erymanthian boar, like the Keryneian Stag and the

Stymphalian Birds, carries us to a mountainous and wild rustic
Its haunt was on Mount Erymanthos, in the north of
scene.
But the name of Erymanthos was also applied to a
Arcadia.

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

down

stream which flowed

the mountain side

251

and

wild boar was only a legendary

improbable that the

it is

not

illustration

the
of the ravages produced in winter and early spring by
of
The
orders
torrents.
Eurysswollen
with
descent of this river

theus were that the boar should

be brought back

alive

to

of Herakles returning with it alive on

Mykenffi but at the sight
and he hid
his shoulders, fear took possession of the king,
as
himself in a large bronze vessel, into which Herakles,
;

on ancient

frequently represented

boar, as the safest possible place.

theus

may be

imagined.

vases,

The

proceeded to put the

consternation of Eurys-

In connection with the capture of

which Herakles paid on his

who lived in a cave on Mount
way to the Centaur, Pholos,
him to eat.
was
hero
The
Pholoe.
hungry, and Pholos gave

the boar

He
at

is

told the story of a visit

was also

hand a

thirsty,

and required some wine.

large vase full

of choice wine, but

it

Now

Pholos had

was the

common

who lived in other parts of the

property of the Centaurs
a present
mountain. On the other hand the wine had been
from Dionysos, and had been accompanied with the command
friend Herakles
that it should not be opened till his good
Pholos accordingly had no hesitation in tapping the
from it. The strong aroma of the
vase, and both drank deeply
nostrils of the other Centaurs, who
wine, however, reached the

arrived.

now

flocked towards the cave of Pholos in wild confusion,

armed with pine branches,

upon Herakles.

rocks, axes,

and

violent fight ensued, in

ides with superior

torches,

and

fell

which HerakK-s,

numbers, had also to contend with the

sent by the clouds, who \\vndisadvantage of a flood of water

Ultimately he succeeded in
the mothers of the Centaurs.

wounding many, and dispersing the others

only melancholy

into the woods,

that his friend

part of the issue being

the

Pholos

HEROES.

252

lost his

life,

under circumstances which remind us of the death

of that other kindly Centaur, Chiron,

who

lived

on Mount

and brought up Achilles. Pholos was stooping over a

Centaur who had fallen by an arrow from Herakles, and after
drawing out the arrow, was wondering how so small a thing
Pelion,

could produce such an

striking severely

on

when

it

fell

from

his hands,

his foot, its poison entered his

The legend

he died.

effect,

and

body and

appears to have been popular both with

poets and vase painters.

4.

The Keryneian stag, an animal of wonderful fleetness, with

of gold and hoofs of brass, was sacred to Artemis,

antlers

to

whom

Pleiads.

it

It

had been dedicated by Taygete, one of the

took its name from the hill and hunting district

of Keryneia, on the borders of Arcadia and Achaia;

times

it

was called the Msenalian

The

stag.

at other

task imposed on

Herakles was to capture and bring it back alive. The chase

lasted for a whole year, Herakles pursuing it over hills and
plains, ravines

and meadows, on
to where it had

and thence back

to the

Hyperborean

started

among

region,

the Arcadian

sought shelter in the sanctuary of Artemis, but being

dislodged was overtaken by Herakles at the banks of the river
It

hills.

Ladon.

He

would have

appeared on the scene.

the regions of the

where

it

had

set out,

had not Apollo and Artemis

The stag running a whole year on to
slain

it

Hyperboreans, and thence returning to

appears to be a mythical illustration of

the course of the moon, and

may be compared

simpler story of the huntress Arge

who pursued

a stag, crying out,

"

the

with the

much
"

"

shimmering being

I will catch

you should your

speed equal that of Helios"; for which boast the angry god
transformed her into a deer.
5.

The Stymphalian

birds.

The

vale of Stymphalos, lying

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

among

the mountains in such a

to the floods

and storms of

way

253

as to be constantly
exposed

winter, was described

in a mythical
form as being subject to the ravages of a numberless flock of

which,

birds,

with

their

arrows, delighted in
figures of

iron

human

talons

and

From

flesh.

feathers sharp as
the description of the

some of them, which were preserved

of Artemis,

it

in the
sanctuary

appears that they resembled in form the Harpys,

and

like them, too, they were, there is

every reason to believe,
symbols of the cold, destructive storms of winter. To get rid

of them, Herakles first raised an alarm by ringing a large

and when the birds came out from the thick wood where
nests were,
flew

away

many were shot down by his arrows, and

They flew, as it appears from the

in fright.

bell

their

the rest
story of

the Argonauts, to an island, sacred to Ares, in the inhospitable

Black Sea, where the Argonauts suffered severely from the
falls

heavy
relief

of their sharp biting feathers, and only obtained

by again frightening them by

raising a great din.

birds flew over the sea their feathers

storm, the

frequently
feathers.

sun,

flakes
in

of which,

the legends

it

fell

like a thick

As

the

snow

should be remembered, are

of other

peoples compared with

Herakles, as a hero representing the influence of the

was very properly called

more

in

by the myth-makers

to destroy

beings

of this kind,

district

of Pheneos he had long been regarded as a beneficent

especially as in the neighbouring

The statement

of his having alarmed the birds by

have
been suggested by a common practice
may
of raising birds from their nests.
At the same time it may also
refer to a custom which is known at
any rate in more recent

hero.

ringing a bell

times

that of ringing bells during severe storms, from a belief

that such a proceeding availed against all evil spirits of the

6.

The Augeian

stables.

air.

Augeias, the rich prince of Elis, and

HEROES.

254

Agamede, the

his daughter
all

Iliad

(xi.

701, 739).

who knew the potency of

known to the author of the

sorceress

the herbs in the world, were

His seat was

at

Ephyro, a name which

occurs in connection with the worship of the heavenly powers,

a being of streaming light." Light
while Augeias itself means
"

streamed from his eyes,

their witchcraft the occult

Another feature of the

Augeias
of the sun

is

obviously identical

with Kirke, Medea, and Megamede,

represented by

in

was said expressly that he was a

it

His daughter Agamede

son of Helios.
in character

and

story,

of

whom

which confirms the opinion that

some way was intended

s light, is his

all

powers of the moon.

to illustrate the

phenomena

possession of herds of lambs and cattle,

fabulous in numbers as are the fleecy clouds, and including

twelve bulls, white as swans, and sacred to Helios

being called Phsethon,

The

and described as

one of them

glittering like a star.

court of Augeias was by the banks of the river Menios,

and the task assigned to Herakles was to clear out his endless
and in one day. To accomplish this, the
hero made an opening through the wall at a part where the
line of stalls alone

river

approached

swept with

it,

as

The stream, rushing in at the opening,

flowed along the stables, their accumulated

it.

it

Augeias had promised to reward Herakles with a

but declined to fulfil his agreement on
tenth of his herds
This
hearing that the task had been imposed by Eurystheus.
dung.

refusal afterwards led to a

war between Herakles and

Elis.

bull had been presented by Poseidon to

7. The Cretan
him
and
Minos,
placed among the herd of cattle sacred to
by

the sun.

How

it

became

wild,

and how Pasiphae, the wife of

Minos, conceiving a passion for it, followed it over the island,

The
has been told in connection with the legends of Crete.
task imposed

on Herakles was

to bring this bull to

Mykense.

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

The

first

255

was to capture and subdue it, an act in

The
frequently represented on the painted vases.

difficulty

which he

is

second was to bring it over the sea to Mykenae, which he did

by sitting on its back while it swam, as did Europa with Zeus,
shape of a bull. As to the fate of the bull, it is said
Eurystheus sacrificed it to Hera, and, again, that it

in the

that

escaped, roved wildly over the Peloponnesus, and was finally

captured at Marathon by Theseus.

The horses of Diomedes, a king of Thrace, and reputed to

have been a son of Ares, the god of war and the personification
of storm.
Like the people whom he ruled, Diomedes was
8.

fierce in war.

where

He

His seat was

in later times the

in the

neighbourhood of Abdera,

remains of his citadel was pointed out.

was the owner of certain horses which fed on human

flesh,

and by that means became furious and so powerful that they

had to be fastened with iron chains. The human flesh on
which they fed was generally that of persons who had been
Herakles was ordered to
coast.

wrecked on that inhospitable

bring these horses to Mykenae.

To Abdera he went by

sea;

overpowered the guards, and led the horses

away to the shore, when he was overtaken by a crowd of the
A terrible fi-lit ensued, in which the
subjects of Diomedes.

and on

king

arriving

and was himself given as

In the course of the combat, Abderos,

the hands of Herakles,

fell at

iood for his horses.

a

beautiful youth,

and

in

games

of

whom

Herakles was very fond,

fell

honour the hero raised a mound, and instituted

his honour, which the people of Abdera afterwards

his
in

continued annually.

After the horses

MykeiKe and presented

to

had been conveyed to

Eurystheus,

it

is

said

that

they

of Arcadia, and were there ultimately

escaped among the hills

devoured by wild beasts

probably by the wolves

of /ens

HEROES.

256

Lykaeos.

Their allegorical signification is clearly that of

and hence the legend was located in

storms and billows,

Thrace, a country with which

we

are familiar in connection

with other personifications of storm

such as Ares, Lykurgos,

and Boreas.
The girdle of Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons, had
gift from Ares, and was a symbol of the power of a
The task imposed on Herakles was
rushing headlong storm.
9.

been a

to fetch this girdle for

of

whom we

Argive Hera.
the girdle.

Admete, the daughter of Eurystheus,

was a priestess of the

learn elsewhere that she

Herakles slew the Amazon, and returned with

From

this

adventure appears to have arisen the

legend of a war conducted by Herakles against the Amazons.

i o.

The cattle of Geryon or Geryoneus, who was a son of Chrynymph Kallirrhoe. In one person he

saor and the Okeanide

had three bodies, three heads, three pairs of legs, and six arms.
He was gigantic in size, heavily armed, powerful, and provided
The great point of his character was that he was
with wings.
the lord of

immense herds of

Considering that the

cattle.

possession of herds of cattle was also a prominent feature in

the character of Apollo

and Helios, in whose case the cattle

and considering further that

represented the days of the year,

the local habitation of Geryon, though

localities, is

always assigned to a place in

with the worship of Helios,

was an

illustration of

of these

with his

it

some of

may be
the

assigned to

various

some way connected

inferred that

Geryon

phenomena of the sky

also

and

phenomena none but those of wintry storms correspond

Geryon keeps
personal appearance and vehemence.

his cattle at night in a

dark cave

in the

remote west, into which

Herakles penetrates, and drives them away eastward towards

The expedition had three stages

the region of morning light.

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

257

the journey to Erytheia, where

first,

meaning of

judged by the

the red glow of sunset

thirdly, the return to

island

somewhere

Herakles
tained,

and

some

its

secondly, the contest with Geryon

Mykenae with the

in the

to reach

said,

Geryon lived, and which,

name, seems to be connected with
cattle.

and,

Erytheia was an

remote west, beyond the pillars of

the hero employed a vessel, ob

it

from Nereus, while others believed that he

had compelled Helios to lend him

was accustomed

vessel in which he

for the occasion the

cup or
round the

to sail every night

east.
On the passage Herakles was alarmed,
or at any rate disturbed, by a storm, which was only appeased

world from west to

drawing his bow on Okeanos.

Reaching the island, he
placed himself on Mount Abas, but was observed by the two-

by

his

headed dog of Geryon, and attacked by it. He slew the dog,

and was next attacked by the herdsman Eurytion, who also fell

Then

at his hands.

Menoitios,

who was

there watching the

of Helios, pointed out to him the cattle of Geryon,

He was in the act of
grazing in a meadow by the river s side.
cattle

driving

and

them away, when Geryon himself,

appeared on the scene.

in all

ended by a

shaft

fatal

from Herakles.

his strength

The combat was

fierceness,

Shipping the cattle

and landing them safely, Herakles

commenced his homeward journey on foot, through Iberia,
Gaul, over the Alps, and down through Italy, with many
into the vessel of the sun,

adventures, in

all

of which he was

occurred the incident with the

Romans incorporated among

the elements of

it

successful.

At

Rome

robber Cacous, which

their national legends,

were obviously of a Greek origin.

near Cumze, he fought the Giants.

Phlegnean fields,
mountains between Rhegium and Locri, his

by the noise of the grasshoppers, and

rest

the

though

At the

On

the

was disturbed

at his prayer the

17

gods

HEROES.

258

removed these creatures from the

From

district for ever.

south of Italy one of his bulls escaped across the sea to

and as

it

was necessary

follow

to

it,

the

Sicily,

Herakles, holding on by

the horns of another bull, crossed with his herd to that island,

through the length and breadth of which he appears to have

wandered, encountering giants like Eryx, experiencing kindness

from the nymphs of Himera and Egesta, at whose warm springs

he was refreshed, and everywhere leaving reminiscences of his

Thence he passed up the shores of the

by Illyria and Epirus to Ambracia, where a
visit.

Hera, caused his

mountains.

Adriatic,

ii.

by

run away in great numbers to the

With the remainder he reached the Hellespont,
cattle to

and thence proceeded to Mykenae, where Eurystheus

them to the goddess Hera.
the

round

gadfly, sent

sacrificed

The apples of the Hesperides. According to later story,

labour imposed on Herakles was to procure three of

last

the golden apples which grew in the garden of the Hesperides

and hence

in

invincible,

he appears holding the apples in

works of

art

which represent him as inmctus, the

his

hand.

As

in

the case of the cattle of Geryon, here also the chief interest of
the legend resides in the adventures on the way.

As regards

the locality where this wonderful garden was to be found, there

was a difference of opinion; some, apparently under the influence

of Phoenician traditions, believing it to have been in the remote
west, while ^Eschylos

and others conceived

that Atlas

and the

Hesperides lived in the northern region of the Hyperboreans.

From

the combination of both beliefs

in later times,

a very

wide scope was given to the adventures of the hero on his way
there and back. Herakles himself, not knowing what direction
to take,
to the

is

said to

have

first

passed through Macedonia and on

Rhone, where he met certain nymphs who advised him

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

that Xereus, the sea-god,

to give

it

up.

knew

In spite of the

259

the secret, and could be

many

made

transformations of Nereus,

He then pro
Herakles compelled him to tell him the way.
ceeded to Libya, where he found Antoeos, a giant of enormous
strength,

whose habit was

waste where he

lived.

to kill all travellers

He

who

crossed the

was a son of Poseidon and the

Earth, deriving from his mother a strength which rendered him

invincible to those who could not lift him from the ground,

which Herakles

did.

The

wrestling scenebetween the two was

a favourite subject in ancient

to the

art,

and commended

Greek youths as they practised

had conquered Antaeos, Herakles

little

itself largely

in the palaestra.

lay

down

to rest,

When
and

he

in a

while found himself covered with a host of creatures called

Pygmies,

who sprang up from

in his lion s skin

and

the waste.

killed them.

He

wrapped them

From Libya he went

into

E^ypt, where he was seized by the orders of Busiris and con

He burst his
veyed, as were all strangers, to be sacrificed.

bonds, and offered up instead Busiris, his son, and retinue.

From Egypt he went to India, and thence returned in a
northerly direction towards the Caucasus mountains, where he
set free Prometheus, and in return for that kindly act was told

way on through Scythia to the region of the Hyperboreans,

where lived Atlas and the Hesperides. Part of the arran-r
ment was that Atlas should pluck the three apples for him; and
the

to relieve

him

for that

purpose

it

was necessary that Herakles

should take the burden of the world on his shoulders.

Atlas

returned with the apples, and naively proposed that he him

Herakles appeared to
self should convey them to Eurystheus.
iate the proposal, and only wished first to find a pad to
save his head from the weight.

Atlas did not see the joke, and

willingly took the world on his shoulders again.

Herakles. of

260

HEROES.

Another report has

course, did not return.

that Herakles

it

himself entered the garden, slew the dragon which watched

the tree, and carried off the apples and returned with them
to Eurystheus.
12.

dog of Hades, which guarded

the lower world, was a symbol of the eternal

Cerberus the three-headed

-,

the entrance to

The

darkness of Hades.

world was regarded

task of bringing

the earlier

in

to

it

the upper

as the

epic poetry

most

was supposed that he

entered from the upper world through a chasm near Tsenarum,
The shades of the dead fled in
returning by the same way.
difficult

terror

friends

of the labours of Herakles.

when they beheld him. Near the gates he found his

Theseus and Peirithoos seated on a rock, to which

they were attached as

He

trouble.

to

It

do the same

his friends

if

they had grown from

it,

freed Theseus, but the earth shook

for Peirithoos.

whom

he

freed,

To

impart

life

and

in great

when he

tried

to the shades of

he obtained blood from one of the

cows of Hades, which he

the herdsman.

killed

At

after a

last

severe

with

fight

he reached Pluto, who

Menoites,
agreed that he might take Cerberus provided he could do so
without the assistance of arms of any kind. This he succeeded

and leading the hated dog

in doing,

to Eurystheus,

completed

his twelve labours.

The

labours of Herakles were a favourite subject with the

ancient

vase-painters

and

pecially those of later times

sculptors,

and of the

who worked

for

latter

Roman

es

patrons,

The manner

in

whose estimation the Greek hero stood

in

which each of the labours was represented, seldom varied;

this it may be assumed that the type of each had

high.

and from
originally

been established by Greek artists of

it would have been presumption

whose models

celebrity,

to depart.

from

As

THE TWELVE LABOURS OF HERAKLES.

261

an instance of ho\v these labours were represented collectively,

we would cite a. marble sarcophagus in the British Museum,

Without caring to

dating probably from the third century A.D.

follow the chronological order usually accepted, the sculptor

has chosen to dispose his groups according to his ideas of

artistic

or perhaps according to his ideas of their im

effect,

On

portance.

the extreme

left

of the front

we

find Herakles

dragging Cerberus out of Hades, the mouth of which is repre

sented as the rocky entrance to a cave.
Among the rocks is
hiding a nude diminutive figure, which
the shades of the dead, who, as

Next

they beheld the hero.

may be taken

was

it

to

be one of

said, fled in terror

to this

is

when

a group of Herakles

removing the girdle of the Amazon Hippolyte, who lies dead

Then we have the scene in the garden of the

at his feet.

Hesperides, then the taming of the horses of Diomedes, and

On one end of the
lastly, the strangling of the Nemean lion.

sarcophagus he appears slaying the Lernean hydra, and on the

other capturing the Keryneian stag.
In these last three groups

he

and of a youthful figure,

form has become colossal, and his fea

figured represented as beardless

is

while

in

the others his

marked with

tures

from the

left

hand,

next to that

On

toil.

the lid are sculptured on a smaller

remaining labours, of which the

scale, the five

we

is

find

it

and

in

These

in the fourth

the
five

Herakles,

and on the

fifth

he

he

is

him shooting the Stymphalian

engaged

in

subduing the Cretan bull

right

fights with the triple-bodied giant, Geryon.

labours are shut in on the

as an

seems, into the wall of the Augeian

stables; the third scene represents

;

beginning

Herakles hard at work with a pickaxe,

making an opening, as
birds

first,

the bringing of the Erymanthian boar

infant, strangles

the

left

by the scene where

snake sent by Hera,

by a group representing him seated

after his

262

HEROES.

labours,

and receiving a cup of wine from the goddess Victory,

while Athene stands by.

HERAKLES

AS A

NATIONAL HERO.

In addition to the twelve labours imposed by Eurystheus,

and apparently

the

after

expiry

of his

servitude

to

that

monarch, Herakles performed many other wonderful feats,

which caused his name to be surrounded with glory. Of these
it

has already been mentioned that he wrestled with and van

quished the Giant Antseos, who lived in Cyrene, on the

north coast of Africa, and slew all who came in his way,

and

that

been to

in

Egypt he slew Busiris, whose practice had

sacrifice

all

strangers

that

entered his

dominions.

Next we find him among the Caucasus mountains, where,

having shot the bird that gnawed the liver of Prometheus,
he set the Titan free.
He saved Alkestis, the wife of

Admetos,

king of Pherse, under the following circumstances

Admetos, being sick, had caused an inquiry to be made of

an oracle as to the issue of his illness, and was told in reply
that he

would die unless some one could be found

to

down

lay

his life

offered herself,

for

him.

For

and would have been

but for Herakles,

who

arms, and held him

seized the

till

this

to volunteer

his wife,

Alkestis,

carried off to the shades,

god of death

in his strong

he promised to allow her to remain

with her husband.

He

accompanied the expedition of the Argonauts in search

first war against Troy,

of the golden fleece, and took part in the

along with

Telamon,

the father of Ajax,

Peleus, the

of Achilles, and Oikles, the father of Amphiaraos.

of this war was a breach of faith on the part of

father

The cause

Laomedon,

HERAKLES AS A NATIONAL HERO.

263

the king of Troy, who, in consideration of Herakles having

Hesione from thejawg of a sea-monster,
rescued his

daughter

had promised her hand to Herakles. Laomedon was besieged

in his citadel, finally was taken prisoner, and slain along with
all except Podarkes, whose life was spared on the
his sons

Telamon was rewarded with the hand

Podarkes assumed the name of Priamos, and,

entreaty of Hesione.

of Hesione.

withdrawal of Herakles and his expedition, established

On the way home Herakles and his
dynasty in Troy.
were compelled to take shelter from a storm at

after the

a new

companions

Kos, but were refused hospitality by the inhabitants.

For

this

they destroyed the town.

In an expedition against Pylos, Herakles succeeded, with
in overcoming Periklymenos, a
the assistance of

Athene,

strange being,
pleased.
friend

family
this

He

who had

the power of assuming any form he

next proceeded

to

Lacedrcmon, to

assist

his

the rightful ruler of that state, against the

Tyndareus,
of Hippokoontides, by whom he had been
undertaking being also

entailed the loss,

among

it

expelled,

success, though

it

others of his companions, of the sons

of Kepheus, king of Tegea.

Whether

crowned with

Tyndareus was

reinstated.

was on the conclusion of the labours imposed on

him by Kurystheus, or at some other period of his life, Herakles

is said to have once returned to Thebes, exhausted by toil, and
by raving,

in the

unfortunate acts,

among

to have fallen into violent illness, followed

course of which he committed

many

others attempting to carry off the sacred tripod from the sanc
Being afterwards informed by the
tuary of Apollo at Delphi.
Oracle of Apollo that the crimes he

had committed through

his

of three years servitude,

insanity could be expiated by a period

he offered

his services to

Omphale, queen of

Lydia, and there,

HEROES.

264

as elsewhere, distinguished himself chiefly for the assistance he

rendered to the oppressed, and for the valour of his deeds.

THE DEATH AND DEIFICATION

Herakles,

it

OF HERAKLES.

would seem, had wooed lole, a daughter of

Eurytos, king of CEchalia, bnt had been ultimately refused her

hand, in spite of his having

down by
of

her father.

fulfilled all

the

conditions laid

Turning elsewhere, he became a

suitor

Deianeira, a daughter of (Eneus, king of Kalydon, who

offered

his

daughter in marriage to the

man who

vanquish the river-god Acheloos in wrestling.

should

Having proved

himself more than a match for the river-god, Herakles obtained

Deianeira in marriage, and next proceeded to punish the father

of

lole

for

his

deceit.

CEchalia, he put the king

exception of lole,
ing

home

whom

Having taken the stronghold of

and his children to death, with the

he carried

off;

but instead of return

directly, proceeded with her to

a promontory

in

Eubcea, intending to offer a sacrifice to Zeus.

Deianeira, hear
ing of this, and being jealous of a revival of her husband s

former love for

accustomed

lole,

took the white robe in which he had been

to offer sacrifices, steeped

it

in

some preparation

given her by the Centaur Nessos, as a charm to bring back her

husband

love,

and sent

it

by her son Lichas

to

Herakles.

She was not aware that the preparation contained the deadliest
Herakles had hardly put on the robe, when he was
poison.
seized with violent pain

the poison entering into his frame.

Death appeared to be inevitable.

to be erected on Mount CEta, set
over his unerring

mounted

the pyre,

bow and

He
fire

caused a pyre of wood

to

it,

and

after

handing

arrows to his friend Philoktetes,

and was consumed

in its flames.

His

spirit,

XXXIV.

Theseus.

Laokoon.

HERAKLES AS A NATIONAL HERO.

it

was

Iris

said,

passed away in a cloud, and was conducted by

and Hermes

to Hera, he

265

to

Olympos, where,

was married

to

after

being reconciled

the goddess Hebe, and enjoyed

all the gods.

Deianeira, mean
time having heard of the calamity she had caused, put herself

immortality and the esteem of

to death.

While ancient poets familiarized the people with the exploits

of Herakles, artists found in them an endless variety of sub
jects,

and painted vases still

In the schools he was held up as an embodiment of

as the collections of sculptures

testify.

heroic virtue, and everywhere honour was

done

to him.

THESEUS.
(PLATE xxxiv.)

The

many respects the

was Theseus, a son of ^Egeus,

friend,

Herakles,

and

in

counterpart

of

king of Attica,

and ^Ethra, a daughter of Pittheus, king of Trcezene.

While his mother was a descendant of Pelops, his father was
of the line of Erechtheus.
Theseus, brought up under the
care of his grandfather, Pittheus,

whose wisdom and

virtue

were well known, soon gave promise of great strength and

skill in athletic
exercises, such as were then prescribed
for youths,

and moreover became a

the
proficient in playing

father,
^geus, on taking leave of his mother,
lyre.
at
Troezene, had secreted his sword and sandals
.-Kthra,
under a great rock, and told her that when the boy was able
to move the rock, he might come to him at Athens, bringing

His

the sword

and sandals

as a token.

When

only in his

six

teenth year, Theseus accomplished this task, and at once set

out for Athens, where Medea, who was then living with

266

HEROES.

.^Egeus,

tried

to

his

compass

death,

but her

plan

having

failed, fled.

On

his

way

to

Athens Theseus was the hero of several

exploits resembling

more or

less

the

feats

which Herakles

He slew Periphates, whose

performed in his youth.
practice had been to crush with a blow of his iron club all
and

across the pathless district between Trcezene

travellers

Epidauros.

On

the

Isthmus of Corinth Theseus met and

overcame Sinis, the robber, who

bourhood.
It was to commemorate

was"

the terror of the neigh

this feat,

it

was

said, that

Theseus established the Isthmian games. At Krommyon he

slew the wild boar that was laying waste the country round.
He threw Skiron from a high cliff into the sea a death to

which that robber had doomed many unlucky travellers.

At
Eleusis he slew the powerful Kerkyon, and afterwards Da-

mastes

(usually called

his victims

was

Prokrustes), whose manner of killing

them on a bed which was always

to place

either too long or too short

if

of the victim to suit the bed

too short, he would cut off part

if

too long, he would stretch his

victim to the required length.

Arriving at Athens, Theseus was purified from all this blood

shed by the grateful inhabitants. It happened that, because of
the long Ionian dress which he wore, and his long hair, which

gave him the appearance of a

going about alone in public.

To show

far

from

so effeminate as he seemed, he

unyoked a laden waggon

that

was standing by, and threw

in the air, to the

of

it

up

girl,

some

scoffed at

that he

was

him

for

astonishment

all.

His next exploit was against the family of

number,

called

Pallantides,

were endeavouring to get

sons
rid

of his

giants, fifty in

uncle

of Theseus, in

Pallas,

the

who

hope of

THESEUS.

267

succeeding to the government of Athens at the death of their

His extraordinary strength enabled him to
uncle ygeus.

He then proceeded to Marathon, where,

overpower them.
we have already said, in connection with the labours of

as

Herakles, a furious

captured and led

it

was destroying the plains.

where he sacrificed

bull

off to Athens,

the goddess Athene, who had

prise.
(See Plate XXXIV.)

him her

lent

He
it

to

aid in the enter

But the adventure in which he gained the greatest glory was

Minotaur, a monster of which we have given

his slaying the

a description above in connection with the legends of Crete,

where we have also explained why Athens was compelled to

send a tribute of young men and maidens as victims to the
Minotaur. Theseus offered himself as a victim, and in time
arrived

Before the sacrifice took

with the others in Crete.

favour of Ariadne, the

place, however, he had won the
from her a clue of thread,
obtained
daughter of Minos, and had
of the
by holding on to which he might find his way back out
The intricacies of its
labyrinth in which the Minotaur lived.
of danger against
passages would have otherwise been a source
him. On a very
served
have
not
would
which his great strength

a picture in which
Ariadne is represented as holding the one end of the clue, while
Theseus in the interior of the labyrinth is slaying the monster.

ancient vase in the British

Museum

there

is

from the cruel tribute,

Having by this act freed Athens for ever
homeward voyage,
the
on
set
out
Theseus and his companions
of Naxos he
island
But at the
accompanied also by Ariadne.

abandoned
I

or

grief

her, fearing to take a stranger

home

on awaking and seeing the ship

conveyed her lover was intense, and has been

frequently both by poets

and

artists.

far

as his wife.

away

that

commemorated

She was found sorrowing

268

HEROES.

by the young wine-god Dionysos, by whose influence her joy

returned.

Meanwhile the

arrival of the ship

was being anxiously looked

That the good news might be known more

quickly, Theseus had promised, when he set out, to hoist a
white flag when he sighted Attica, if successful.
In his joy,
for at

Athens.

howeVer, he had forgotten the promise, and sailed towards the

On
port with the black colours with which he had started.
seeing

this, his father, ./Egeus,

Among

gave way to grief at the supposed

and put an end

loss of his son,

to his

life.

the other adventures in which Theseus took part

were the expedition of the Argonauts and that of Herakles

In the latter expedition he had, it was
against the Amazons.
said, carried off

Hippolyte, whose girdle Herakles had been

commanded by Eurystheus
their queen, a great

to obtain.

body of the

For the carrying

Amazons invaded

off of

Attica,

but

were repulsed by Theseus.

His warm friendship for the Thessalian prince Peirithoos gave
Theseus two opportunities of displaying his heroic qualities.

The

first

was

at the marriage of his friend

at which, as has

been previously related, the Centaurs present at the banquet,

becoming fired with wine, raised a tumult, and would have
carried off the bride, but for the resistance of Theseus.

The

second occasion was when Peirithoos, having conceived a

for Persephone, audaciously resolved to carry her
The
from
the lower world, and was aided by Theseus.
away
in
the
in
and
were
chains
both
kept
attempt failed, however,

passion

lower world
After

the

till

Herakles released them.

death of his father, Theseus succeeded to the

government of Athens, lived in splendour, ruled with prudence,

and introduced institutions of a most liberal kind among his

THE HUNT OF THE KALYDONIAN BOAR.

269

He

united the various independent and previously

hostile villages of Attica into one state, with Athens at its head.
people.

He

enriched and gave a

new impulse

to the great festival

of

had been established by Erechtheus.

In the island of Delos he founded an annual festival accom

the

Panathensea,

that

panied by games, at which the prize was a wreath of the sacred

In Athens the festival of Pyanepsia, in honour
palm-tree.

Oschophoria, in honour of Dionysos, were

both said to have been established by him. He met his death,
it was said, at the hands of Lykomedes, to whose court he
of Apollo, and of

had

retired

on the occasion of a tumult

in Athens.

was Phaedra, a daughter of Minos, of Crete

His wife

according to

another report, Antiope.

The memory of his deeds was preserved by a beautiful

temple in Athens, erected

for

that purpose,

and called the

Theseion.

THE HUNT OF THE KALYDONIAN BOAR.

At the head of

CEneus,

this expedition

neira, the wife of Herakles,

At the

was Meleagros, a son of

Althaea ; Dei a-

the king of Kalydon, and his wife

birth of

being a daughter of the same

pair.

Meleagros the Parcee appeared to Althaea,

it

would seem, Atropos telling her that her infant would live as
long as a brand which she pointed to on the fire remained unAlthaea snatched

consumed.
hid

it

away

carefully,

it

that

moment from

the flames,

and thus secured the invulnerability of

On

growing to manhood he took part in the Argonautic expedition, and is said to have signalized himself by many
her son.

acts of bravery

but the enterprise with which his fame was most

associated was the successful hunt of the ferocious boar, that

27

HEROES.

was laying waste the country round Kalydon,

defying the spears
and hounds of ordinary huntsmen.
Meleagros sent messengers round Greece to

invite all

bravest heroes to Kalydon to join him in the hunt.

its

There

came Idas and Lynkeus from Messene, Kastor and Poly-

deukes

from Pherse,

from Arcadia,

many

Theseus

(Pollux) from Lakedaemon,

Admetos

Jason

Ankseos and

from Athens,

the beautiful

Atalante

from lolkos, Peleus from

Thessaly, and

other well-proved heroes.

After enjoying for nine

days,

as was usual, the hospitality of Meleagros, they prepared

on the

tenth for the chase, which, with a few accidents, resulted in the
death of the boar by the spear of Meleagros, to whom accord
fell the trophy of the monster s head and skin.
In Plate XXXIII. he is represented standing beside an
altar shaded by a laurel-tree, holding two spears in his hand.

ingly

His dog looks up

to him.

The head

of the boar

lies

on the

altar.

As, however, Atalante had been the first to wound the boar,
Meleagros made that a pretext for presenting her with its skin.

But on her way homewards to Arcadia she was met and

forcibly robbed of it by the brothers of Althaea, the mother of
Meleagros, who considered that they had a superior claim

A quarrel arose on that account

to that part of the booty.
between Meleagros and his uncles ; they fought, and the end
To avenge their death,
of it was that the uncles were slain.
which
till
the
then she had
cast
brand,
Althaea
up
carefully
into the fire, and thereupon her brave son was
preserved,
seized with dreadful pain, and died.

her act caused the mother to

Grief at the rashness of

kill herself.

iger.

Tlie Dioskuri.

THE EXPEDITION OF THE ARGONAUTS.

271

THE EXPEDITION OF THE ARGONAUTS.

To

understand the object of this expedition, it will be

necessary to go back a little into the genealogy of the person
at whose instance it was conducted.
That person was Jason,
a son of

-son,

and

the rightful king of lolkos in Thessaly,

The

wife Alkimede.

liis

father of

^son was

^Eolos (a son of

Hellen and a grandson of Deukalion), at whose death he

succeeded to the throne, but was driven from it by Pelias,
his

at

step-brother,

whose hands he and

suffered cruel persecution.

his

all

The boy Jason was

relatives

saved from

harm by some of his father s friends, and placed under the

At the age of
care and instruction of the Centaur Cheiron.
twenty he was told by an oracle to present himself to Pelias,
his father s kingdom.
Pelias also had learned from

and claim

the oracle that a descendant of ^Eolos would dethrone him,

and, moreover, that the descendant in question would appear

to

him

Pelias,

for the

first

time

with

only one sandal to his

feet.

the usurper, was therefore anxiously looking out for

the approach of a person in this plight.

It

happened

that the

Knipeus was swollen when Jason reached it, on his way

But Hera, the patron
to put forth his claim against Pelias.
river

.uoddess of lolkos, taking the form of an old

him

arrival at lolkos,

Pelias recognised

by the

oracle, but, at the

referred to

to abdicate in his favour.

first

woman, conveyed

across, with no loss except that of one sandal.

do something

in the

He would

him as the

same

time,

On

his

rightful heir

was unwilling

prefer that Jason should

way of heroic

enterprise, and, as a

suitable adventure of that kind, proposed that he should fetch

fleece from Kolchis.
Jason agreed to this, and
about building the Argo, the largest ship that had as yet

the golden
set

HEROES.

272

sailed
skill

from Greece.

and advice

The goddess Athene aided him

with her

When

the ship

in the work, as did also Hera.

was ready, Jason sent messengers to invite the foremost heroes

of Greece to join him in his enterprise. Among the many

who accepted

were Herakles, Kastor and Pollux,

his invitation

Meleagros, Orpheus, Peleus, Neleus, Admetos, Theseus, his

friend Peirithoos, and the two sons of Boreas, Kalais and
Zetes.

Turning now to the story of the golden fleece, the finding of

which was the object of so powerful an expedition, we must go

back

to

^Eolos,

father of Jason

whom we

have mentioned above as grand

This ^olos had, besides

and son of Hellen.

Athamas, who married Nephele, and

Phrixos and Helle. On the death of his

^Eson, another son,

had two
wife,

children,

Athamas married a second time

Kadmos, by whom he had two

kertes.

made

The second

several

wife

attempts on

fleece,

a daughter of

Learchos and Meli-

disliking

her two step-children,

To

their lives.

further danger, the shade of their mother,

to Phrixos, bringing at the

I no,

sons,

same time a

it

save them from

was

large

said,

appeared

ram with a golden

on which she proposed Phrixos and Helle should escape

sea.
They started according to her advice, and

over the

Phrixos reached safely the opposite shore, but Helle

ram s back into the sea and was drowned.
The

the

fell

from

name

of

Hellespont was in consequence given to the strait which they

had to cross. Phrixos, having reached the other side, proceeded
to Kolchis,

on the

sacrificed the

ram

farthest shore of the

to Zeus, in

honour of

Black Sea, and there

his safety.

He hung

the golden fleece up in the temple of Ares.

Previous to starting from lolkos, Jason offered a sacrifice to

Zeus, calling

upon the god

for a sign of his favour, or dis-

EXPEDITION OF THE ARGONAUTS.

pleasure

if it

should be

so.

273

Zeus answered with thunder and

The expe
as a favourable omen.
lightning, which was taken
were
where
the
heroes
dition proceeded first to Lemnos,
kindly
received, remained a long time,

new

The women

race of heroes.

at the instigation

seem,

One

of the

and

called

and became the

fathers of a

of the island had,

it

would

of Aphrodite, slain their husbands.

Lemnian women, Hypsipyle, bore a son to Jason,

him Euneos.
Leaving Lemnos and its festive

the Argonauts continued their journey as far as Kyzikos,

where they landed for a short time, and were in the act of
when Herakles, having broken his oar, left the ship,
life,

leaving,

accompanied by Hylas,

to cut a

new

oar in the wood.

But

some nymphs, admiring the beauty of young Hylas, carried

him off; and as Herakles would not leave the country without
him,

was compelled

the expedition

to

proceed without the

Their next
and companionship of the great hero.
modern
of
the
in
the
was
Scutari,
neighbourhood
landing
a
as
was
famed
boxer, and
where the reigning king, Amykos,
assistance

his territories.
cruelty to all strangers who entered
fresh
of
the
land
for
the
obtaining
purpose
Argonauts
Seeing
for

his

a challenge to match
water, he sent them, as was his custom,
him with a boxer, which Pollux accepted, and proved the
skill by which he earned his fame upon the boastful Amykos.
the perilous
Proceeding on their journey, they passed through
entrance to the Black Sea in safety, owing their escape from
its dangers to the advice of Phineus, the blind and aged king
of the district,

whom

they had found suffering great distress on

account of his food being always carried off or polluted by the

Harpy s, just as he sat down to eat it. This punishment, as
well as his blindness,

had been sent upon him by the gods

in

of Boreas)
consequence of his cruelty to his wife (a daughter
18

HEROES.

274

and

the two sons

it

The Harpys were driven away effectually by

of Boreas, who accompanied the Argonauts and

children.

was

in return for this kindness that

Phineus communicated

his plan for a safe passage through the

cliffs

great

that

moved upon

Symplegades, two

their bases,

and crushed every

His plan was first to

a pigeon through between them, and then the moment that

thing that ventured to pass between.

fly

the

cliffs,

having closed upon the pigeon, began to

retire to

each side, to row the Argo swiftly through the passage. It

was done, and before the cliffs could close upon her, the ship,
From that time
all but her rudder, had
got clear of danger.
the Symplegades were united into one rock.

After

many

other adventures the expedition at last reached

Kolchis, where they found -/Eetes, a reputed son of Helios

as king. He refused to give up the golden

and Persei s, reigning

except to the

fleece,

man who

satisfaction in certain enterprises

should acquit himself to his

which he proposed.

The first

was to yoke to a plough his unmanageable bulls, that snorted

fire and had hoofs of brass, and to plough the field of Ares
with them.
teeth,

That done, the

from which armed

The hero who succeeded

if

fetch,

in a

he

field

to be

sown with a dragon

to spring in the furrows.

so far was then to be permitted to

could,, the golden fleece, which

hung on an oak

grove sacred to Ares, and was watched continually by a

Medea, the daughter of ^Eetes, having

monstrous dragon.
conceived a passion

for Jason,

ous tasks by means of a witch

against

and

was

men were

fire

and sword.

his success

prepared him for these danger

mixture which made him proof

The goddess Athene

also helped him,

was complete.

The Argonauts now commenced

Jason taking with him Medea.

On

their

homeward voyage,

missing his daughter, ^Eetes

EXPEDITION OF THE ARGONAUTS.

to
Seeing that he was overtaking them, Medea,
her
divert his course, dismembered
young brother, Absyrtos,

gave pursuit.

whom
sea.

she had taken with her, and cast the limbs about in the
The delay caused to ^Eetes in collecting the pieces of

his child, enabled

Medea and Jason

According to

to escape.

another report, Absyrtos had by that time grown

and met his death in an encounter with Jason,

whom

he had been sent by

to

manhood,

in pursuit

of

his father.

other dangers, Jason at last

reached lolkos, and, presenting the golden fleece to Pelias,
After passing through

many

claimed the throne, as agreed upon. But Pelias still refused to

abdicate.
Jason therefore slew him, and assumed the govern

where ^Eetes,
ruled before he went to

lolkos, together with that of Corinth,

ment of

the father of Medea, had,

it

is

said,

Kolchis.

accession of Jason to the

years of peace followed the
fell upon, the royal house
that
The origin of the troubles
throne.

Ten

thereafter

was an attachment formed by Jason

for the- beautiful

whom he made his

(or Glauke, as others called her),
with
wife in Corinth.
jealousy, turned to the
Medea, stung
Kreusa

arts of witchcraft she

a dress

and

had learned

in Kolchis,

a costly wreath in poison, sent

by that means caused her death.

and having steeped

to her rival, and

them

Not content with

that,

she

of Kreorr, the father of Kreusa; and further,

enraged at what she had done, she put to death

set fire to the palace

finding Jason

the children she herself

had borne

to him,

and

fled to

where, as we have seen, she lived for a time

Thence
on the

also she
life

had

believed, in a chariot

Jason,

it

to

of Theseus.

is

said,

Athens,

with ^Egeus.

escape, in consequence of an attempt

She

went back to Kolchis, some

drawn by winged dragons.

depressed by his troubles, repaired to the

HEROES.

276

sanctuary on the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Argo had been

consecrated in the grove of Poseidon.

On

approaching the
upon him, and caused his
Another version of the story says that he took his own

ship, part of the stern gave way,

death.

fell

life.

THE YOUNGER RACE OF HEROES, AND

THE WARS AGAINST THEBES

AND TROY.
heroes of the succeeding age were regarded as sons or
grandsons of those whom we have just described, the great

THE

events of the period in which they lived being the two wars
against

Thebes and Troy.

It

has already been observed that

the accounts of these wars, though apparently having

some

foundation in historical facts, are altogether mythical in their

form, and interwoven with incidents of a wholly mythical
character.
events, more than any of the other adventures of
the favourite subjects of the national poetry of
formed
heroes,
incidents
of each having been, as a whole, or in part,
the
Greece,

These two

worked up

into a long series of epic

poems and

tragedies, of

which, with two exceptions, only fragments remain to our times.

and "Odyssey" the oldest,

These exceptions are the
it is believed, and at the same time the most
celebrated, of the
"Iliad"

epic

poems upon

the subject of the war against

Troy, the

THE WARS OF THEBES AND TROY.

277

The principal epic on

reputed author of them being Homer.
the expedition of the seven heroes against Thebes was entitled
the

Thebais,

its

We

author being unknown.

shall relate

these great events in the connection in which they have

down

both

come

to us.

THE SEVEN HEROES WHO WENT AGAINST

THEBES: THEIR DESCENDANTS, THE EPIGONI.
We

have already alluded to the

which CEdipos,

series of

own

Laios, came

to

the

mother, Jokaste.

It

after killing his father,

throne of Thebes, and married his

grim events by

union sprang four children,

two of them being sons, Eteokles and Polyneikes, and two

will

be remembered that from

daughters,
criminality

this

Antigone, and Ismene and that, when the

of the marriage came to light, Jokaste killed herself,
;

while CEdipos, after putting out his eyes, went into voluntary
exile,

accompanied only by

his high-souled

who resolved to share all his adversity.

The sons, remaining in Thebes, soon

fell

daughter Antigone,
into a

but at
concerning the succession to the throne,
reign year about,

Eteokles, the

warm
last

dispute

agreed to

elder of the two, having the

His year, however, having expired, he

period of office.
not only declined to retire in behalf of his brother, but went
so far as to expel him from the city.

first

Polyneikes, brooding revenge, betook himself to Adrastos, king of Sikyon, and was there hospitably received,
same roof another pretender to a
The two youths became friends,
of Argos.

meeting also under the

throne,

Tydeus

HEROES.

278

and bound themselves

in marriage,

and having thus

in the recovery

by each other

to stand

Adrastos gave them

of their sovereignty.

two daughters

his

allied himself

prepared a powerful army to reinstate,

first,

Thebes, and next, Tydeus in Argos.

Meantime both the young men visited

many

to

their

Polyneikes

hero answered to their

summons

in

parts of Greece,

with the view of obtaining companions in arms, and

stout

cause,

for

such,

many a
example,

Kapaneus,, a son of Hipponoos, of Argos, Eteoklos,

son of Iphis, and Parthenopaeos, a son of Atalanta
These three,
and Melanion (or of Ares), from Arcadia.
as

together with Polyneikes, Tydeus,

the princely seer

Amphiaraos,

constituted

Apollo),
Thebes.

It

was,

the

however,

and Adrastos, and lastly

Oikles (or of

the son of

so-called

with

heroes

seven

extreme

against

reluctance

that

Amphiaraos took part in the expedition for he was a man

of profound piety, and a prophet, who knew that the other
leaders of the affair had all more or less been guilty of
;

criminal

godless as
injustice,

army

He

acts.
it

was

had no

foresaw that the undertaking, altogether

since Polyneikes, though he

had

suffered

town with a foreign

His
for all of them.

right to invade his native

would have a disastrous

issue

warnings, however, were unheeded, and he himself, since

much was thought to depend on his presence, was forced to
take part in the adventure through the following plot

Amphiaraos and Adrastos, finding themselves greatly

at

concerning the projected expedition, at

last agreed to intrust the decision of the matter to Eriphyle
(the wife of Amphiaraos), who was prevailed on by the costly
presents given her secretly by Polyneikes to decide against
variance in opinion

her husband, though

she had been informed

by him

that

THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.

Adrastos

alone, of

On

expedition.

all

the seven,

279

would eVer return from the

stepping into his chariot to depart for battle,

his wife
Amphiaraos turned round, and called down upon
a curse, which his son, Al km aeon, afterwards fulfilled by

to avenge his father s death.

now
was
The army
ready to march under its seven leaders.

slaying his

We

mother

must, however, before tracing

for a

moment

here and there

guidance

of

Attica, where,
ful

end

his
it

further adventures, return

After wandering about sad

to (Edipos.

miserable

its

Greece, he at

in

had been predicted, he was

to all his woes.

himself about the

ill-fated

last,

Antigone,

faithful daughter,

and

under the
arrived in

to find a peace

Neither of the sons had troubled

old man, until an oracle announced
would be on the side of

that victory in the approaching battle

him who brought back (Edipos

to Thebes,

Thereupon both sought him

camp.

and had him

out, Polyneikes

in his

going in

their native

upon
person to beg for his blessing on
Eteokles, as
town.
(Edipos cursed the unholy enterprise.
a brother of
the
king, despatched his uncle, Kreon,
the assault

reigning

commands to bring back (Edipos

Kreon attempted to do so,
when
But
by force if necessary.
Theseus interfered, and expelled him and his followers from the

his

mother s,

land.

to Attica, with

(Edipos, after calling

down upon

curse, that they might perish

his

undutiful sons a

each by the hand of the other,

died in the sacred grove of the Eumenides at Kolonos, near

Athens, and was buried by Theseus with pomp and ceremony.

Antigone returned in great grief to Thebes.

About the same time the expedition of the seven set out.
a judgment
reaching Nemea they found all the springs dry
sent upon them by Dionysos, it was said, the guardian deity of

On

Thebes.

Suffering severely from thirst,

and looking about

for

280

HEROES.

water, the heroes encountered

who, because of Jason

women

other

to the king,

Opheltes.

of

Lemnos

Hypsipyle

to

(see Argonauts),

had been sent by the

love for her,

Nemea, and

there sold into slavery

Lykurgos, her duty being to tend his young child,

They begged her to take them to a well, which

she did ; but before going off with them, had, contrary to the
warning of an oracle, laid down the child on the ground in the
wood. Returning from the well, they found the child dead
within the coils of a snake.

have
it

slain the reptile at once,

be a miraculous creature sent by Zeus as. an evil omen.

account he re-named the child Archemoros, which

to

On

Tydeus and Kapaneus would

had not Amphiaraos announced

this

means the

"dawn

angry parents by

of

mystery."

The heroes appeased

performing splendid. obsequies to the

the

child,

the athletic contests and ceremonies of that occasion being

afterwards looked on as the

games

(see above).

her son,

first

Hypsipyle was taken back to her

Euneos, who had gone

In spite of

this evil

upon Thebes, and

arrived before

its

celebration of the

omen, the

after

walls.

Nemean
home by

in search of her.

army of the seven advanced

several

important adventures
as a

less

There they pitched a camp, and

preliminary attempt to settle the matter amicably, sent Tydeus

into

Thebes with orders

to

require that the government be

ceded to Polyneikes, according to the

ment between the brothers.

original terms of agree

Tydeus was, however, received with

have perished in the ambush

trary to the universal usage of war,

extraordinary

strength.

Of

hostility,

and would

him by Eteokles, con

had it not been for his

laid for

the

fifty

men who surrounded

him, he spared only one to take back to Eteokles the tidings

of the

affair.

281

THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.

The

Thebes was

closely surrounded,

his

taking up
similar

now be decided by

dispute must

each

position before one of

manner Eteokles

generals within each

its

force

of the

of

seven heroes

seven gates.

distributed his

arms.

In a

forces under seven

of the gates, reserving

for himself the

When
defence of the gate which his
were
valour
the battle commenced, deeds of extraordinary
brother was

done on both

sides

to attack.

but the gods were against the assailants,

Thebans having gained the divine good-will in a special

degree by the sacrifice which Kreon s son, Mencekeus,

the

voluntarily

made

of himself with a view to

save his native

re
town, as the oracle announced by the seer Teiresias
When the last and fatal day of the siege
commended.

of what
Amphiaraos warned his companions in arms
leaders
all
their
of
and
death
the
awaited them,
except Adrasfor
their friends,
remembrance
tos.
Intrusting to him tokens of

arrived,

of despair.
they rushed into battle with all the courage
Matters soon began to look grave outside the walls of

The

Thebes.

fierce

would take the town

portents,

had reached the parapet of the walls on

ing ladder,

him

when a

to the ground.

this event,

and

Kapaneus, who had boasted that he

in spite of Zeus and all the divine

lightning bolt from Zeus struck

A general

the Argive

army

his

storm

and hurled

onset of the Thebans followed

falling before

them every where,

Eteokles and

leaders being
Polyneikes
each other through the body in a hand-to-hand
The earth, struck by a lightning bolt on the spot
encounter.
slain.

their

pierced

where Amphiaraos stood, yawned and swallowed him, from

which time forward he continued to exist as a spirit endowed
with the

gift

of prophecy.

Adrastos alone escaped, and that

by means of the winged horse Arion.

282

HEROES.

Kreon, the uncle of the

succeeded

fallen sons of CEdipos,

to the throne of Thebes, and, as his first duty, buried Eteokles

with great ceremony

to the

rite

which he

at the

same time denied

of Polyneikes, on pain of death to any one

body

who

should perform it. The kindly heart of Antigone could not

bear this sentence, which caused her brother s soul to wander
for ever without rest in the lower

defied

Kreon

she thought

but his

world

and accordingly she

and buried the corpse secretly, as

watchman having observed the act, she

strict order,

was condemned

be buried

to

betrothed to his son,

Hsemon,

the fact of her being

and the tears and entreaties of
alive

being of no avail to mitigate her doom. Antigone

was pent in a subterranean chamber, in which, to avoid the
pangs of starvation, she hanged herself. Hsemon, unwilling to
the

latter,

outlive her, put

an end

to his existence,

and Kreon

cruelty was punished by the desolation of

the family of

CEdipos became

his house,

inhuman
by which

extinct.

Thirty years having elapsed since the expedition of the seven,

undertook to avenge the death of their fathers by a

second attack on Thebes. This was the so-called war of the

their sons

Epigoni

(that

is,

"offspring"

or sons), which

was entered

upon with the consent of the gods, and ended in the destruc
tion of Thebes, which for a long time remained a mere
open
space called

"

Lower

Thebes."

THE TROJAN WAR.

283

THE TROJAN WAR.

THE CAUSE OF THE WAR,
the Epigoni,
Contemporary with the conquest of Thebes by
throne of
the
on
find
we
related
been
which has
above,
chief dis
whose
named
Priamos,
or Ilion, a king

Troy,

tinction consisted in his being the father of a noble race of

Hekabe

His wife was

sons.

(or Hecuba).

When

the time

another son to be born to them, their daugh

approached
ter Kassandra, on whom Apollo had bestowed the gift of
for

to be
prophecy, announced that the child would grow up
infant
the
To prevent such a[calamity,
the ruin of his country.

was

at

its

birth

exposed on Mount Ida, where it was found

in whose society and occu

and brought up by shepherds,

pation Paris, or

Alexandros, spent

the early part of his

life.

On
came
him

a beautiful day, as he tended his flocks, three goddesses

to

him

to decide

Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite commanding

which of them was the most beautiful. Here we

When

Zeus withdrew, as we have already seen,

proposed marriage with Thetis, on account of a
communicated
by Themis, that the issue of such a
prophecy
union would be a son who would surpass his father in might, it

must explain.
from

his

was agreed to give the sea-goddess

in marriage to Peleus, a

young prince of Phthia, in Thessaly, whose piety had endeared

him to the gods.
The gods came to their marriage feast,"
as they did to that of Kadmos and Harmonia, all but Eris, the
"

goddess of

strife.

Angry

at not

being invited, she determined

HEROES.

284

to

mar

the pleasantness of the company,

and

to this

end threw

among them a golden apple, on which was written, To the

most beautiful."
Hereupon the three goddesses mentioned
"

above claimed each the

the shepherd on
first

to take

prize,

Mount

and Zeus referred them

Ida, for a decision.

upon himself so

much

to Paris,

Unwilling at

responsibility, Paris

was

at

on being promised the throne of

Asia by Hera, immortal fame as a hero by Athene, and the
loveliest wife on earth by Aphrodite.
He assigned the prize

length persuaded to decide,

last-mentioned goddess, and by so doing drew upon

himself and his native country the most bitter enmity of the
to the

other two.

In the meantime
offered

king

in

sons,

Mount

happened that a sacrifice was to be

which oxen were wanted. Two of the

it

Troy, for

Hektor and Helenos, were sent

one that was a favourite of

it

up,

and followed

it

to

restoration from the king.

and

Paris

would have

Paris,

Then

who

on

boldly refused to give

the town, intending to

demand

its

But a quarrel ensued on the way,

fallen at his brothers hands,

timely appearance of Kassandra,

birth.

to the herd

Their choice included

Ida, to select fitting animals.

who

there was joy in the king

but for the

revealed the story of his

s

palace at the return of

the lost son, grown up as he was, to be beautiful, handsome,

The untoward prophecy was forgotten.

The sudden change from the life of a herdsman

and brave.

to that of a

prince surrounded by the pleasures of court and town,

made

and the promise

had been made him of the most beautiful wife on earth.

Paris oblivious of the visit of the goddesses

that

But Aphrodite meant to fulfil the promise, and to this end

commanded him to have ships built to sail to Hellas, and
proceed to Sparta, where, in the person of Helena, he would

THE TROJAN WAR.

285

Paris obeyed, and was accompanied

on the journey by -^Eneas, a son of Anchises and the god

find the wife in question.

dess Aphrodite.
Arriving at Amyklae, he was met and kindly

Kastor and Polydeukes

the Dioscuri,

To

of Helena.
the

the

same family

(of

welcomed by

(Pollux), the brothers

which Zeus and Leda were

belonged Klytsemnestra, the wife of Aga

who, like her brother Kastor, was mortal, while the

parents)

memnon,

other two, Helena and Pollux, were immortal.

Of

the close

attachment of the two brothers to each other there

we

instance which

did not take place

shall here relate,

till

Phoebe and Hilseeira,

became enamoured of the

fell

at the

fight

the

it

daughters of Leukippos, they

brides,

hands of Idas,

and attempted

to carry

them

live
its

whom

Pollux next slew to avenge

Pollux then prayed to Zeus that he might

restore his brother to

prayer with

time

ensued, in which Kastor, after slaying Lynkeus,

his brother s death.

both should

in point of

little later.

Being present, according

the nuptials of Lynkeus and Idas with

to invitation, at

off.

though

a fine

is

life,

proposing as a compensation that

only on alternate days.

Zeus granted the

In after times the twin-brothers

condition.

were regarded as divine beings, and supposed to ride on white

horses in the sky, with dazzling spears, and each with a star

above

his brow.

in the air,

In storms,

when a mariner saw a

ball of fire

he was assured that the Dioscuri were near to help

him.
After spending

panied by ^Eneas,
the king,

some time with the

set out for Sparta,

Menelaos, and

his wife,

Dioscuri, Paris,

accom

where he was received by

Helena,

in the

same

spirit

of kindly hospitality as the brothers of the latter had displayed

at

Amyklae.

Of Menelaos we have

already mentioned

his

286

HEROES.

The

descent from Atreus.

consequences
it

Such,

is

as follows

marriage and

story of his

its

would seem, had been the astonishing beauty and

grace of Helena, that even as a young girl she had captivated

the hearts of men, and, among others, of Theseus, who carried

her

The

off.

and brought her

Dioscuri, however, soon found

back, taking with them as a prisoner, .^Ethra, the mother of

Theseus, and presenting her as a servant to Helena. As Helena

to

grew

womanhood,

numerous and so pressing were the

so

noble suitors for her hand, that

became alarmed
so many,
therefore,

Tyndareus

at the prospect of

by choosing one of them

upon them

her foster-father,

provoking the
for her.

choose for

to allow her to

He

herself.

hostility of

determined,

But

first

he

an oath, not only that they would

be satisfied with her choice, but would assist her husband then
and after in whatever danger or difficulty he might be placed.
called

all

to take

She chose Menelaos, the brother of Agamemnon, her sister s

husband, and the marriage was celebrated with great pomp.
Tyndareus, however, had omitted to offer a sacrifice to Aph
rodite,

who, to punish him, made the heart of

his foster-

daughter readily accessible to unbridled love.

Paris, as has

and
wife,

freely

been

said,

admitted to his

Helena, with

whom

was kindly received by Menelaos,

hospitality and the society of his

he soon formed an attachment which

deepened with time, and under the influence of the costly pre
sents of Asiatic wares which he gave her. Menelaos, meanwhile

suspecting nothing, prepared to pay a

visit to

Idomeneus

of

under the care of his guest. With her

a distance, Helena was readily persuaded to

Crete, leaving his wife

husband

safely at

elope with Paris to Troy, to

oriental luxury

become

and splendour.

his wife,

and there

live in

Reaching the coast under the

THE TROJAN WAR.

287

cover of night, they embarked, and after weathering a storm

sent by Hera, the goddess of marriage troth, reached Troy in
safety,

To

and were married with great pomp and magnificence.

Menelaos, at the court of Idomeneus in Crete,

Iris,

the

divine messenger, carried the intelligence of the disgrace that

Returning at once, and having con

sulted his powerful brother, Agamemnon, he proceeded to
Pylos, to seek the advice of the aged Nestor, whose reputa

had

fallen

on

his house.

prudence and wisdom throughout Greece had been

acquired by his services in many wars in the course of the
His
two preceding generations, such was his great age.
tion for

com

counsel on this occasion was that nothing short of a

bination of

all

the armies of Greece would be

sufficient to

punish the crime that had been committed, and recover the
possession of Helena.

Acting on
the princes
assistance.

this advice,

Menelaos and Agamemnon

visited all

and heroes of the land, to obtain pledges of their

Those who had been suitors of Helena had been

bound by an oath to assist Menelaos whenever called upon by

him to do so, and were now ready to carry out their engage
Others promptly offered their services, from feelings of
resentment at the vileness of the act ot Paris.
Only in two

ment.

cases was any difficulty experienced, but they were very

portant cases, as

it

proved.

The

first

im

was that of Odysseus

(Ulysses), son of Laertes, the king of the island of Ithaka. His

beautiful

and

faithful wife,

Penelope, had borne him

a son,

Telemachos, and being in the enjoyment of perfect domestic

felicity, he was unwilling to exchange it for a part in a war, the
which appeared very dubious. But instead of return
ing a blunt answer, he pretended insanity, put on a fisherman s
hat, yoked a horse and an ox together, and commenced to
issue of

HEROES.

288

But Palamedes, detecting the sham,

plough.

Telemachos on the ground

set the infant

in front of the plough.

In saving

the child Odysseus revealed the sobriety of his senses, and

was compelled

to join the expedition.

that of Achilles, the son of Peleus

The

other case was

and Thetis, a nymph of

the sea.

Thetis having been offered by the gods the choice in behalf of

her son, of either a long life spent in obscurity and retirement,
or a few years of dazzling martial fame, chose the life of obscu
rity,

and with that view conveyed him, dressed as a girl, to the

Lykomedes, in the island of Skyros. There he was

court of

brought up among the king s daughters, and gained the love

of one of them, Deidamia, who bore him a son, Neoptolemos,

who

afterwards took part in the war against Troy.

Meantime

be of the highest importance for the Trojan

it was known
expedition to discover the concealment of the young son of
to

Thetis,

and

to enlist his services.

was sent in the dress

For

that purpose

and character of a trader

the pretext of offering his trinkets

Odysseus

to Skyros.

and wares

On

for sale to the

s daughters, he obtained admittance to the palace, and

discovered Achilles, disguised as he was.
Odysseus ordered a
to be displayed before the youth,
armour
suit
of
magnificent

king

and a

call to

arms to be sounded on a military horn. The

an impulse to achieve military glory

scheme was successful

seized

upon

projected

Achilles,

expedition.

who

forthwith offered his services to the

Peleus sent

Patroklos, the son of

Menoetios, to be a companion for his son.

The harbour of Aulis was where the various contingents of
ships

and

soldiery were appointed to assemble

and when they

had all arrived more than 1,000 ships, each with at least 150
men it was a sight such as had never been seen in Greece

THE TROJAN WAR.

before.

Agamemnon,

the most powerful prince in Greece, was

elected to the position of

While the

289

commander

fleet lay in Aulis,

of the expedition.

a serpent was observed coiling

round a plane-tree, on which was a sparrow s nest with

The serpent devoured the young ones, but
nine young birds.

itself

on turning

to the mother-bird

Kalchas, the high

priest,

was

He

strange occurrence might betoken.

we must

round

fight

changed

instantly

was summoned

into stone.

to divine

replied

what the

"Nine

and on the tenth take the

Ilion,

years

town."

Thereafter the fleet sailed, crossed the ^Egean, and landed by

mistake in Mysia, which the Greeks prepared to lay waste. They
were, however, stoutly opposed

Telephos,
proved

by the king of the country,

In

a son of Herakles.

his bravery, fighting side

by

received a wound, which Achilles

contest

the

Patroklos

side with Achilles.

He

thanks to his early training

under the Centaur Cheiron, and the knowledge of medicine

then obtained was able to cure.
Telephos also had received a

wound from
finding that
it.

The

the spear of Achilles in

it

would not

the

engagement, and,
an oracle regarding
could be healed only

heal, consulted

reply of the oracle was that

it

was
by him who had caused it. Meantime another oracle
communicated to the Greeks, to the intent that Telephos
How this came about we shall
should lead them to Troy.
see presently.

had returned again to the harbour of Aulis.

While lying there, Agamemnon had chanced to see a beautiful
His passion for the chase led him to
stag, sacred to Artemis.

The Greek

fleet

draw upon the

stag,

and

kill

it,

while in the prido of his success

he dared to boast that he could excel the goddess of the chase

This was the cause of a series of misfortunes that then
herself.
befel him.

The

injured goddess

first

sent a

aim whu h detained

19

HEROES.

290

week

In spite of Palamedes invention

of the game of draughts and other means of amusement, the

the fleet

week.

after

prolonged inactivity began to

At

serious discontent.

last

tell

upon the

force,

and

to create

Kalchas, being ordered to discover

what the gods desired, explained that Artemis required, on the

part of

His

fatherly feelings

mander of the

had to

come

be married, he

He

com

sent a message to his wife,

to Aulis, bringing Iphigeneia with her,

They came

said, to Achilles.

as a victim, not as a bride, that

The

to the altar of Artemis.

tion,

Iphigeneia.

yield to his sense of duty as

expedition.

Klytsemnestra, to
to

the sacrifice of his daughter

Agamemnon,

Agamemnon

but

it

was

led his daughter

goddess, satisfied with his inten

suddenly appeared on the scene, provided a goat for the

carried off Iphigeneia in a cloud to Taurus, and

sacrifice,

appointed her to the care of her temple there.

Klytsemnestra
could not forgive her husband for the deception he had

How

practised.

she

avenged herself

shall

be

afterwards

related.

In conseqence of the oracle concerning the wound which

he had received from the spear of Achilles, Telephos proceeded
to Aulis,

where the Greek

disguise to

Agamemnon,

fleet lay,

and presenting himself

seized his infant son,

Orestes,

in

whom

Klytsemnestra had brought with her, and threatened to slay the

child, if healing were refused him.
Odysseus interposed, and
scraping
to the

some of the

services in

thus

rust

wound, and healed

from the spear of Achilles, applied

it

Thereupon Telephos offered his

leading the expedition to Troy, and the oracle being

fulfilled,

it.

the Greeks set

sail

a second time for Troy. Landing

an altar raised there by

had
inherited
the bow and arrows
Herakles, Philoktetes, who
of Herakles, was bitten in the foot by a snake, and suffered

on

their

way

at

Lemnos,

to sacrifice at

THE FIRST YEARS OF THE WAR.

29 1

to heal the
agony that made him scream continually. Unable
Greeks left
the
his
endure
to
screams,
wound, and unwilling

him behind, and proceeded on

their journey, reaching at last

the Trojan shore.

THE

FIRST YEARS OF THE WAR.

received intelligence of the hostile pre

The Trojans having

parations of the Greeks, prepared

on

their part also to

meet the

and around the city of Troy all the forces

enemy, assembling
from
obtain
could
neighbours and allies. Their foremost
they
in

was Hektor,
they chose to lead them in assaults,
first
The
the eldest son of the king.
engagement of the two

hero,

whom

forces occurred while the Greeks were in the act of landing from
their ships, the result of

back within

it

being that the Trojans were driven

their walls, but not without inflicting considerable

to take
enemy. The first attempt of the Greeks
the
that
Trojans
the town by storm entirely failed, and, finding
would not surrender Helena to her husband, the Greek com

loss

on

their

mander could

see

no other means of compelling them

to

do

Accordingly a well-fortified camp was

siege.
hauled up on the
the
round
constructed
ships, which had been

so than

shore,

by a

back upon, the Greek army

and towns in the neigh
lay waste the territory

and with

that

camp

proceeded to
The Trojan
bourhood.

to

fall

forces,

acknowledging the superiority

of the besiegers, did not seek a battle, and excepting such inci

dents as
or

when

when

Achilles

and Hektor fought

in

single combat,

Troilos, the youngest son of Priam, was captured

and

of moment transpired.
put to death by Achilles, nothing
In the course of the raids made by the Greeks in the neigh-

HEROES.

292

happened

it

and come

to divide the spoils,

captive

town of Pedasos,

that having taken the

bourhood,

Agamemnon

Chrysei s, a daughter

of

obtained as his

Chryses,

priest of

the

in the island of Chryse, while to the lot of Achilles fell

Apollo
Brisei s, a maiden as beautiful as the priest
entreated

Agamemnon

to

him

restore

his

daughter. Chryses
daughter, offering

met with

a heavy ransom for her, but was

and con

refusal

Having one other resource an appeal to the god

whose service he was Chryses implored the aid of Apollo,

tumely.
in

who, being

for other reasons also hostile to

them with a plague which

carried

them

the Greeks, visited

numbers.

off in .great

and inquired of the

Agamemnon
high-priest, Kalchas, by what the angry god could be appeased.
called a muster of the army,

Kalchas, being assured of the protection of Achilles, boldly

declared that the wrath of Apollo had been caused by the
unjust detention of Chrysei s, a daughter of one of his priests.

Upon

this,

Agamemnon, who had borne a grudge

Kalchas ever since the

against

sacrifice of Iphigeneia, rated the priest

in reproachful terms, charging

him

also in the present instance

with being in league with Achilles

a charge which the latter

force, had not the goddess Athene

felt
his dignity as king and com
interposed.
Agamemnon
mander of the army insulted by the threat of Achilles, and

would have resented with

demanded

as satisfaction for

Brisei s, apparently

had been

this the

person of the beautiful

to take the place of Chrysei s,

compelled

to

up.

give

Achilles

whom

he

having been

warned by Athene to be calm, confessed his inability

the demand, and from that time withdrew with all

to resist
his

men

from the camp.

Thetis having beseeched Zeus to take measures to compel

Agamemnon

to atone for this

insult

to her son, obtained a

THE FIRST YEARS OF THE WAR.

293

divine decree setting forth that so long as Achilles held aloof

the Greeks would be defeated in every engagement with the

Emboldened by

Trojans.

Achilles, the Trojans

by
numerous

battles,

the intelligence of the step taken

sallied

from their

walls,

and

after

skirmishes, and personal encounters, always

attended with serious loss to the enemy, drove the Greeks

back to the
last,

shelter of their fortified

abased and humiliated by

camp

disasters,

At

beside the ships.

Agamemnon

sent an

embassy to Achilles, offering to restore Briseis, and in addition

to bestow on him his daughter s hand, with seven towns for a
But the wrath of Achilles would not relent, and still
dowry.
the need of his countrymen grew worse.

The end seemed

to

be near when Hektor,

at the

and

the Trojans, had stormed the wall of the camp,

of the ships on

lend him his

fire.

Seeing

this,

The

of

Patroklos begged Achilles to

armour, and allow him

to the fight.

head

set several

to lead the

request being granted,

Myrmidons

Patroklos and his

in the heat of the battle, their sudden reappear

ance striking the Trojan army with terror, and causing it to fall
Not content with thus deciding the battle, Patroklos,
back.

men were soon

disregarding

the advice of Achilles, pursued

the

enemy

till

Hektor, turning round, engaged him in a hand-to-hand fight,

Hektor
the issue of which was the death of the Greek hero.
stripped

the

body

him of the armour of

Achilles,

which he wore, but

left

Greeks to take possession of. The grief of

the loss of his friend was as violent as had been

for the

Achilles at

his anger against

Agamemnon.

He

called for vengeance

on

Hektor, and with the object in view of obtaining it, yielded to

all the sufferings of his countrymen

a reconciliation which

With armour
rould not previously induce him to submit to.
seen
been
and
than
had
ever
before, forged
superb
moreda/./ling

HEROES.

294

by the god Hephaestos, and brought by Thetis in the hour of

her son s need, he went forth to battle, seeking Hektor in the
Trojan ranks, which everywhere hurried back like sheep before
a wolf.
The Trojan hero stepped forth to meet his adversary,

He

but not without sad misgivings.

his faithful wife,

Andromache,

and

had said

to his boy,

farewell

to

Astyanax.

But even the strong sense of duty to his country, which had
supported him in this domestic scene, deserted him utterly

when

the young Greek hero approached with the dauntless

Hektor fled but Achilles,

bearing of the god of war himself.
his
cut
off
a
faster
retreat, and thus imbued him
step,
having
;

with the courage of despair.

The combat

did not last long, the

victory of Achilles being easily won.

Unappeased by the death of Hektor,

outrage his lifeless
After dragging

it

body by binding

cast

it

to

war- chariot.

his

thus three times round the walls of Troy in

the face of the people, he returned with

and there

Achilles proceeded to
it

dust and

among

dirt.

it

to the

Greek camp,

Displeased by such

excess of passion, the gods took care of Hektor

saved

it

body, and

from corruption, while Zeus in the meantime softened

the heart of Achilles, and prepared

him

for the

performance of

an act of generosity which was to blot out the memory of

his previous cruelty.
On the one hand, Thetis was employed
to persuade her son to give

On

the other hand,

up the body without a ransom.

sent to bid Priam go stealthily

Hermes was

and beg the body of his son.

and
coming to the young hero s
Troy obeyed,
as
he
valued
his
own father, to give him
tent, besought him,
leave to take away the lifeless body, and pay to it the cus
in the night to Achilles

The aged king

tomary

rites

tent,

of

of burial.

Achilles was touched

of his beseeching, raised the old

man from

by the gentleness
his knees, shared

THE DEATH OF ACHILLES.

295

in

with him the hospitality of his tent, and,

the morning,

him back under a

having given up the body, sent

safe escort.

In the pause of hostilities that took place then, the Greeks

buried the body of Patroklos with great ceremony.

THE DEATH OF
The

loss of

Hektor had so

ACHILLES.

dispirited

the

Trojans, that

without fresh succours they could not face the enemy again.
Such succours, however, consisting of an army of Amazons,

under the

command

in the interval of
for

of the

mourning

Penthesilea, arrived
Hektor in the one camp and

beautiful

for

When

Patroklos in the other.

hostilities

commenced

her
being eager to measure
again,
that of Achilles, and to avenge the death of
with
strength
The leaders of the
Hektor, led the Trojan army into battle.
While
Telamon.
of
Greeks were Achilles and Ajax, the son
the valiant Penthesilea,

the latter hero was engaged in driving back the Trojan ranks,

and Penthesilea met in single combat. He would

have spared her willingly, and did not, till compelled in selfAchilles

with

defence, strike

all

wounded, and as she

his

fell,

might.

Then she

fell

mortally

remembering the fate of Hektor

There

hers that disgrace.

body, implored Achilles to spare
was no need of this ; for he, to save her still if possible, and
not, to soothe her last

there held her

till

a combined rush
Achilles

made a

moments,

lifted

her in his arms, and

The Trojans and Amazons made

she died.

but
rescue the body of their leader
her
valour,
to them to halt, and praising

to

sign

if

youth, and beauty, gave

touched friends and foes

it

to

them

alike.

freely

Among

a kindly act

which

the Greeks, however,

HEROES.

296
there was one
as body,

Thersites, mean and deformed in mind

who not

as well

only dared to impute a scandalous motive to

Achilles, but, approaching the fallen

into her lightless eye.

lifeless

All

Amazon, struck his spear

sudden blow from Achilles laid him

on the ground.

who saw

Diomedes,

this

punishment

inflicted

approved of

it,

except

the son of Tydeus, a relation by blood of Ther-

who stepped forward and demanded of

reparation, consisting of a sum of money.
sites,

Achilles the usual

Feeling himself

deeply wronged because his countrymen, and especially Aga

memnon, did not unconditionally take his part in the matter,
Achilles

abandoned

for a

second time the cause of the Greeks,

and took ship to Lesbos. Odysseus was sent after him, and
by dint of smooth words, cleverly directed, succeeded in
bringing him back to the camp.

What made

the

return

time was the arrival of a

person of

who

Memnon,

of Achilles more

new

ally to

urgent at that

the Trojans,

in

the

a son of Eos (Aurora) and Tithonos,

besides being the son

of a goddess, as well as Achilles,

appeared further to be a proper match for him, inasmuch as

he also carried armour fashioned by Hephsestos. When the

two heroes met, and were fighting

Olympos a simultaneous visit from

fiercely,

Zeus received in

their respective mothers,

Thetis and Eos, both imploring him to spare their sons.

answered that the issue must abide the

to discover
life

and

will of Fate,

which he took the golden balance

in one scale the

and death, and placing

in the other that of

Memnon, saw

his death.

Eos made haste

son dead.

She carried away

He
Moera,

for weighing out

fate of Achilles

the latter sink to denote

to the battle-field, but found her

native land, in the distant east.

his body,

and buried

it

in his

THE DEATH OF ACHILLES.

Achilles did not long enjoy his triumph

297

for,

animated by

success, he led on the Greeks, and would have captured Troy,

however clearly the Fates might have decreed the contrary,

had not Apollo given unerring flight to an arrow drawn by

Paris.
By that shaft from an unworthy source, as far as could
be judged, Achilles

Ajax, the stout hero, and Odysseus,

fell.

clever as well as brave,

seized his body,

and

fighting all the

back to the camp, where its burial was attended

with extraordinary pomp and ceremonial, the Muses chanting

way, carried

it

lays, and the heroes who had known him personally

taking part, as was the custom on such occasions, in athletic

dolorous

competitions.

The armour which he had worn

in the fight

was

by Thetis to the most deserving.

Only two claims

were preferred, and those were on behalf of the two heroes who
had rescued his body.
The award being given in favour of
offered

Odysseus, Ajax, from grief at what he deemed neglect, sank

which he intentionally

into a state of insanity, in the course of

fell

upon

his sword,

cessation

and

died.

of hostilities was obtained on the death of

Achilles and Ajax, the two foremost of the Greek heroes.

This

period of peace having expired, and the former conditions of

war having been resumed, the first event of importance that

occurred was the capture of Helenos, a son of Priam, who,
like

his

prophecy.

sister,

was endowed with the gift of

who had made the capture, compelled

Kassandra,

Odysseus,

Helenos to disclose the measures by which

it

was decreed that

the siege should be brought to a determination.

was,

that to take the city of Troy,

three things were necessary:

Achilles,
3,

Neoptolemos

2,

i,

the

The answer

and thus close the

siege,

the assistance of the son of

bow and

arrows of Heraklcs:

the possession of the Palladium (an image of the goddess

HEROES.

298

Pallas-Athene), which was carefully preserved in the citadel of

In

Troy.

perienced.

satisfying the first condition

no

was ex

difficulty

be of service

Odysseus, always ready to

for the

common

good, proceeded to Skyros, where he found Neoptolemos grown to manhood, and thirsting for martial renown.

present of the splendid armour which his father, Achilles, had

worn, and which Odysseus now magnanimously parted with,

youth s ambition, and led him easily to Troy, where

he distinguished himself in a combat with Eurypylos (a son
of Telephos), who had joined the Trojan ranks.
fired the

more

serious matter

dition, seeing that the

was the fulfilment of the second con

bow and

arrows of Herakles were then

Philoktetes, whom, as we have already

the Greeks abandoned at Lemnos, not caring to endure

in the possession of
said,

the screams caused by the

wound

in his foot.

His

were known to be rancorous towards the Greeks.

feelings

Notwith

accompanied by Diomedes (or, as

others say, by Neoptolemos), went to Lemnos, and successfully
tricked Philoktetes into following him to Troy, where his
standing that, Odysseus,

wound was healed by Machseon, a son

of Asklepios, and a

was effected between him and Agamemnon. The

on whom his fatal arrows were tried was Paris, after whose

reconciliation
first

death Helena married his brother,

Deiphobos. The Trojans

were now completely shut up within the town, no one daring

to face the arrows of Philoktetes.

There remained, however, a third condition

the seizure of

successful in the

other two, and

the Palladium.

Odysseus,

undaunted by the greater

posed

difficulty of the

to steal alone within the walls of

a beggar, and as a

first

dium was preserved.

new

Troy

adventure, pro

in the disguise of

measure to find out where the Palla

He

did so, and remained unrecognised

THE CAPTURE OF TROY.

299

except by Helena, who, having felt ever since the death of

Paris a yearning for Menelaos, proved to be a valuable ally.

Odysseus, in the meantime, returned to the Greek camp to

The two having made
obtain the assistance of Diomedes.
their

way back

carrying

it

to

Troy, laid hold of the

off in safety, fulfilled the third

and

Palladium, and,
last condition.

The

next difficulty was the plan of assault to be adopted. It

was proposed by Odysseus, on the suggestion of the goddess

Athene, that Epeios, a famous sculptor, should make a great

wooden horse, sufficiently large to hold inside a number of
the bravest Greeks,

and

heroes concealed within

and the

that the horse being ready,

beyond detection, the whole Greek

it

army should embark and set sail, as if making homeward. The

plan of Odysseus was agreed to, and great was the joy of the
Trojans when they saw the

fleet set sail.

trusting their eyes, flocked to the

The

people, scarcely

abandoned camp,

to

make

There they found nothing remaining but a great wooden

some
horse, about the use of which various opinions arose
instant
its
thinking it an engine of war, and demanding

sure.

destruction.

But the opinion that prevailed most was that

it

must have been an object of religious veneration, and if so,

ought to be taken into the city. Among those who thought
otherwise was

Laokoon,

a priest of Apollo,

who had

arrived

on the scene, accompanied by his two young

sacrifice to the god in whose service he was. Laokoon warned

sons, to offer a

his

countrymen
went so far as

in

no case

to accept this gift of the Greeks,

and

to thrust his spear into the belly of the horse,

upon which the weapons of the heroes within were heard to

clash, and the bystanders were all but convinced of the justice
But the gods had willed it otherwise,
of the priest s opinion.

and

to turn the opinion of the

people against Laokoon, sent a

HEROES.

judgment upon him in the shape of two enormous serpents,

which, while he and his two sons were engaged in sacrificing
at an altar
by the shore, issued from the sea, and casting their
coils round the two
boys first, then round the father, who

came

to their assistance, caused

The

scene

Vatican,

is

him

to die in great agony.

now

represented in a marble group

from which the

figure in

Plate

XXXIV.

is

in

the

taken.

The mysterious fate of Laokoon was readily believed to be

a punishment for the violence he had done to the sacred
horse.

But to carry out effectually the stratagem of the horse,

Odysseus had left behind on the shore his friend Sinon, with
his

hands bound, and presenting

all the appearance of a

which
he professed to be.
sacrifice,
The good king Priam was touched by the piteous story which
Sinon told, ordered his bonds to be struck off, and inquired

victim

who had escaped

the purpose of the horse.

object,

and would,

if

Sinon replied that it was a sacred

city, be a guarantee of the

taken into the

protection of the gods, as the Palladium

had been

before.

The

city gates being too small, part of the wall was broken through,
and the horse conducted in triumph towards the citadel. This

done, the Trojans, believing that the Greeks had abandoned

the siege in despair, gave way to
which lasted well into the night.

When

the town had

become

festivity

and general

rejoicing,

perfectly quiet, the inhabitants,

exhausted by the unusual excitement, being fast asleep, Sinon

approached the horse, and opened a secret door in its side.

The

heroes then stepped out, and

made

fire

signal to

the

which lay concealed behind the neighbouring island of

Tenedos, and now advanced quietly to the shore. The troops
fleet,

having disembarked and made their way

silently to the city,

THE DEATH OF AGAMEMNON.

there

ensued a

fearful

falling thickly before the

was

set

on

fire

slaughter,

the

surprised inhabitants

well-armed Greeks.

in every corner,

and

301

Finally the town

utterly destroyed.

Priam

by the hand of Neoptolemos. The same fate befel the son

of Hektor
not for anything that he had done, but that he

fell

might not grow up to avenge his father s death. Of the few

Trojans who escaped were ^neas, his father Anchises, and his
infant son Askanios.

^Eneas

fled

became the

Carrying his aged father on his shoulders,

Mount Ida, and thence

founder of a new race.
towards

Menelaos became reconciled to

his

to Italy,

now

where he

penitent

wife,

Helena, and took her back with him. The Trojan women of
rank and beauty were distributed among the Greek heroes as
captives in war,

Neoptolemos obtaining Andromache, the widow

Agamemnon carrying off Priam s daughter,

of Hektor, and

The

Kassandra.

booty from the king s palaces

having been divided, preparations were made for returning
home. While some as, for example, Nestor, Idomeneus,

Diomedes,

extensive

Philoktetes,

voyages, and reached

and

had

Neoptolemos

their respective

homes

favourable

in safety, others,

Menelaos, were driven hither and thither by storms, which

delayed their passage for years. But the heroes to whose
like

return the greatest interest

attaches,

were

Agamemnon and

Odysseus.

Agamemnon,

returning after an absence of ten years, found

that his wife, Klytaemnestra,

had

meantime accepted as
^gisthos, a son of Thyestes, and therefore of
an accursed line. These two proposed to compass the death of
in the

her husband

and he, though warned of their designs by

;
Kassandra, whose prophetic power enabled her to foresee the
issue, lent himself easily to their purpose, innocently accepting

Agamemnon

HEROES.

302

as genuine his wife s expressions of joy.

He entered the warm
bath that had been prepared for him, but on coming out of it,

found himself entangled in a piece of cloth which his wife

threw over his head. In this helpless condition he was slain

by her and ^Egisthos, Kassandra and many of his followers

His young son Orestes contriving to

perishing with him.

escape, with the help of his sister Elektra, fled to Phokis,

where he was received hospitably, and remained several years,
during which ^Egisthos ruled over Argos on the throne of

Agamemnon.

few years after the murder of

Agamemnon an

oracle of

Apollo was communicated to Orestes, commanding him to re

venge that foul deed, and promising the assistance of the god.

Without being recognised he arrived

by

his faithful friend

Py lades,

his sister Elektra, while to his

messenger come with

Orestes.

at Mykense, accompanied
and there revealed himself to

mother he professed to be a

intelligence of

the death of

her son

Seeing her and ^Egisthos rejoice at the news, he was

enraged, and slew her, while her husband

fell

at the

hands of

Pylades.

The shedding

of a mother

blackest crime on earth

blood was regarded as the

and though the fact that Orestes had

avenge the murder of his father, and

perpetrated the deed to

at the instigation of Apollo, went far to exculpate him,

it

did

who pursued him

not satisfy the malignant Erinys (Furies),

from land to land, permitting no peace to his throbbing heart.
Arriving, in the course of his wanderings, at Delphi,
to Apollo of his sufferings,

Orestes

and was told by the god

complained
he might expect relief if he could fetch the ancient statue
of the goddess Artemis from Taurus. The difficulty of the task
that

consisted in

this, that it

was the practice of the Tauric Artemis

ORESTES.

303

to secure the immolation of all strangers that

Fortunately for

temple.

held

Iphigeneia

carried away, as

moment when
memnon. On

the

Orestes, as

office

we have

it

approached her

happened,

of priestess

there,

his

sister

having been

already seen, by the goddess at the

she was to be sacrificed by her father

arriving at the temple, Orestes,

Aga
who was accom

panied by Pylades, was seized, and would have been sacrificed

by the hand of his own

He

relationship.

had not an accident revealed the

commanded him

Apollo had
goddess.

sister,

had happened, and how

told her all that

With the

to carry

assistance

possession of the image, and in her

away the

statue of the

Iphigeneia he

of

company

obtained

returned with

it

to Greece.

The
the

task

imposed by Apollo was accomplished, but

still

continued to persecute the unhappy

youth.
Apollo then advised him to proceed to Athens, and
there to call for a trial in the Areopagus, a court appointed to
relentless

Furies

hear causes of murder, especially the murder of a relative.

"

(See

Ares.")

The goddess Athene appealed

his behalf.

Apollo defended him at the

appeared as

plaintiffs.

When

for justice in

The

Erinys

had been heard,

be taken, they were found

the pleadings

and the votes of the judges came to

to be equally divided for and against.
casting vote was reserved on

trial.

this

The

right of giving the

occasion for Athene, who,

stepping forward, took up a white voting-stone, and placing

among

acquittal.

The Erinys

professed themselves appeased, desisted

from persecution, and from that time enjoyed the

Eumenides.
from the stains
father

it

the votes favourable to Orestes, declared his lawful

title

of

Thus

acquitted, and purified

(See "Erinys.")
of crime, Orestes ascended the throne of his

Agamemnon,

in

Mykenze, married

Hermione,

the

HEROES.

304

daughter of Helena and Menelaos, and at their death suc

ceeded to the dominion of Sparta

also.

Turning now to Odysseus, we find him, long

after the other

heroes of the Trojan expedition had reached their homes,

being tossed about by storms, passing through great

encountering strange beings,

still

perils,

and ultimately succeeding in

He had left Troy with a well-

many unhopeful adventures.

manned fleet richly laden with

spoil,

and

after

several ad

ventures of less moment, in which, however, he lost a

number

reached the country of the Kyklopes

enormous
In
with
one
a
cave
which
was
the
habitation
only
eye.
giants
of one of them, Polyphemos by name, a son of the sea-god
of men,

Poseidon, Odysseus and his fellow-travellers took shelter, while

anchored beside a neighbouring island. Poly

their ships lay

phemos, who was

absent at the time of their

The

arrival,

returned

thing he did on enter

entrance
with
a great stone, which a
was
close
the
to
up
ing
men
could
not
have
moved.
The next thing was,
hundred

with his sheep to the cave.

first

having discovered the strangers, to eat two of them for his

supper, after which he slept soundly.
after driving out his sheep,

The

following morning,

he replaced the stone

at the

mouth

of the cave, to prevent the escape of his victims, and the con

sequent loss of several suppers.

The

history of the

first

day

having repeated itself on the two following days, a plan of

The giant having had his usual
escape occurred to Odysseus.
him
offered
some
wine, which had the effect
Odysseus
supper,
of creating a desire for more.
replenished,

and

Polyphemos

intoxication.

Seeing

at last
this,.

His goblet being constantly

sank helpless, through sleep

Odysseus, with the help of his

companions, laid hold of a great pole, and having made the

end of it red hot, let it down on the giant s eye, and burned it

THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS.

out.

Polyphemos sprang up

vain for his supple enemies,

removed the

stone,,

and

sat

in great fury,

made for
down in

and

305

groping in

after

the doorway of the cave,

its

place, determined to

But Odysseus and his companions

fastened themselves each under the belly of one of the great

permit no one

to escape.

sheep within the cave, knowing that the giant would let them
And so it was for, feeling the fleece as
pass out unmolested.
;

Odysseus once outside

they passed, he was quite satisfied.
the cave, and with what remained of his crew safe in the ship,
shouted jeeringly back to the Kyklops, telling him also his
name. Polyphemos then implored his father, the god Posei
don, to punish Odysseus for what he had just done. It was
in answer to this prayer that Odysseus was- driven hither and
thither,

detained here and

wandering, and the

there,,

and

at last, after ten years

loss of all his men,,

home

reached

in a

miserable plight.

Of the adventures

that befel

him

after leaving the

country of

the Kyklopes, the most important were the following

After

the mis
leaving ^Eolos, the king of the winds, and suffering
fortune already related (see "yolos"),.he reached the habita

Circe

tion of the sorceress

whose

act

was

(a sister of

Medea,

it

was

said),

into swine.

to transform his

companions
For Odysseus himself her charms had no potency. He compelled
first

men to their proper human form. Changing her

now exhibited a cordial feeling towards Odysseus

her to restore his

manner, Circe

companions very hospitably for the

period of a year, on the expiry of which she advised him to
make a journey to the lower world, to question the shade of
entertaining

him and

his

Acting on her
Hades, saw and

the seer Teiresias as to the fate in store for him.

advice, Odysseus

penetrated to the region of

conversed with the shades of some of his former companions

20

HEROES.

;o6

Troy, and then returned to Circe, who gave him

in
counsel
On his voyage
good
regard to his future journey.

in the siege of

homeward he passed

the

Sirens

>;

safely (see

"Sirens

),

passed

and afterwards,
in spite of the warnings both of Teiresias and Circe, landed
on the island ofTrinakia, where his companions plundered

Scylla the sea-monster, with loss of six men,

sacred

the

of

flocks

As a

the sun-god.

this

they were afterwards overtaken by a

and

all

punishment
storm at

fearful

for
sea,

perished except Odysseus, who, clinging to a piece of

his ship for nine days, was at length driven on shore on the
island belonging to the

nymph Kalypso, who

and out of love detained him

kindly,

received him

as her prisoner for seven

years.

Despising her love and her offer

sat disconsolate

-of immortality,

by the sea-shore, thinking of his

Odysseus

home

in

The gods,
Ithaka, and yearning to see it again before he died.
taking compassion on him, prevailed on Kalypso to let him
He made a raft, and put to sea but Poseidon, not yet
go.
;

appeased for the wrong done to his son Polyphemos, raised a

storm which shattered the small craft, and would have caused

Odysseus to perish but

of the sea-nymph
himself in the
he
found
land,
Swimming
shore by the
the
on
island of the Phaeakians, was discovered
for -the timely aid

Leukothea.
king

to

daughter, Nausikaa, and entertained hospitably by the

whom he related his adventures. After re

king, Alkinoos, to

ceiving
in a

many costly

well-manned

was conveyed home to Ithaka

There he found his wife, Penelope,

presents, he

ship.

princes

him, in spite of the incessant wooing of all the

of the neighbouring islands in the course of her

husband

still

faithful to

long absence.

His son, Telemachos,

whom

he

left

an

infant,

had now

ROMULUS AND REMTS.

to

grown

manhood, and having

in search of intelligence

how

from a journey
was

just arrived

his missing father,

concerning

when Odysseus

staying in the house of a shepherd

heard the story of

307

arrived,

and

the suitors of Penelope were vexing her

and consuming her husband s possessions. Odysseus and his

son appeared among them in disguise, raised a quarrel, and
with the help of Athene, slew

them

touching meeting with his wife.

by the

raised

all.

Then took

place the

After crushing an insurrection

Odysseus spent the

over his island kingdom of

friends of the slain suitors,

rest of his life in reigning peacefully

Ithaka.

ROMULUS AND REMUS.

The Romans had no heroes in
come to regard that word from a

Romulus

and

Remus,

it is

the sense in which

we have

study of the Greek legends.

true,

have a legendary character,

which may be compared in some respects with that of several

Greek heroes. They were the offspring of a god (Mars) and a
vestal virgin.
They were exposed to death at their birth, were
suckled by a she-wolf, were preserved and brought up among
On arriving at manhood, they returned to claim

herdsmen.
their

and founded the

inheritance,

after himself.

They

naming
and Lupercalia

the

been nourished by a

wolf.

it

Arval Brothers.

Remus,

city of

Rome, Romulus

instituted festivals

commemorate

latter to

They

the Palilia
their

having

established the priesthood of

less fortunate in his adventures,

slain.

His brother Romulus was

heaven

in

at last carried

was

up bodily

to

the presence of the people, and in the course of a

A simple hut on the Pala

storm of thunder and lightning.
tine hill was preserved with veneration as the sanctuary of

HEROES.

308

Romulus.
ance of

it,

But the demand

was too strong

ment of the

story,

in

such

for historical truth, or the

Rome
as

it

appear

to permit a poetic embellish

would have experienced

in

Greece.

HORATIUS COCLES.
The

ancient

Roman

ballads sang of the brave Horatius,

who

had fought so well in the old wars- raised by the exiled Royal
A golden statue of him stood in
family and their partisans.
the market-place,

and beside

it

sacrifice

Such honours were the same

memory.
Greek heroes.

as

was offered

in his

were appointed

for

But the story of the deeds of Horatius wanted,

nevertheless, the true legendary character, and was probably
accepted; by. the people with more of pride than pious feeling.

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN

MYTHOLOGY.

the Greeks

Aryan kinsfolk

their

UNLIKE
were not

And

preserved not in books, but in memory.

represented alike
self,

did

Hence

its

by

the Teutons

Their mythical tales were

literary people.

the missionaries and

Christianity, as

by Charlemagne him

best to destroy Teutonic paganism root and branch.

happens that of the myths of the gods and heroes of

it

those great nations who, in pre-Christian times, inhabited the

included under the general name Germany, no

and
complete
systematic account has been transmitted to
modern times.

territories

now

But the old Germans were of the same race with the people
Their speech was essen

of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

They had

the same.

tially

same

the

social

and domestic

customs, and the same religion. Further, during the time when
Christianity was spreading over Germany and Scandinavia,
that exodus of the

ended
also

in

named by
"

There,

Norsemen was

likewise taking place which

the colonization of Iceland

its

on the verge," as Dr. Dasent

the Vikings established their

or republics

or Snowland, as

it

was

discoverers in the middle of the ninth century.

little

"

says,

of the polar

circle,"

independent principalities

unmeddled with by Christian

priests,

and disdaining

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

310

the continental kings

who were

times, the Icelandic

Norsemen

more, the pure

aping the customs of the

new

preserved, for five centuries

faith of their forefathers.

Lastly, there appears to have been less antagonism, less friction,

Iceland than in

Odinism and Christianity in

Its Christian priests would
other countries.

seem

the loyalty of children towards their old faith,

between the two

to

have

felt

rival religions

Hence, in a measure, the complete and

form
in
which
the Icelanders were able to leave a
systematic
permanent record of their mythology. It was a Christian priest
then dying away.

Sigmund Sigfusson

who, in the middle of the eleventh

century, composed. the compilation of mythical

To the succeeding

the elder Edda.

Edda, which
the

first

poems known

as

century belongs the younger

merely a prose rendering of those portions of

work which narrate the creation of the world and man,
is

and the generation, adventures, functions, and ultimate fate of

the gods.
As a cosmogony and theogony this Edda, or, as the
word might be paraphrased,
Tales of a Grandmother," is as
"

complete even as its Greek prototype, the Theogony of Hesiod.

as a record and expression of the spiritual life of those
Teutons, who also were the progenitors of our English race, it

And
is,

or surely ought to be, incomparably

more

interesting.

THE CREATION.
In the prose Edda, Ginki, the wise king, travels in search of
knowledge to the home of the Asa folk the Norse gods
each of

whom

information.

them

supplies the visitor with

The cosmogonic

poem

of special

main points with that contained in

while its special details, tone, and colouring

closely corresponds in

the Hesiodic

some piece

history thus patched up between

THE CREATION.

Where the
are the expression of special climatic conditions.
the
Edda, no
the
earth now is there was in
beginning, says
an empty space (Ginnunga-gap), on
sand, sea, or grass, but only
whose north side lay the region of mist, ice, and snow (Niflheim),

and on

south side the region of warmth and sunlight (MuspelThe warm breaths from the sun-land caused the ice to

its

heim).

and topple over into Ginnunga-gap ; and from the matter

Reimso accumulated sprang the huge Ymir, ancestor of the
milk of
Rime, or Frost, giants. Ymir fed on the

melt,

thursen,

the

cow Audhumbla, whose name,

Zendavesta, stands

The cow

herself lived

consequence of the

it

indifferently for

by

observed, in the

may be
"cow"

or mother-earth.

licking the ice-blocks

licking,

was produced

Bori,

from which, in

who

is

alike the

was the
fashioner of the world, and the father of Bor, who
and
We
and
Wili
were
s
brothers
just
Odin
father of Odin.
:

as in Hesiod the deities Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades supplant

Kronos, so the sons of Bori overthrow and succeed the primi
Also, the dead
of Ymir and the Frost Giants.
tive

dynasty
dead Kronos.
is turned to account similarly with the

Ymir
His

becomes

flesh

mountains

earth

his teeth, cliffs

his blood, the sea; his bones, the

and crags

wherein his brains

float in the

are supported

four

by

his skull, the heavens,

form of clouds.

Dwarves

Nordri (north), and Sudri (south)

of Muspelheim.
sparks from the fire-land
;

The

heavens,

Austri (east), Westri (west)

and the stars in it are the

The new world

thus

fashioned was called Midgard, as being placed midway between

To preserve it and its inhabitants
the lands of frost and fire.

Jotunheim, Odinand his brother

made from the eyebrows of tinsurrounded
were said to have been
themselves
Ymir. The inhabitants
the brothers found
which
of wood
produced from t\vo pieces

from the

giants,
it

who dwelt

in

with a fence

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

312

floating

on the

sea,

Ash, and a woman,

and changed into a man, whom they named

whom they named Embla.

From this middle world,

or Midgard, arose the Norse Olympos,

or Asgard, whereon dwelt the

Aesir.

Asa

contained two mansions

It

Odin and the twelve

folk

Gladsheim

for the gods,

and Vingolf for the goddesses. There also was Walhalla,

wherein Odin placed one-half of the heroes slain im battle, the
other half being received by Freija, the wife of Odin.

those already

named

there were, as the

steads, such as Elfheim,

Edda

Besides

says, other

where the elves dwelt

home

Breidablick,

where dwelt the bright and beautiful, far-seeing Baldur ; Himinbiorg, or the Heaven-tower of the thunder-god Thor; and
Valaskialf,

gods

also

whence Odin could watch

met

all

Yggdrasil, one of

whose roots grew

in Asgard, the

second in

Niflheim, and the third in the realm of Hela, or Death

their

way

The

gods and men.

in daily council beneath the branches of the tree

and

thither lay over the bright Asa-bridge, or Bifraust, or

Rainbow, which was said to burn

the Frost giants of Jotunheim.

all a-frre,

so as to keep

away

Lastly, the

LOWER WORLD
was ruled by the goddess Hel ; and to it were consigned those
who had not died in battle. It was so far away that Odin s swift
horse Sleipnir took nine nights to reach
the Norse Styx

Nastrand was the name

Its roofs

it.

The

river Gioll

lower world on every

of the worst spot in the Norse

surrounded

this

side.
hell.

and doors were wattled with hissing snakes, ejecting

poison, through which perjurers and murderers were forced to

wade by way of punishment.

XXXV.

Odin.

THE

AESIR.

THE
Whose

ODIN.

313

AESIR,

thrones were in Gladsheim, were twelve in number.

There names were

Thor,

Baldr, Freyr, Tyr, Bragi,

the

"All-father,"

Hodr,

Thus, with Odin,

Heimdall, Vithar, Vali, Ullr, Ve, Forseti.

whose throne rose above the other twelve,

the gread gods of the Norse Pantheon were thirteen in number.

ODIN.
(PLATE xxxv.)

The
the

physical origin of the idea of

meaning of

his

attributes assigned to

of heaven

=Atman

He

is

evident,

first,

from

connects with the

thus the moving, life-giving breath or air

and as such corresponds to the Hindoo Brahman

(German, Athem), or ever-present life and energy.

His Greek correlative

of as All-father.
"

signifying

was

is

Grimm

form of Woden, or Wuotan, which

Latin Tadcrc.

Odin

name, and, secondly, from the various

him. The word Odin is simply another

to

is,

of course, Zeus,

The name Zeus

is

who is

likewise spoken

derived from

a root

thus the King of the Greek Asgard

shine," and
It was but natural that
the glistening ether."

"

originally

Odin, as the personification of the blue sky, should rule the

and the sunlight ; hence as Odin the rain-giver

rain-clouds

he corresponds with Zeus Ombrios (the showery Zeus), while

as the light-god he is merely a Norse Phcebos or Apollo,
whose spear the sun rays disperses the darkness. As skygod,

and god of the moving

or inevitably, invoked as the

air,

he was, no

protector

less naturally

of sailors.

In

this

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

314

respect he corresponds or

is

But

interchangeable with Thor.

this interchange, or overlapping,

of functions

of Norse as of Greek mythology.

is

as distinctive

Zeus and Odin

Finally,

each other in their development from purely phy

Odin, the ever-present ether, be

resemble

sical into spiritual beings.

comes the ever-present and

And

all.

as Zeus

ever-

knowing

father of Saga, the goddess of poetry.

on the shoulders

sat

spirit,

the Father of

the father of the Muses, so

is

The two

Odin

is

the

ravens that

of Odin, and every morning brought

him news of what was passing in the world, were called

Hunin and Munin Thought and Memory. Memory, or
Mnemosyne, was the mother of the Greek Muses. A trace
.

In
of the worship of Odin survives even to the present day.
one of the Orkney islands is an Odin stone, into a hollow

by way of
The island of Heligoland
name from Odin, who was also

of which superstitious people thrust their hands,

testifying
is

on

said to

their

most solemn

have derived

its

oath.

Charles s Wain,"
named Helgi (der Heilige\ or the Holy.
and the Milky
as we now call it, was named Odin s Wain
Zeus the
s Way.
Unlike
as
also
known
Odin
was
Way"
Greek All-father Odin was also a god of war. Hence it
"

"

was

that, as already

observed, he received into Walhalla one-

half of the heroes slain in battle.

The two goddesses Frigg and

Freija,

who were

at different

times believed to be each the wife of Odin, appear to be the

one simply a development of the other. Of all the goddesses,

She sat enthroned
Frigg was the best and dearest to Odin.
beside him, and

surveyed the

world.

She knew

exercised control over the whole face of nature.

XXXVI.

all,

and

In Plate

represented seated with the golden spindle by

She is attended by
her side, with which she used to spin.
she

is

XXXVI

Frigg.

XXXVII.

Freija.

THOR.

her handmaiden Full or Fulla.

presided

over smiling nature,

315

who

Freija was also a goddess

sending sunshine,

and

rain,

She was further a goddess into whose charge the

dead passed. As has been said, half the number of heroes
harvest

who

fell

in

In

Plate

She is represented in
belonged to her.
in
car
drawn
a
by two cats.
driving

battle

XXXVII.

Plate

XXXV.

Odin

is

figured seated

on

his

throne,

and attended by the ravens, Hunin and Munin, and the two
dogs.

THOR,
(PLATE xxxvin.,)

Or Donar, simply meant the Thunderer der Donncrcr ; and

he dwelt in the vault of heaven. As he was likewise said to
be the son of Odin, or of Heaven, it is evident that, as in the
case of the All-father, he had a purely physical origin.
As the

god of thunder and lightning Thor resembles Zeus

of Zeus

thunderbolts

the

Hephaestos,

who

were

forged

dwelt below ground,

and

as

by the smith-god
so

hammer

the

of

Odin was smithied by the Dwarves (zwer*e\ or black elves,

who dwelt within the earth. Thor is represented driving
through the clouds

a car drawn by two goats.

in

Thor s hammer was held

the pagan Norsemen,

reverence as Christ

on

their gravestones

suspended

cross

s
;

among

Christians.

Among

in as

It

and, wrought of wood, or of iron,

in their temples.

way

a sky-god

as

Vishnu

Thor
is

is

identical with

with Indra.

it

was

Thor, under the symbol of the

hammer, was invoked as the deity who made marriages

He was also the god of the hearth and of lire.

As

much

was carved

Odin much

in

fruitful.

the

same

While the other Asa folk ride

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

316

to their trysting-place,

Vishnu

god, as
is

is,

who

Thor goes on
traverses

foot

he

is

heaven in three

the striding

steps.

perhaps identical with the Gallic god Taranis,

Thor

whose name

resembles in sound the Scottish Celtic word for thunder.

Thor

has also been identified with the Slavonic god Perkunes, or

Perune, whose name, according to a well-known law of phonetic
is

change,

thunder

thought to be connected with the Greek word for

Keraunos.

In Plate

drawn by

XXXVIII. Thor

two. goats, with his

is

represented driving in his car

hammer

raised to strike.

BALDR
Means
the

the shining god.

Anglo-Saxon

blick

His son Brono means

called

Breida-

The story of
Eurynome, and Eurydike.
the most lovely and pathetic not only in Norse but

Euryphassa,

Baldr
in

is

and the name evidently con

suggested by such Greek words

the far or wide-shining;

veys an idea similar to that

as

His home

theogony.

daylight, in

any mythology leaves no doubt whatever as to its phy

The joy of the world in the
origin and significance.

sical

presence of Baldr means only the gladness inspired by sunlight.

The solemn oath sworn by all living things not to hurt the

and

bright god,

their speechless

dismay

at his death, only

mean

the gloom of the northern climes during the winter months,

when, in the purely concrete language of the primitive race,

Baldr, or the sun, was dead.

The myth
hurt Baldr

Hodr

says that only the mistletoe

the blind

a twig of

had not sworn not

that Loki discovered the fact,

it.

god of the winter months

This mistletoe-bough

is

to

and then directed

to shoot

him with

another form of the

XXXVIII.

Ther.

XXXIX.

Ereyr.

FREYR.

317

Odin puts to sleep the spring maiden

of the thorn of the Persian, Isfeudyar; or of the

thorn with which

Brynhild;
boar s tusk which
it

was

said, fled

into a salmon,
fast

was then caught by them

the

until

the bright, spring-like Adonis.

kills

Loki,

from the wrath of the gods, changed himself

of the

twilight

gods

in a net,

or,

in

and bound

Christian termi

The unlucky Hodr was killed

whose home was among the willows and in

nology, until the judgment-day.

by Odin

son, Bali,

the dry grass.

FREYR,
(PLATE xxxix.,)
Is likewise

named

Fro.

The

functions ascribed to

him are

another instance of that interchange or overlapping to which

we have referred above, and which seems to be accounted for

by the hypothesis
reality

Thus

that whole groups of mythical beings are in

but personified epithets of one and the same thing.

Freyr, as the cause of fruitfulness,

is

merely the

sun-lit

and air-breathing heaven as represented by Odin. Like Odin

he is the patron of seafarers. Not only is Freyr repeated, so to
speak, in Odin, but also
servant, Skirnir

in the

Sigmund, and Gunnar.

or

if

not the god himself, then his

Volsung and Niblung heroes, Sigurd,

And as Sigurd can win the maiden

Brynhild only by riding through the flaming fire which sur

rounded and guarded her dwelling, so by the same exploit must
Skirnir win Gerda for his master.
In later times, when the old
religion

had given way before Christianity, and

the Euhemerist method,

being explained on

its
it

myths were
was alleged

had only been a Swedish king, whose sorrowing

buried
his body in a magnificent tomb, to which, for
subjects

that Freyr

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

318

three whole years, they continued to bring their presents, as

Freyr were alive.

This Euhemerism

is,

authoritative source of

inconsistent with the most

however,

the Eddas.

all

Freyr

fruits

as Odin, in fact, in another shape.

as

"

Prose

His wife was Gredr,

he saw her leaving her father

shedding a lustre over

air

allowed him no rest

he

In Plate

In Dasent

described as the god of rain, sunshine, and

is

Edda"

whose beauty

if

XXXIX.

till

Freyr

is

house, and

captivated the god, and

and sea

won

her.

represented riding on a wild boar

speed greater than that of the swiftest

Sometimes he was drawn by it in a car. In crossing
horse.
the sea he also used a boat.
through the

air, at a

TYR
Is likewise

named

morial of his name.

Ziu,

of personifying an epithet.

meaning

"shine"

the Latin Deus.

is

Our word Tuesday is a me

and Saxnot.

Once more,

this

Ziu

is

god seems

to

be an instance

identical with the root

of the Sanscrit Dyaus, the Greek Zeus, and

Tyr, therefore,

is

another glistening god.

pre-eminently the god of war and of athletic sports.

him

it is

good

for wrestlers to

"

He
On

Tyr had only one hand,

call."

the other having been bitten off by the wolf Fenris, into whose

mouth the god had placed

it

as a pledge of security,

when

the

wolf allowed himself to be bound in the net that shall hold

him

fast

till

the judgment-day.

BRAGI
Is the

god of poetry and eloquence.

"

He

is

famous

for

wisdom,

HEIMDALL.

and best

is

and cunning speech." A sort of counter

god was his wife Iduna, who dwelt in the under-world.

in tongue-wit

part of this

She

319

spoken of in terms that recall the Hindoo description

For as Ushas the
Eos or the Daure goddess.
new
makes the world young every
morning, so Iduna

of Ushas

Dawn
is

said to preserve in a

box the golden apples which the gods ate,

and so made themselves young

agairu

HEIMDALL
Was

the

world.

and

watchman of the bridge

The sound

shall

of Heimdall

Bifrost, leading to the

horn

is

under

heard over the world,

be the signal for the great battle between the gods on

the day of their ending, or twilight.

The name

Gulltopr (Goldropf, or golden mare), connects

of his horse,

him with the

sun-gods and sun-horses of classical mythology. Heimdall was

so sharp a watchman that he could even hear the grass grow on
the earth, and the wool on the backs of sheep

Vithar was next

in strength to Thor.

As

the

"

twilight,"

or

Gotterdammerung, Vithar shall destroy the wolf Fenris, the

devourer of the gods, by placing one foot on the monster s lower

and pushing up the upper one thus wrenching them

Ulle is the god of the chase ; a skilful bowman,
Like Bragi and Iduna, Mimir is
and a fast runner on stilts.

jaw,

asunder.

wisdom and knowledge. He dwelt by the

Yggdrasil, beneath whose roots bubbled forth the

the deity of
tree,

of wisdom,

Mimir

well,

ash-

well

from whose waters Mimir drank

his daily draught.

Loki

dwelt in the land of the dead.

giant Farbanti,

whose duty

waters of the lower world.

it

He

was the son of the

was to ferry the dead over the

Loki had three children as cruel

32O

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

and hateful

as

he himself was full of mischief.

One was

the huge

wolf Fenris (Plate XL..), who, at the last day, shall hurry gaping
to the scene of battle, with his lower jaw scraping the earth

The second was the serpent of

nose scraping the sky
Midgard the serpent which Odin threw into the sea, where

and

his

the monster grew to such lengtrr that

embraced the whole

it

was the goddess Hel, who was

half black and half blue, and lived daintily on the brains and
marrow of men.

world in

Hel

its folds.

The

Hindoo goddess Kali, who, in

has degenerated into a Doorga of quite a

in fact, that dreadful

is,

modern days,
pathetic and interesting
these

all

third

character.

Loki was

at the

The

character of this god, and his close relationship with a

personage

who

figures conspicuously in

modern

pretty well indicated in the following adage, with

in

bottom of

the mischief that ever happened in the society of the gods.

German and English

frei

gelassen

Of

the devil

Loki

is

er or

say but very

its

equivalents

der Teufel

ist

loose.

the almost countless beings

we must

bondum

theology, are

little.

who

figure in

Norse mythology

Like the great gods, they appear

be representative of the good and evil powers of nature.

Among them are the Elves (Alfen, Elfen), who live in
to

Their king is the Erlkonig (Elfen

Allheimr (Elf-home).
In
the
hours
night
they come in troops to dance
Konig).
in the grass, leaving, according to popular belief, their traces
in

form of

the

father

is

named

fairy-rings.

The dwarves

(Zwerge), whose

Ivaldr, dwell in the heart of the hills.

them belong precious

stones

and metals,

To

on which they

in workmanship.
As guardians of hidden
were
treasures they
propitiated by the seekers of the same
An echo is called by the
with a black goat or a black cock.

prove their

skill

The Wolf

Feiiris.

THE TALE OF THE VOLSUNGS AND NIBLUNGS.

Icelanders
evil

Dwergmaal-Zwergsprache

beings

who

or

dwarf-voice.

(Hrimthursen) who brought

The

and the summer

stole the light every evening,

every year, were called giants.

321

Such were the Reifriesen

The giant Hrungnir

had a head of stone, and a heart of stone ; and a giantess,
mother of Gmir, as many as nine hundred heads. Another
the winter.

who slew Thor and cast his eyes up to heaven,

where they shone thereafter as stars. In the extreme north
dwelt the giant Hresvelgr, the motion of whose wings caused
giant was Thiassi,

wind and tempest,

in

which respect he resembles the gigantic

Nagananda, who raises the waves on

bird of the Buddhist play,

the sea by the flapping of his wings.

was

Surtr,

heim.

On

the extreme south

whose flaming sword .guarded the bounds of Muspel

Besides these there were the Troll weiber

(troll arvis),

phantoms from the land of the dead, who in the dark nights
rode to the earth on a wolf bridled with snakes. The three

Nornen were the Norse Fates. The Valkyrien were fair maidens
who hovered over the field of battle, woke up the dead heroes
with a kiss, and led away their souls to fight and drink ale as of
old in the happy Valhalla.

THE TALE OF THE VOLSUNGS AND NIBLUNGS.

THE

Volsunga Saga and Nibelungenlied hardly differ in any

The one is merely the Norse, the other
thing but the name.
the German, form of one and the

According

to

common

the

Solar

myth"

same nature myth, or

this

theorists,

epic

epic.

serves

Aryan nations in India being

known under the names of Ramayana and Mahabharata
more
in Greece as the Iliad and the
in our
Odyssey
the

purpose of

all

21

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

322

northern lands as the Tale of the Volsungs, and the Nibelungen Lay ; and in England as the tale of King Arthur and

Whatever objections may be

Knights of the Round Table.

his

urged against the

it is

explanation of these stories,

in all of them

"

"Solar

myths

quite indisputable that the

completely coincide.

Indeed

main incidents

it is

fully to appreciate the spirit of

not too

much

to affirm that

any one of these great epics of

some acquaintance with

the world, the student must possess

its

But not only do the main incidents in the

with those in the Iliad and Odyssey,
coincide
Northern Epics
but they even contain episodes which correspond in everything
co-ordinate ones.

except the

example,

is

name with

plots in

only a Norse Medea.

Greek tragedy.

We now

Gudrun,

for

proceed to give a

slight sketch of the

Volsunga Saga.
Volsung was the son of Rerir, the son of the Sigi, the son of
Odin.
Volsung lay for seven years in his mother s womb ; and
they said the youngling kissed his mother or ever she died.
Volsung had a daughter called Signy, who was married to Sig-

King of Gothland. During the marriage festivities in

Volsung s house, and as the good folk sat round the evening
geir,

fire,

there entered an old

man wrapped

in a cloak,

who drove

wood right up to the hilt, predicted

who should be able to draw it out again,
and immediately disappeared. The old man was Odin and

a sword into a log of

great things of the hero

the sword was the sword Gram, which has

its

counterpart in

Durandal, and in King

Arthur s Excalibur. And as only Theseus could lift the huge
stone, and none but Ulysses could draw his own bow, so among
the sword

of Chrysaor, in

the assembled heroes only

Roland

Sigmund the son of Volsung could

pull out Gram.

Volsung was afterwards murdered

in

the land of Siggeir;

THE TALE OF THE VOLSUNGS AND NIBLUNGS.

323

wherefore Sigmund avenged the death of his father

by killing
the children of his brother-in-law,
After that he re
Siggeir.
turned to his own land, and married
Borghild, by whom he had

two children, Helgi and Hamund. But

Sigmund was no moreconstant in his loves than other heroes of whom we read in
classical literature.
He fell in love with Hjordis, who was
beloved by the son of King Hunding. Between the two heroes
there ensued a fight, during which the
one-eyed man in a blue

cloak, and a

was

bill in his

and entrusted
preserve

hand, appeared

to her charge his

for their

it

whereupon Sigmund
his wife Hjordis,

sword Gram, wishing her to

unborn boy.
wounds, and I

grow weary with my

have gone before me."
at the

The dying Sigmund comforted

slain.

So Hjordis

"

And

will

sat

go

<

now,"

said he,

"I

to see our kin that

over him

he died

till

day dawning.

Hjordis after that married Hialprek, King of Denmark, a

who corresponds to the Grecian Laios and Akrisios.

character

At Hialprek

court was born Sigurd, the son of

Hjordis and

Sigmund the favourite hero of Norse mythology. Sigurd was

taught in all the arts and sciences by Regin, the cunning black
smith,

who was

also the brother of the otter killed

and of the serpent

or

worm

Fafnir,

by Odin,

who guarded

those

golden treasures which, according to the Solar theory, mean

the gladdening and
revivifying sunlight, Fafnir himself beinu
the

evil

the

light.

power,

the

cloud,

or

the

darkness which

steals

Regin wished to secure the treasure for himself,

and forged a sword for Sigurd to
But
slay the worm with.
it

shivered into pieces on

at

its

very

first

trial;

and Sigurd,

in

contempt
Regin smithying, procures the fragments of his
paternal sword Gram, and Regin welds them together.
Gram
stood every

test.

Sigurd drove

it,

right to the hilt, into

NORSE AND OLD GERMAN MYTHOLOGY.

324

anvil

and

after that, a lock of wool,

borne on the surface of

the stream, divided into two against the motionless edge.

slew Fafnir, and procured the treasure

Sigurd

and next he slew Regin,

who wished to possess the whole of the prize on the plea that
his forging of the weapon had really won the victory.
After
that Sigurd

the Solar
earth

is

went to
the

myth

free the Valkyrie Brynhild, according to

Maiden of

Spring,

whom

for

Brynhild lay in the sleep into

longing.

been thrown by the thorn of Odin

that

by the

is,

the cold

which she had

thorn, or

cold, or frost of winter.

Sigurd, like his mythical relatives in Norse

was unfaithful
sister

in

his loves.

He

fell

and Greek

in love with

stories,

Gudrun, the

of Gunnar, and that, too, in spite of those love scenes and

speeches of his with Brynhild, for the beauty of which the

is

Volsung Saga

perhaps unequalled by any other epic story

Brynhild had sworn to marry only the

whatever.

man who

could ride through the fire which surrounded her dwelling.

This Gunnar could not do ; but Sigurd did it in Gunnar s shape,

But Gudrun, in

whereafter Brynhild agreed to marry Gunnar.

her triumph, revealed the secret

and

the death of the unfaithful Paris,

fickle

just as

that of the

Herakles, so Brynhild compassed the death of Sigurd.

Brynhild also, like another Deianeira,

funeral pile of her husband.
Sigurd,

leaves

Hunland.

name

(Enone procured

and Deianeira

It

her

dies, in grief,

Next, Gudrun,

home; but she

would seem that

this

marries
Atli

on the

also grieving for

Atli,

King of

must be another

the powers of darkness, for he invited his wife

for

brothers to his court, in order that he might seize the golden

"

treasure,

which they had received from the

These treasures the brothers buried in the Rhine

the

sunlight,"

dead Sigurd.
and went on

river,

their

way

to

Hunland, though they well

THE TALE OF THE VOLSUNGS AND NIBLUNGS.

knew they were
the

destined never to return.

The scene

treacherous Atli

by the

brothers are slain

is

in

325

which

unsurpassed

power and terror by any fighting story, except, perhaps, by

that one in the Mahabharata which describes the final struggle

for

on the
venge
said,

battle-field of

Next

Hastmapur.

death of her brothers

for the

a Norse Medea, she slew her

like, as

Gudrun

follows

own and

s re

we have already

Atli

children.

But we cannot further pursue those final tragedies in which

all the various kinsfolk die by each other s hands, and in
obedience to that stern, inevitable

fate

which

in these tales

seems to be
Odin, and looms so terribly
background of the dramas of Sophocles and ^Eschylus.
personified in

We

would

in conclusion

recommend

in the

the student to read the

Volsung Saga, recently published by Messrs.

Morris and Magnusson, as also Dr. Dasent s translation of the

translation of the

Those who know German may also consult

Wilhelm Mannhardt s Die Goffer der deutschen und Nordischcn

prose

Edda.

Vrtkcr,

position of the

"

1860.

Berlin,

Solar

"

myth

For an exhaustive ex

theory, alike of the subjects

and of Aryan myths in

we recommend the student to the work of the Rev.

embraced
general,

in

published

in

the foregoing sketch,

George W. Cox on

"

The Mythology

of the Aryan

Nations."

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION

OF THE HINDOOS.
the Sanscrit language the myths

IN nations
Hence

are presented

the special value of

parative Mythology.

But

in,

common

Aryan

perhaps, their simplest form.

Hindoo myths

in a study of

would be an

it

to the

error

Com

to suppose

myths of the Greeks, Latins, Slavonians, Norsemen,

that the

old Germans, and Celts were derived from those of the

Hin

For the myths, like the languages, of all these various

Hindoos included, are derived from one common

doos.

races, of the

source.

Greek, Latin, Sanscrit,

etc.,

are but modifications of a

was spoken by the early "Aryans"

primitive Aryan
before they branched away from their original home in Central
Asia, to form new nationalities in India, Greece, Northern
language that

Europe, Central Europe,

etc.

not the mother, but the elder

tongues

The
sister

Sanscrit language

and Sanscrit or Hindoo mythology is,

in like

only the elder sister of the other Aryan mythologies.

reason of the discovery of this
that scholars have
ally.

common origin

been enabled

For example, many names

is

thus

of Greek and the kindred

to treat

manner,
It is

by

of these languages

mythology scientific
Greek are at

unintelligible in

once explained by the meaning of their Sanscrit equivalents.

Thus, the name of the chief Greek god, Zeus, conveys no
But the Greek sky-god Zeus evidently
meaning in itself.

MYTHOLOGY AND REMGION OK THE HINDOOS.

corresponds to the Hindoo sky-god
derived from a root dyu nieaning

Dyaus, and
"

to

this

327

word

deus, meant originally the

other Greek names are explained

the Greek theos, and the Latin

glistening

by

ether."

Similarly

their counterparts, or

name
and

is

Zeus then,

shine."

"

cognate words in Sanscrit.

Thus

the

of Zeus s wife, Hera, belongs to a Sanscrit root svar,

originally

meant the bright sky the goddess herself being

air.
Athene is referred to Sanscrit names
:

primarily the bright

dawn, and Erinys is explained by the

Sanscrit Saranyn. In the Hindoo Pantheon there are two great
The Vedic
the Vedic and the Brahmanic.
classes of gods
light of

meaning the

gods belong to the very

earliest

times, appear obviously as

elemental powers, and are such as would have been worshipped

by a simple, uninstructed,

agricultural people.

religion was, in great part at least,

the former ;

of

Vedism

The Brahmanic

a refined development of

and was gradually displacing the simpler worship

or more before the

as early as fifteen centuries

birth of Christ.

Five or six centuries before the

last event,

Dissent, under the name and form of Buddhism, became the

chief religion of India ; but in about ten centuries Brahmanism

recovered
paratively

its

old position.

few followers in

Buddhism now
India.

Its

retains but

chiet

com

holds are

in

Burmah, Siam, Japan, Thibet, Nepaul, China, and Mongolia

and its followers, in the present day, perhaps outnumber those
:

of

all

other religions put together.

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

328

THE VEDIC

GODS.

DYAUS
Was, as we have already indicated, the god of the bright sky,
his name being connected with that of Zeus through the root
As such Dyaus was the Hindoo rain-god, i.e., prima
dyu.
rily,

the sky from which the rain

That the god-name and

fell.

the sky-name were thus interchangeable

classical expressions as that

Zeus rains

and meaning a damp atmosphere.

is

is

evident from such

"

the sky rains),

(i.e.,
In such expressions there

hardly any mythological suggestion and the meaning of the

like those of the names Ouranos and Kronos
:

name Dyaus,

always remained too transparent for

in Greek,

the nucleus

of a myth.

it

to

become

Dyaus, however, was occasionally

spoken of as an overruling spirit. The epithet, Dyaus pitar, is

simply Zeus pater Zeus the father; or, as it is spelled in
Latin, Jupiter. Another of his names, Janita, is the Sanscrit for
genetor, a
finally

title

of Zeus as the father

gave place to his

or producer.

Dyaus

sorr Indra.

VARUNA
Is also a sky-god

The name
so far

is

according to another account, a water-god.

derived from Var, to cover, or to overarch and
:

Varuna means the vault of heaven.

Here, then,

we seem

meaning of the Greek Ouranos, whom we

Ouranos means the
already know to have been a sky-god
as
observed
name
would
have remained
the
coverer, but,
above,
to find a clue to the

unintelligible apart

The myth

from

of Varuna

is

its

reference to the Sanscrit name.

a wonderful instance of the readiness

XI.

I.

Trimurrti, or Hindoo Trinity.

Indra.

THE VEDIC GODS.

329

and completeness with which the Hindoo genius

its

From

sense impressions.

the

men

spiritualized

the conception of air (or breath),

thousand-eyed (or starred) Varuna who overlooked all

and things, the Indian Aryans passed to the loftier con

whose
ception of Varuna as an all-seeing god or providence,
finest
Some
the
of
that
took
all
saw
or
place.
angels,
spies,
passages in the Vedic

Varuna

is

which

of

Mailer s
"

Let

addressed
so

is

hymns
:

are those in which the all-seeing

the second

as in the following verses

remarkable

for

its

pathetic

beauty

from

"

Rigveda"

me

not yet,

Varuna, enter into the house of clay

Almighty, have mercy

have mercy,

have mercy,
If I go along trembling like a cloud driven by the wind
Almighty, have mercy
I
to
Through want of strength, thou strong and bright god, have gone
"

"

wrong shore have mercy, Almighty, have mercy

Thirst came upon the worshipper, tho he stood in the midst of the
waters have mercy, Almighty, have mercy
Whenever we men, O Varuna, commit an offence before the heavenly

the

"

"

whenever we break thy law through thoughtlessness

Almighty, have mercy

host,

have mercy,

"

This complete transition from the physical to the spiritual, this

abstract or contemplative bias of the Hindoo mind, is curiously
instanced in the

name Aditi.

Originally

it

meant the

illimitable

far east, whence

became a name for the mother in whose
and finally, it seems a name for the
lap the gods were nursed
and Absolute of the metaphy
Infinite
and
incomprehensible

the bright light gods

space of sky beyond the

sprang.

Then

Aditi

sicians.

INDRA.

(PLATE XLI.)
The

connection, or identity, between Zeus and

Dyaus seems

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

330
be

to

There

chiefly a philological one.

Indra and Zeus

blance between

than

a greater resem

is

between Zeus and

Indra, as the hurler of the thunderbolts,

Dyaus.
cloud

"

compeller,"

The myth

and

as

coincides with Zeus and Thor.

of Indra

the favourite Vedic

god

a further

is

instance of that transition from the physical to spiritual meaning

to which we have referred ; though Indra is by no means so
spiritual

a being- as Varuna.

It is also

a good instance of
it, the

the fact that, as the comparative mythologists express

back the myths are traced the more atmospheric do

His
the gods become.
First, of the merely physical Indra.
"

"

further

name

is

rain.

The name parjanya means

He

derived from indu, drop- sap.

is

thus the god of

rain-bringer.

Indra shatters

the cloud with his bolt, and releases the imprisoned waters.

His purely physical origin

is

by the mythical
Indra as the winds in

further indicated

moved

expression that the clouds

in

an expression implying that Indra was a name

Dyaus

for the

him correspond closely with

sky.
Hermes and Herakles, he
in
Like
some
classical mythology.
was endowed with precocious strength like Hermes he goes in
Also, the stories told of

search of the cattle, the clouds which the evil powers have
driven away

though

in the

like Hermes he is assisted by

Hindoo myth by the storms rather

and

or the crushers.

is

the Maruts,

the red beard of

In a land with the climatic conditions of India, and

Thor.

among an
whose

His beard of lightning

the breezes

agricultural people,

fertilizing

it

was but natural that the god

showers brought the corn and wine to maturity

should be regarded as the greatest of

He who

all.

of the deities, who has done

honour to the gods by his exploits ; he at whose might heaven and earth
are alarmed, and who is known by the greatness of his strength
he, men,
"

as soon as born

is

the

first

is

Indra.

who

"He

mountains
heavens

fixed firm the

THE VEDIC GODS.

331

who

tranquillized the incensed

who consolidated the
;

moving earth

who spread

the spacious firmament

Indra.

he, men, is
who re
who, having destroyed Abi, set free the seven rivers
covered the cows detained by Bale ; who generated fire in the clouds ; who
"

He

he, men, is Indra.

under whose control are horses and cattle, and
chariots ; who gave birth to the sun and to the dawn ; and
is

invincible in battle
"

He

villages,

who

is

and

all

the leader

men, is Indra.
heaven and earth bow down; he at whose might the
mountains are appalled ; he who is the drinker of the Soma juice, the firm

of the waters
to

"He

he,

whom

adamant armed, the wielder of the thunderbolt

of frame, the

he,

men,

is

Indra.

May we envelop thee with acceptable praises as husbands are

braced by their wives
"

em

"

The

verse in the preceding

first

hymn from

"

the

"

Rigveda

perhaps refers to Indra as a sun-god, and to the rapidity with

which, in tropical climates, the newly-born sun grows in heatgiving powers.
verse,

and

is

is

the

same

The

multiplied in

against

Abi,

or throttling snakes, of the third

Greek Echidna, or the Hindoo Vritra

or powers of darkness
the Rakhshasas

as the

which the sky-god Indra wages deadly war.

likewise spoken of in the

same hymn

in

much

He

is

same kind
and
creator
the
the

of language that would naturally be applied to

But so is almost every
sustainer of the world.

Hindoo

deity.

Absolute supremacy was attributed to each and every god

whenever

it

came

to his turn to

be praised or propitiated.

SURYA
Corresponds to the Greek Helios.

That

is,

he was not so much

god who dwelt

body of
The same distinction exists between Poseidon and
the sun.
the
one being the god of all waters, and even a
Nereus;

the

god of

light as the special

in the

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

332

Olympos, the other a dweller

visitor at

in the sea.

Surya

is

described as the husband of the dawn, and also as her son.

SAVITAR
His name means the

Is another personification of the sun.

and

"

Inspirer,"

As

stimulate.

derived from the root

is

the sun-god

he

is

golden-tongued, and golden-handed

ing,

came

sense

so

Savitar

that

possessed a hand

to

came

made

lose
to

their

of real gold,

Thus

fact.

hand

Savitar cut off his

him a golden one

the

and

if

we suppose

purely physical

or

that in

mean

an actual person who

signify

and others must have exercised

account for the

drive

quite appropriate in a purely

process of time those epithets

physical

to

sa,

spoken of as the golden-eyed,

it is

evident that the priests

their ingenuity in trying to

Hindoo commentators say that

and that the priests gave

at a sacrifice,

Savitar thus

corresponds to the
Teutonic god Tyr, whose hand was cut off by the wolf Fenris.
instead.

Like other gods in the Hindoo and Norse mythologies, Savitar

is

regarded as all-powerful.

That

Savitar

from the following passages from the

"

Shining forth he

he, he,
"

He

my god

rises

is

a sun-god appears
"

"

Rigveda

from the lap of the dawn, praised by singers

who never misses the same place.

Savitar, stepped forth,

steps forth, the splendour of the sky, the wide-seeing, the far-shining,
;
surely enlivened by the sun do men go to their tasks,

the shining wanderer

and do
"

"

their

May
May

work.

the golden-eyed Savitri arise hither

the golden-handed, life-bestowing, well guarding, exhilarating, and
!

affluent Savitri

be present

The second
was

also

"

"

at the sacrifice

passage seems to identify Savitar with Odin,

the wanderer

Savitar was one-handed.

"

who

Wegtam, and who was one-eyed, as

THE VEDIC GODS.

333

SOMA.
In some respects the myth of

Soma

the most curious of

is

Soma

Soma, as the intoxicating juice of the

any.

plant, cor

and blood of the Qoasir,

responds to that mixture of honey
life to the
which, in the Norse mythology, imparts prolonged
In the Rigveda the Soma is similarly described ; as also
gods.

the process by which

it is

converted into an intoxicating liquid.

But in the same hymns Soma is also

It is he who gives strength
ful god.
to

his

conquer

further, like

heaven and
as

if

enemy

and Varuna,

Vishnu, Indra,

and of gods and men

earth,

is

fetishistic stage in the history of the

men

attributed conscious

The

benefited them.
are

adduced

to

show

and as a mere plant

"

Where

there

in

life

the

thus

He

supporter
it

is

of

would seem

but an instance of that

human kind

and energy

during which

to whatever hurt or

following passages from the

"

"

Rigveda

what terms Soma was spoken of as a god,

eternal light, in the world

is

and enables him

Vritra, the snake of darkness.

myth of the god Soma

the

described as an all-power
to Indra,

where the sun

is

placed, in

Soma
that immortal, imperishable world, place me,
Where life is free, in the third heaven of heavens, where the worlds are
.

"

radiant, there

And
"

make me

immortal.

again,
In

filter,

which

gods.
are contained.
"The

honeyed

Soma
fur

is

the support of the world, thou, pure

In thee
Usijas first gathered thee.

The

fied fur the

Soma,

flowed into the vessel for Indra, for Vishnu;

Vayu

art puri

all their

worlds

may

it

be

!"

AGNI
Is the

god of

fire,

his

name

evidently being connected with the

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

334

ignis. He corresponds to the Greek Hephsestos. Of this

Mr.
Wheeler, in his introduction to his History of India, thus
god

Latin

writes

of

"

To man

in a primitive state of existence the presence

excites feelings of reverence.

Its powers raise it to the

rank of a deity whose operations are felt and seen.
It burns
and it consumes. It dispels the darkness, and with it drives
away, not only the imaginary horrors which the mind associates
fire

with darkness, but also the real horrors

prey.

moon

...
;

It

with

becomes

the

such as beasts of

identified with the light of the sun

and

which shoots from the sky and

and strikes down the strong man;

lightning

shatters the loftiest trees

with the deity who covers the field with grain and ripens the
harvest ; with the divine messenger who licks up the sacrifice

and

carries

it

to the gods/

As another curious instance of the sort of fetishism to which

we have referred, there is a Vedic description of Agni as
being generated from the rubbing of sticks, after which he
burst forth from the wood like a fleet courser.
Again, when
excited by the wind he rushes amongst the trees like a bull,
and consumes the forest as a raja destroys his enemies. Such

sentiments of course prove the purely physical origin of the

god Agni; and it is hardly necessary to observe that, like
Indra, Varuna, Soma, Vishnu,
and supporter of the universe.

etc.,

he.

is

an all-powerful god,

VAYU
Is the

god of the winds, or of the

the storm-gods, or

"

air.

Allied to

him

whose name

are the

is derived
Maruts,
crushers,"
from a root meaning to grind, and is obviously connected
with such names as Mars and Ares. The same root
appears in

THE VEDIC GODS.

335

as the crashing, or
Miolnir, an epithet of Thor, conceived
Hindoo
the
are
Maruts
counterparts of the
crushing god. The
toss the sea into
who
the fierce storm-beings
Norse

Ogres
as being
foam, and who, in the Norse Tales, are represented
armed with iron clubs, at every stroke of which they send

many yards into the air. The primary

name is clear from the Vedic passages which

the earth flying so

meaning of the

describe the Maruts as roaring

up the clouds

Of

all

among the

forest trees,

and tearing

for rain.

the personifications of

Hindoo mythology, by

beautiful
purest and most touching and

far the

is

USHAS,
Whose name
name Ushas

same

as the

Greek Eos

is

the

is

derived from a root

us, to

or the

burn.

Dawn.

She

is

The

also the

same as the Sanscrit Ahoma, or Dahana, and the Greek Athene,

and Daphne. The language in which the physical Ushas was
spoken of was especially capable of easy transformation into
a-

The

purely spiritual meaning.

men, barbarous or

civilized

and

dawn-light
it

is

beautiful to all

did not require any great

of poetic fancy to represent Ushas as a young wife

awakening her children, and giving them new strength for the
stretch

toils

of the

Sanscrit,

new

means

"

day.
to

It

happens that the word which, in

and thus,
to know
also means
"

"

awake,"

Greek Athene, Ushas became a goddess of wisdom.

The following passages show how Ushas was regarded by the
Vedic worshippers.
like the

"

Ushas, daughter of heaven, dawn upon us with riches diffu^er of light,

us with abundant food ; beautiful goddess, dawn upon us with
;

dawn upon

wealth of cattle.

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

336
"

This auspicious Ushas has harnessed her vehicles from afar, above the
and she comes gloriously upon men with a hundred

rising of the sun,

chariots.

First of all the world is she awake, trampling over transitory darkness ;
the mighty, the giver of light, from on high she beholds all things ; ever
youthful, ever reviving, she comes first to the invocation."
"

Had we

space for discussion of so interesting a subject,

it

would be easy to show how naturally the language in which

the Vedic gods are described must ultimately have suggested a
monotheistic conception.

Meantime we content

the following monotheistic

hymn,

ourselves with

by Dr.

translated

Max Miiller.
He

In the beginning there rose the source of golden light.

only lord of all that is ; he established this earth and this sky
god to whom we shall offer our sacrifice ?
"

"

He who gives life,

gods desire
is

the
"

god

whom we

to

He who

whom we

whose

He who

is

the only king of

governs

all,

men and

was the

who

is

the

blessings all the bright

immortality ; whose shadow

shall offer our sacrifice ?
is

through his power

awakening world.
to

he who gives strength

whose shadow

all

is

death

who

the breathing and

beasts

who

is

the

god

shall offer our sacrifice ?

whose power these snowy mountains, whose power the sea pro
He whose these regions are as it were
river.
two arms who is the god to whom we shall offer our sacrifice ?
He through whom the sky is bright and the earth firm. He through

"He

with the distant

claims,
his

"

whom

the heaven was established

measured out the

our sacrifice
"

He

to

light in the air

"

who
who

to

nay,

who

is

the highest heaven ; he who

the god to whom we shall offer

whom

trembling inwardly

god

whom we

heaven and
;

he over

shall offer

earth, standing firm

whom

our

by

he not destroy us, he the creator of the earth

created heaven ; he who also created the bright
the

god

to

whom we

look up,

who

is

the

sacrifice ?

May
is

his will,

the rising sun shines forth

shall offer our sacrifice ?

"

or he the righteous,

and mighty waters

XLII.

V 1SIIII11.

Braluna with Saraswati.

THE BRAHMANIC GODS.

THE BRAHMANIC
Of

the later

Hindoo

337

GODS.

religion the chief deities are

Brahma,

Vishnu, and Siva forming the Hindoo Trinity, or Trimurrti.

These gods, however, are not regarded as separate, independent
or phases
gods, but merely as three manifestations or revelations
of the spirit or energy of the supreme incomprehensible being

Brahm.

That the

trinity is

a comparatively late formation

commentator
appears from the fact that it was unknown to the
Yaska. Yaska s trinity is composed of the three Vedic gods
Agni, Vayu, and Surya.

appears to be

known

Agni, in such trinity as the Brahmanic,

in the

Mahabharata, which represents

Brahma, Vishnu, and Indra as being the sons of Mahadeva, or

found in the
Siva.
Perhaps, however, the reason of this is to be
mutual jealousy of the two great sects, Vaishnavas and Saivas,
To
into which the Hindoo religion came to be divided.

Brahm

as

the self-existent

whom

of

there

As

there existed neither temples nor altars.

other things, impersonality, the

illumines

they live

all,

delights

when

all,

signifying,

name Brahm

gender, and the divine essence

among

of the neuter

is

as

described

is

whence

no image

is

that

which

proceeds, that of which

all

born, and that to which

all

must

return.

BRAHMA
(PLATE XLII.)
Is that

member

of the triad whose

Englishmen, and

best familiar

to

name
the

is

most

familiar to

Hindoos themselves.

temples of other gods, but he

The reason of this
has neither temples nor altars of his own.

Images of him are found

is

that

in the

Brahma, as the creative energy,

is

quiescent,

and
22

will

338

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

remain so

until the

Kali Yuga, that

is

end of the present age of the world of the

only a small portion of whose 432,000

years has already passed.

It appears, however, that an attempt was made to represent
even the divine spirit of Brahm ; for the god Narayana means
i

moving on the waters. Narayana is figured as a

youth lying on a snake couch which floats on the water,

the spirit
graceful

and holding

his toe in his

mouth.

Brahma is figured as a four-headed god, bearing in one hand

a copy of the Vedas, in another a spoon for pouring out the
lustral water contained in a vessel which he holds in a third
.

hand, while the fourth hand holds a rosary. The rosary was
used by the Hindoos to aid them in contemplation, a bead
,

being dropped on the

silent

pronunciation of each

name

of the

god, while the devotee mused, on the attribute signified by the

name.
each god y had his sacti, or wife, or female
and
his vahan, or vehicle, whereon he rode.
counterpart,
Brahma s sacti is Saraswati, the goddess of poetry, wisdom,

Brahma,

like

eloquence, and fine

art.

His vahan was the goose

hanasa,

in Latin, gans.

VISHNU
(PLATE
Is

XLII.)

the personification of the preserving

spirit.

The Vaishnavas

god, because there

is

no

allege that

power of the divine

Vishnu is the paramount

distinction in the sense of annihilation,

but only change or preservation.

But of course the argument

would cut

might as well .be said that

all

three ways, for

and destruction are at bottom only one

a fact thus pointing to the unity of God.

creation, preservation,

and the same thing

it

XLIII.

Kamadeva.

Siva.

THE BRAHMANIC GODS.

Of

the two

Hindoo

numerous.

rahan

and

Vishnu

339

sects the Vaishnaivas are

perhaps the
is

more

represented as being of a blue colour

his

(laruda, the winged half-man, half-bird, king of birds,

his sacti, or wife, is the
is said
goddess Lakshmi.
is

He

to have four hands

one holding a chank, or shell, the second

a chakra or quoit, the third a
club, and the fourth a lotus,
PlateXLII. represents Vishnu lying asleep on Ananta, the
serpent

At the end of the Kali Yuga, Vishnu

of eternity.
that position

from his navel

a lotus

will spring

will rest in

on the

stalk,

top of which

time will

above the surface of the waters, which at that

cover the world Brahma will appear to create the

earth anew.

SIVA
(PLATE
Is the destroyer

XLIII.)

the third phase of

represented as of a white

Brahm s
His

colour.

He

energy.

is

Bhavani or

sacti is

the terrible Doorga or Kali, and his rahau a white

Sometimes Siva is figured with a trident in one hand,

Pracriti,
bull.

and

another a rope or pasha, with which he, or his wife

in

His necklace

Kali, strangles evil-doers.

skulls
tiger s

serpents are his earrings

skin

and from

god of worth

love,

riding on a (love,
string

son of Siva and

gods,

is

invoked

are

who

is

is

who
god

human

represented (sec

and

Mate

is

the

KamaLI

flowers,

thirdly,

in

Ganga

may be mentioned Kuvera,

formed of bees

rithivi,

of

wrapped

river

and armed with an arrow of

especially the
at the

made

Lakshmi being the goddess of wealth

deva, the god of

bow whose

is

loins

head the sacred

his

represented as springing.
Among the minor deities

his

1 1.

and

Ganesa,

as
a

the

regarded as the wisest of all the

of prudence and policy, and is

is

opening of Hindoo

literary works.

MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.

340

AVATARS OF VISHNU.
The word Avatar means,

in

evident sense, Descent

its

that

from the world of the gods to the world of men. In these des
cents, or incarnations, the purpose of Vishnu has always been a
is named Matsya, wherein,
during the reign of King Satyavrate, Vishnu appeared in the
form of a fish. For the world had been deluged by water for

beneficent one.

His

first

avatar

wickedness, and

its inhabitants, except the

king and seven
with
their
with
sages,
families, who, together
pairs of all species
of animals entered into an ark prepared for them, and of which

its

the fish took care, by having

Kurma

tortoise,

its

cable tied to

its

horn.

In the

Vishnu appeared in the form of a

supporting Mount Mandara on his back, while the gods

second, or

churned the sea

avata.r,

for the divine ambrosia.

In the

Varaha,

or

Vishnu appeared as a boar to save the earth when

had been drowned a second time. The boar went into the sea

third avatar,
it

and fished the earth out on his tusks. In the fourth he ap

peared as Narasingha, the man-lion, to free the world from
a monarch who, for his austerities, had been endowed by the
king to pieces.

In

shape Vishnu tore the

Subsequently he appeared as a dwarf; then as

gods with universal dominion.

this

Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, who

likewise

was a bene

His chief incarnation appears in Krishna, the

most loved by the Hindoos. Buddha, the founder

ficent being.

god who

is

of the Buddhist religion, was also said to be an incarnation of

Vishnu.
tenth,

or

Nine of these avatars have already passed. In the

Kalki Avatara, he will appear armed with a

and riding on a white horse, when he will end the

present age; after which he will sleep on the waters, produce
Brahma, and so inaugurate a new world.
scimitar,

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF

EGYPT.
myths undoubtedly originated and were de

EGYPTIAN
veloped similarly to the myths
which we are acquainted.
stages of that development,

as a whole,

and

in the case of

as

it is

of

all

other nations with

Yet an indication of the various

and an understanding of the system

to us, are far more difficult

now known

Egyptian than of Greek, Norse, Germanic, or

The reason of this is very evident. The

Hindoo mythology.

Egyptian religion seems to have reached

its

abstract or

physical stage long before any of the religions to which

referred

are no

and as

its

its earliest

we have

records belong wholly to that stage, there

means of enabling the student

between

meta

and

its

to bridge over the

gap

latest formations.

would appear as if precisely the same kind of

between the Egyptian and the Greek genius
as between the Greek genius and that of the Hindoos.
The
Indeed,

it

difference existed

temperament of the Greek was open, joyous, sensuous that of

the other two races was self-repressive, brooding, and mystical.
;

The

bias or mental bent of these

what was

was not so much towards

artistically or logically preventable, as towards the

elusive, mysterious spirit of which they

imagined all things visible

be merely the veil. The Greek was artistically
sensuous; the Hindoo was mystically religious. Or, the difference

and tangible

to

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT.

34 2

between them may be said to resemble that between form and

colour. The contrast in intellectual bias between the Egyptians

and

their adversaries, the Greeks,

sufficiently indicated in

is

what

Herodotus says of the Egyptian contempt for the claims made

by the Greeks of descent from the gods. The priests of Egypt
could only laugh at the absurdity of the belief according to which
a god was said to be the sixteenth ancestor of Hecatseus. Our
gods, said they, never lived on earth.

However, it appears as if a comparison of it with other systems

shows that the mythology of Egypt is, in great measure at least,

by the general doctrines implied in the title Solar

Even that very readiness with which the Greeks identified
"

explicable
Myth."

the Egyptian gods with their

own

affords, if

not proof, at

all

some countenance, to the supposition that both Pantheons

were, so to speak, peopled after the same manner.
Again, the
functions and characters of the Egyptian gods interchange like

events

those of the Greek and Norse gods.

Their names have in both

cases

similar

In both cases also the

birth

and genealogy of the

meanings.

physical

gods appears to be but

We

expression of physical, visible sequences.

an

find in both

same confusion, or identity, between a god s mother

sister and what appears to be the same conflict between

cases the

and

his

the light-giving and the light-stealing powers of nature.

old

German

religion

than that of Egypt.

is,

perhaps, of a

Yet there

is

more

no doubt

that the idea of

the contest between the purely spiritual powers

Ahriman was

The

spiritual character

Ormuzd and

originally only the idea of the contest

between

the sunlight, Indra, and the clouds or darkness, Vritra.

This

seems a strong indirect proof that Osiris and Typho are the
same as Indra and Vritra. The idea of dynastic overthrow and
succession

common

to the

Aryan

religions,

and presented with

PTHAH.

NEPH.

343

such weird and pathetic grandeur in Norse mythology, is, if at

of Egypt.
Yet it seems
all, but faintly denned in the religion
in such phrases as

be implied

to

"

Osirian

and

divinities,"

appears that many of

the Egyptian deities are only personified attributes of one and
"

three orders of the

Lastly,

gods."

it

the same thing or person.

The

eight

great

Pthah, Khem,

gods of Egypt were,

Neph, Amun,

Sati, Maut, and Bubastis.

NEPH
Is

also

named Num, Nu,

Now Nef means

He

retained in Arabic.
face of the

Neph
313)

Nef,

"

is

the spirit of

and

Cenubis.
is

it

God moving on

still

the

this special, physical sense

Therefore in

waters."

corresponds to the Teutonic Woden, or Wuotan (see

as also to

Brahma and

Ethiopia and the Thebais.

ram s head with curved horns.

ology

Cnouphis,

spirit or breath, in which sense

sacti,

p.

Zeus.

Neph was worshipped

He

represented as having a

is

His

wife, or in

in

Hindoo phrase

was named Auka.

PTHAH
Is

only

Neph under

new name

or,

to express

wise, he represents a special energy of that god.

it

He

demwurgoS)

or artisan

of the

the

him

Jamblichus calls
world ; and the Greeks

creator, or the universal life in action.

the

other
is

regarded him as the counterpart of their own artisan god,

Hephrcstos or Vulcan. As the creator he was thought of as the
father
in

Memphis.

He

He

was worshipped
appears as a mummy-shaped male

and sovereign of the gods.

also as the pigmy-god.

chiefly

figure

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT.

344

KHEM,
Like the former god,
of the universal

He

is

as

identified

Chemmis,

He

life.

the god

is

only a special energy or activity

is a personified attribute, or epithet.

of generation and reproduction,

Pan by
in the.

the Greeks,

Thebais

by the

and was

who called his chief city

name of Panopolis. But

Khem

not only merges into the god Num or Neph, he also

usurps the functions of, or is the same as, the garden-god
Ranno. It was but natural that the god of reproduction
should also be a garden-god.
This garden-god, Ranno, was
represented under the form of an asp, whose figure is found on
wine-presses and garden and agricultural implements. It should
here be observed that Priapus, the classical counterpart of the
procreative

Khem, was

the tutelary deity of gardens.

AMUN
Was

the,

tion

of the

chief

god of Upper Egypt. From the significa

hidden
it would appear that Amun

name

"

"

was a deity of a highly spiritual character. As in the preceding

instances, he is identified or connected with various other gods,
e.g., he is named as Amun-ra (Ra being the sun-god), and
Amun-num (Num, the living breath or spirit). His companion
goddess was Mut or Maut and the two deities, with their son
;

Khuns, formed the Trinity of Upper Egypt.

SATI
The Greeks imagined

to

be the same as Hera.

would be the queen of heaven

between her and

As such she
made

but a distinction was

NEITH.

MAUT.

BUBASTIS.

RA.

345

NEITH,
was said to be the goddess of the upper heaven (or
Sati was the goddess of the lower heaven (or
ether), whereas
a sky-deity, and if she be also the mother of
be
If Neith

Who

air).

the sun-god, the facts are another instance from Egyptian my

thology of that same process through which the Greeks peopled
But further,
their Olympos and the Norsemen their Asgard.
the functions attributed to Neith

seem

much

to

show

that the idea

same way as that of

Ahana in Sans
in
and
As
Athene
the Greek Athene.
Greek,
the
and
of
dawn,
finally, moral
crit, meant originally the light
of this goddess was developed

and

intellectual light, so

we

in the

find that

Neith also came to be a

This goddess was worshipped especially at

deity of wisdom.
Sais in the Nile delta.

MAUT,
To whom we

have already referred as the second person of

meant the Mother, Mother Nature,

thus corresponded to the Greek Demeter.

the

Theban

Trinity,

and

BUBASTIS
worshipped in the town of Bubastus in Lower
was said to be the daughter of the great goddess
She
Egypt.
Isis.
She was represented with the head of a cat, the animal

Was

chiefly

specially sacred to her.

RA
Comes

first

identified

in

the second

him with

their

own

class

of deities.

The Creeks

sun-god, Helios, and called the

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT.

346

city in
is

which he was principally worshipped Heliopolis.

hawk s head, over which is a solar

represented with a

His purely physical

that Neith,

married

origin

or the upper

Mut (Demeter)

He
disc.

seems to be proved by the myths

and that he
air, was his mother
;

merely signifying the interaction

of earth and sunlight in producing vegetation.
But again, Ra
was said to have for children Athor, Mu, and Mat. Athor

was

this

who was

identified with Aphrodite,

of light

while

Precisely the

Mu

same

means physical

originally the

light,

goddess

and Mat moral

light.

transition in

meaning happens in the story

of Neith, and in that of Athene, Ahana, Ushas, and Eos. The
wide prevalence of this god s worship shows in what importance
he was held, an importance naturally attaching to the sun-god

among

From Ra, with

name Phrah, or, in

nations given to elemental worship.

all

the prefixed syllable Pi, was derived the

Old Testament

Every Pharaoh was thus

spelling, Pharaoh.

entitled son of the sun.

All this suggests that Sabaeism, or

worship, was

originally practised in Egypt.

with Baal, a

name implying

Baalbek means
Greeks

"city

of the

"

Ra

is

fire-

also identical

and applied to the sun.

and was so named by the

lord,"

sun,"

Heliopolis.

SEB
Is

said

Kronos,

to

be the son of Ra.

represented in

being

He
the

is

sort of

hieroglyphics

Egyptian
be the

to

Here again we have an interchange of

has been seen that Neph, Pthah, etc., have

father of the gods.

functions

for

it

been similarly described. Also, like other gods in and out of

Greek mythology, Seb marries his own sister, Nutpe. These

two were

at the

head of the

"Osirian

divinities

Osiris, Isis,

XL1V.

Osiris.

Nilegod.

OSIRIS.

Nutpe or Nepte has been

Seth, Nephthys.

She

Rlu-a.

is

supposed

side over births

and

347

and

identified with

to coincide with Lucina,

As being

nursing.

and

to pre

the mother of Isis

was called the mother of the gods.

Osiris, she

OSIRIS,
(PLATE

XLIV.,)

The

great deity of the Egyptians, has been by some identified

with the sun, or sunlight, or the vivifying powers in nature.

According to

this

the

the

of

sleep

view the sleep or deatli of Osiris means

spring-maiden

Brynhild

(see

p.

324),

or

the imprisonment of Persephone in the dark realm of Hades.

His contest with Seb (by the Greeks called Typho) would
seem to be another instance of the plausibility, at

certainly
least,
life,

Thoth

to

who

At any

of this view.

became
s

rate,

Osiris,

the judge of the under-world.

tale of the

being restored to
There he listens

character of the disembodied souls,

by Horus (the son of Osiris),

good and bad deeds have been weighed by Anubis

are introduced to the judge

after their

in the scale of truth.

These

trials in

the under-world were attended by forty officers,

called Assessors of the Dead,

Gardner Wilkinson

"

who

are thus described by Sir

These assessors were

similar to

the

bench of judges who attended at the ordinary tribunals of the

Egyptians, and whose president, or arch-judge, corresponded to
Osiris.

The

assessors were represented in a

different heads.

The

first

human form

with

had the head of a hawk, the second

of a man, the third of a hare, the fourth of a hippopotamus,

the

fifth

of a man, the

sixtli

of a hawk, the seventh of a fox,

the eighth of a man, the ninth of a ram, the tenth of a snake,

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT.

348

and the others according

to their peculiar character.

They

are supposed to represent the forty-two crimes from which a

virtuous
state

man was

expected to be free when judged in a future

or rather the accusing spirits, each of

whom examined

the deceased was guilty of the peculiar evil which

province to

where he was

and

was

if

his

avenge."

The worship
sacrifice,

it

of Osiris was

universal

throughout Egypt,
example of self-

gratefully regarded as the great

as the manifestor of good, as the opener of truth,

as being full of goodness

personification of physical

and

truth.

As

and moral good, so

Osiris

was the

his brother

Seb

(Typho) was the personification of all evil. Of the analogy

between these two on the one hand, and the old Persian

good and evil, we have already spoken.

Another explanation of the Osirian myth has thus been

deities of

was the Nile god. (Plate XLIV.) The river, in

its periodical inundations, was said to have married the earth
(Isis, Rhea), and in its retreat to have been killed by the
given

Osiris

who was jealous, perhaps,

of the wondrous fruitfulness of the marriage between the soil

giant of Sterility (Seb, or Typhon),

and the great

river.

APIS
Was

the great

known
at

beast-god

of Egypt.

This sacred

bull

was

Apis
Memphis, and as Mnevis, or Onuphis,
His
Heliopolis.
worship was so prevalent and popular,
as

at

because he was regarded as an avatar, or incarnation, of the

favourite deity Osiris,

body of a
more than

bull.

The

whose soul had transmigrated into the

sacred bull was allowed to live for no

twenty-five years, at the

end of which

it

was taken to

APIS.

the Nile, and

drowned

349

one of the sacred

in

wells.

His death was

followed by national mournings, which, however, gave place to

national thanksgivings as soon as a new Avatar, or sacred bull

discovered himself by the following marks a black coat, a white

a half-moon on its
triangular spot on the forehead, a spot like
:

The
its tongue a knot like a beetle.
narrates
in
as
from
Wilkinson,
./Elian,
given
following quotation
the ceremonies consequent on the re-discovery of Osiris
right side,

and under

"As

soon as a report

is

circulated that the Egyptian

god

has manifested himself, certain of the sacred scribes, well versed

in the mystical

spot where the

known to them by tradition, approach the

divine cow has desposited her calf, and there,

marks,

following the ancient ordinance of Hermes, feed

during four months, in a house facing the rising sun.

with milk

it

When

this

period has passed the sacred scribes and prophets resort to the
him
dwelling of Apis, at the time of the new moon, and placing

boat prepared for the purpose, convey him to Memphis,

where he has a convenient and agreeable abode, with pleasure
in a

grounds and ample space

companions of his

own

for

wholesome

exercise.

beautiful that can be found, kept in apartments to

has access

when he

tain of clear water

wishes.

for

it is

water of the Nile, which

man

Female
most

species are provided for him, the

is

He

which he

drinks out of a well, or foun

not thought right to give him the

The
considered too fattening.

from whose herd the divine beast has sprung

is

the happiest

looked upon with admiration by all people."

found a set of villagers rejoicing over a

of mortals,

and

is

Cambyses,

it is

said,

bull, and fancying they were making merry over his

recent defeat in Ethiopia, the king of kings at once ran the

new sacred

through the body, and had the priests Hogged.

considered a good omen if the bull ate food offered to it
bull

It

was

Men

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT.

35

also listened at the ears of Apis, then

put their

own

hands

to their

ears to prevent the escape of the secret,

terpreted according to the nature of the

first

which they in
words they chanced

to hear uttered.

SERAPIS
(PLATE

Was
his

another

name

XLV.)

of Osiris, although the Greeks said that

was not known

in

Egypt until the time of

Ptolemy Philadelphus, when it was introduced from Sinope,
under the name of Serapis. Serapis was known as the judge of
worship

the under-world.

ISIS
(PLATE XLV.)

Was

the wife of Osiris, also a counterpart of

him

for,

as

he was judge of the dead, so she is described as the giver

of death.
She is identified with Ceres and Persephone, and,
in this view, the grief of Isis for her

husband may be regarded

as an Egyptian version of the

mourning

for the loss

myth representing Demeter as

of her daughter.
Apuleius makes her

I am nature, the parent of all the

gods, mistress of
the elements, the beginning of the ages,
sovereign of the
gods, queen of the manes, and the first of heavenly

declare

"

all

beings."

But as the mother of

Nutpe

(see pp. 346, 347).

divinity,

various
pians,

uniform in

rites,

and

she

all

And

itself, is

different

convertible with

is

Mat and

then Apuleius proceeds

"

My

honoured under numerous forms,

names

and the Egyptians renowned

but the sun-illumed Ethio

for ancient lore,

worship

XI.V.

Serapis.

ANUBIS.

me

with due ceremonies,

and

call

351

me by my

real

Queen

name,

"

Plutarch considers Isis to be the earth, the feminine

of
nature, while Diodorus says that the Egyptians, con
part
Isis.

sidering the earth to be the parent of

all

things born, called her

Mother, just as the Greeks called earth Demeter.

ANUBIS,
With Hor, or Horus, and Har-pi-chruti, or Harpocrates,
were the children of Osiris and Isis.
The first was a
and, according to another myth, was the
;
son of Osiris and Nephthys, a sister of Isis, who,
fearing
the jealousy of Isis, concealed the child by the sea-shore.

jackal-headed god

The

of Anubis was to superintend the passage of souls

to their abode in the unseen world.
As such he corre
office

the

sponded

to

presided

over
as

sculpture

Hermes

Greek

tombs; and he
standing

over

is

of his father Osiris,

who was

by the Greeks as Apollo.

slain

He

Anubis

Psychopompos.

frequently introduced

bier

on which a corpse

Horus was a hawk-headed god.

deposited.

to

As

is

the avenger

by Typhon, he was
also

in

identified

corresponded

in

some

and was worshipped by the

the

sun-god Ra,
Egyptians as representing the vivifying power of the sun.
Harpocrates seems to be merely another version of Horus

degree

he

is

He is represented as a child
with his finger on his lips.
Under

a personification of the sun.

sitting

on a

lotiis-tlower,

he was thought of as the god of silence. Perhaps in

a
placing
representation of him in front of each of their temples,
this figure

the wise Egyptians

ought to

meant

be conducted with

to symbolise the fact that

silence.

THE MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION OF EGYPT.

352

THOTH
Was

the

of the

of letters, the clerk

god

under-world, and

the keeper of the records for the great judge Osiris.

He

and bearing a tablet,

was
the
and
So
palm-branch.
great
respect in which the
pen,
sacred ibis was held on account, no doubt, of its usefulness

is

represented with the head of an

in destroying
it

venomous

reptiles

ibis,

that

any one

guilty of killing

was himself punished with death.

ANOUKE
Was

member of the trinity of Northern

two members being Sati and Neph.

the third

the other

THE

SPHINX,

Unlike her Greek representative

born of the

evil

ficent

who

being

Ethiopia,

who was

a cruel monster

powers Typhon and Echidna

was a bene

personified the fruit-bearing earth, and, like

the sun and sky powers

we have named above, was a

deity

wisdom and knowledge. Her figure lion-bodied, with the

head and breast of a woman was placed before every temple.
of

The Egyptian

Cerberus, or hell watch-dog, must have been a

more forbidding and strange-looking animal than his Greek

He had the trunk and legs of a hippopotamus, with

brother.

the head of a crocodile.

INDEX.
A.

.Kther, 22, 193

Kthiopia, 216

Abas, 212, 213

Al i, 33 1
A 1x1 era, 255
Abderos, 255
Absyrtos, 275

Agamemnon, no,

189, 245, 28^,

286, 287, 289, 290, 292, 293, 296,
298, 3 i, 32,

Acha;ans, 206, 239

Acheloulcs, 149
Achel<ios

149, 151,

33

264

Acheron, 59
Achilles, 60, 80, 147, 158, 167, 176,
203, 233, 252, 289, 290, 291, 292,
293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298
Aditi, 329

Admetos, 106, 262, 270, 272

Adonaea, Adonias, 86
Ad. mis, 85, 86, 87, 317

219

Akrisios, 213, 215, 217, 2l8, 323

.K-ipancs, 137
-i-tlios 245, 301, 302
.glc, 1 08, 157

Aktaftc, 147

Akt.eon,

ptOS, 21

I,

wind god), described, 163

95
.

no, 226

Alekto, 28, 190

Alexander the ireat,

212

Acllo, 190
Kneas, 86, 95, 285, 301
Knlians, 206

Agrotera, f 10
Ahoina, Dahana, 335, 345, 340
Ahriinan, 342
Aide>,
Aidoneus, src Hadr>
Ais, Aide-, Aidoneus, .see lades
Ajax, 203, 295, 297
1

-Kgeus, 238, 241, 261, 266, 268, 275

71. 84, 85, 128,

Aglaea, 174, 175

Agiauros, 236, 237
A g n 333. 334, 337
.

-Ketes, 274, 275

r.iMiiu,

Aganippe, 157
Agathodsemoo, 197
Agaue, 226, 227
Agenor, 118, 211, 225, 240

Agrii^entum, 242

Adrastca, 29, 186

Adrastos, 277, 278, 279, 281
Kakos, 62

ICthon, 66

/Kthra, 154, 265, 286

.Ktna, 82

Alexandras, see
Alkii-os, 218
Alkameiies, 77
Alkestis, 262

15

aii-<

Alkinoos, 306

Kolos 271, 305

244
Kr<

>pe,

.Kschylus, I, 14, 68, 198, 231, 325

.Ksculapius, sec Asklepios
-Ksir, 312, 313
271, 272
.

Alkijipe, 237

Alknueon, 278
39, 48, 2 1 8, 246
Alkyoneus, 43
Ah.L-us, 70, 209
Alphabet ^Phoenician), 224

Alkmene,

23

INDEX.

354

Apis, Mnevis, Onuphis, 348, 350

Apollinarian games, 106
Apollo, 10, 15, 16, 20, 24, 39, 43,
53, 61, 72 ; described, 96 ; 108,
109, in, 112, 123, 124, 125, 127,

Alpheios, 113, 151

Alsei ds, 153
Althaea, 173, 269, 270

Amalthea, 29
Amarynthia, 114

Amazons, 223, 256, 268, 295

Ammon, Amum,
Amor,

130, 135, 136, 152, 153, 158, 161,

172, 177, 178, 179, 181, 190, 202,
209, 215, 228, 229, 234, 238, 252,

216

see Eros

Amorettes, Erotes, 171

Amphianax, 213

256, 263, 269, 278, 283, 292, 297,

299, 302, 303, 3!3. 35 *
Appius Claudius, 187

Amphiaraos, 278, 280, 281

Amphion, 125
Amphitrite,
148

legend

of,

described,

227, 247
;
147,

55

Ammon

Amyklae, 98, 99, 285

Amyklas, 99
Amykos, 273
Amymone, 52, 211, 250
Anadyomene, 85
Ananke, see Fate
Ananta, 339
Anar, see Onar
Anchirrhoe, 21 1
Anchises, 86, 301
Ancile, 78
Androgeos, 241

scribed,

75

80, 86,

136,

de

87, 89, 124,

138, 1 68, 187, 209, 220, 224, 226,

236, 243, 253, 256, 307, 334
Arethusa, 113, 151, 157

Andromache, 294, 301

Andromeda, 51, 216, 217, 218, 219
Ankaeos, 270

Anouke, 352
Antaeos, 52, 262
Anteia, 222
Anteros, 86, 169, 171
Anthesteria, 119
Antigone, 230, 231, 277, 2/9, 282
Antiope, 228, 229, 269

Antium, 179, 183

Anubis, 347, 351
Aoede, 158
Apaturia, 82
Apeliotes, 164

Argeiphontes, 125
Arges, 27
Argiope, 235
Argo, 54, 271
Argolis, 177
Argonauts, 52, 54, 91, 150,
204, 209, 242, 253, 268

191,

Argonautic expedition, 235, 269

Argos, 124, 125, 2-10, 211
Argos, district of, 47, 48, 51, 52,
87, 190, 221,

222

Argos, heroes of, 210; 219, 245, 246

Ariadne, 120, 173, 241, 267
Arion, 52, 66, 118, 281
Aristaeos, 226,

234

Arsinoe, 86
Artemis, Diana, 10, 24, 39, 61, 70,
99, 100, 104; described, 109; 151,
152, 178, 190, 224, 226, 229, 252,

253, 290, 302

Arval brothers, 307
Asa Bridge, 312

Aphrodite, Venus, 10, 17, 24, 39,

76 ; described, 83 ; 97, 124, 130,
135,
171,
177,

no, in,

Archemoros, 280
Archimedes, I
Areopagus, 77, 237, 303
Ares, Mars, 10, 39, 47, 74,

Amphitryon, 2 1 8, 246, 247

Amun, see

Apelles,

Arabia, 211
Arcadia, 6, 52, 66,
214, 250, 252

147,

161,

168,

169,

170,

172,

173,
195,

I75
226,

176,

187,

174,
208,

283, 284, 285, 286, 346

Aphrodite Pandemos, 85

273,

Asa folk, 310, 312, 315

Asgard, 312, 313, 345
Ask, 312
Askanios, 86, 301
Asklepia, 179
Asklepios, /Esculapius, 104, 106
described, 178 ; 181, 182, 233

INDEX.

Asopos, 151, 219, 228

Astarte, 84, 210, 239
Astoria, 70
:

ion,

P>aldr,

Bali,

240

Baukis, 38
Bellerophon, 91, 166,
scribed, 221; 248

A^yanax, 294

Bia>,

212, 215, 216, 217, 2l8, 222, 225,

226, 236, 237, 250, 283, 284, 292,
298, 299, 303, 335, 345, 346
Athens, 6, 28, 40, 69, 77, 91, 92,
93, 94, loo, 101, 112, 114, 119,
128, 129, 157, 164, 165, 169, 173,
174, 176, 1 86, 190, 239, 241, 275

Atn.pos, 185, 269

Attika, 31, 51, 56, 67, 92, 119, 176,
208, 232
le^nds of, 236; 239,
241, 265, 279
;

34

191,

Borghild, 323
Bori, 31 1
Bra-i, 313, 318,

319
337, 338, 339
Brahma, 336 described, 337
343
Brahmanism, 327
;

Branchidiu, 103
Brauronia, 113
Breidal)lick, 312, 316
Briareus, 26
Brise is, 176, 292
Biitoinartis,

288, 289, 290

Auloniads, 153
Aura, 167
Aurora, see Eos
Austri, 311

in

117

Broinii>s,

Au^eian Stables, 253

Auycias, 253, 254
Augurs, 139
Augustus, 134
Anka, ^4 }

Brono, 316
Brontes, 27
BI-..H/C A-e, 44, 127, 242
Brynhild, 317, 324, 347
Bubastis, 345
Bubastus, 345
Buddha, 340
Buddhism, 327
;iris, 202

Autonoe, 226
C.

Aux...

Avatars of YUhmi, 340

Avernus, 58, 70

Cadnui>.

Kadnios

ainjiania,

82

Canens, 139

-.

346

Hakchus, Bacchus,

see

Can):
(

Baal,

174,225

Boeotos, 59
B .r. 311, 366
Boreas, 131, 164, 165, 166,
196, 238, 256, 273, 274

Audhumbla, 311

no,

319
157, 169, 173,

Bei-otia, 52,

Brahm,

Atlantids, 154
Atlas, 121, 154, 156, 216, 258
Atli, 324, 325
Atreus, 244, 286

Aulis,

214

Bifrons, 133
Bi frost, 312,

is,

de

Berekuntia, 33
Bhavani, Pracriti, 339

I4<),

Athene, Palla>, Minerva, 10, 24,

39, 43.47, 5
73. 75,82, 86,87;
described, SS 113, 125, 135, 157,
175, 183, 187, 191, 192, 207,208,

204;

Belleros, 222
Bellonarii, 188
Belos, 211, 225

Atalante, no, 270, 278

Ate, 1 88, 189
Atliamus,
226, 272

At

312, 313, 316

317

Battos, 123

Astraea, Dike, 39, 44, 127

Astneos, 164, 166

Athor, 346
Athos, 165

355

we

Dionj

apitoline

lill,

Cappadocia, JiN

340,

INDEX.

356

Danaos,

Carthage, 84
Cassandra, 93
Caucasus, 81, 207, 287
Centaurs, 231, 232, 233, 268
Cerberus, 58, 248, 352
Ceres, see Demeter
Cerigo, see Cytheiea
Chalkeia, 82
Chaos, 30, 193

Charites/ Graces, 39, 47, 85, 130,

173; 176,

212

6, 15, 16, 17, 30, 96, 101,

102, 103, 104, 105, 214, 225, 238,

Delphi,

263, 302

Charlemagne, 309
Charon, 58, 122
Cheiron, Chiron, 179, 233, 252, 289
Chimsera, 222
Chiron, see Cheiron
Chloris, Flora, 131, 165
Chrysaor, 216
Chryse, 292
Chryseis, 292
Chryses, 292
Chrysippos, 244

Delphinia, lol
Delphinion, 101
Delphinios, 101
5, 10, 24, 29, 33,
S 2 , 57, 61, 63 ; described,
71, 120, 150, 172, 192, 243,

Demeter, Ceres,
39,

65

345,

35,

35i

Demigods, 200
Demosthenes, I
Deukalion, 44, 206, 271
Dia, 176, 231
Diana, see Artemis

Circe, 139, 305

Compitalia, 199
IOI II2
Corinth, 6, 16, 49, $4, 8
120, 213 ; legends of, 219; 230
Cretan Bull, 254
7>

>

Crete, 29, 30, 31, 49, 66, in, 149.

169, 174, 236 ; legends ot, 239 ;

293
Crimea,

1,

Dardanos, 177
Dei aneria, 264, 265, 324
Deidamia, 232, 288
Deimos, 76
Deino, 193
Deioneus, 232
Deiphobe, 103
Delia, 104
Delos, 81, 102, 104, 269

Charis, 83
161, 171; described,
1 86, 208
Charitesia, 175

52, 21

Daphne, 113, 335

Daphnephoria, 101

Diana of Ephesus,

114, 115, 223

Dike, Astraea, 42, 131, 186
Diktynna, in
Diktys, 214, 217
Dindumene, 33
Diomedes, 75, 95 2 55 2 9 8 2
301
Dione, 5, 39, 84, 85
Dionysia, 119
81
Dionysos, 18, 43, 48, 68, So,
37*
described, 117; 135, : 3 6
H5 H8, i49 J 5 2
140, 141,
J 72, 173, 202,213,
J
154, 155,
>

113
Curnae, 57, 103
6,

Cumsean

Sibyl, 103
Cupid, see Eros
Cyparissus, 143
Cyprus, 84, 85, 87
262
Cyrene, Kyrene, 98,
Cytherea, island of, 85
Cythere, 84, 85, 87

>

>

i44>

7i>

226, 227, 235

Dioskuri, 189, 285, 286
Dirse, see Erinys

Dirke, 228, 229

Discordia, see Eris

D.
Daedalos, 241, 242
Daemons or Genii,

197,

204
Damastes, 266
Danae, 214, 21$, 217
Danaides, 60, 61, 213

99>

198,

203,

Dithyrambos, 117, 118

Dodona, 36, 84, 155
Dodonids, 155
Donar, see Thor
Doorga, Kali, 320, 339
Dorides, 146, 147, 154

INDEX.

Dorians, 206, 239

Doris, 55, 146

Dryads
I

25,

Epimelios, 126
Epimenides, 103
Epimetheus, 208
Epopeus, 228

153

)\\arves, 315,

357

320

hrergmaal-Zwergsprache, 321
Dyaus, 320; described, 328; 329,

336

Erato, 147, 161

Erebos, 22, 184, 186, 193

Erechtheum, 94, 237, 238, 265, 269

Ergane, 93
Erichthonios, 82, 91, 237

Dynamene, 147

Eridanus, 108

Echidna, 249, 331, 352

Echion, 227
Echo, 155
Kdda, 310, 312, 325
Egypt, Religion of, 339

Erinys, Eumenides, Semnae, Euri.r,

28, 52, 64, 1 86
described, 189 ;
190, 192, 234, 303, 327
Eriphyle, 278
Eris, Discordia, 76, 187, 283
;

in

Eileithvia, Eleutho, 48,

Eirene, 1 ax, 131
described, 184
Elektra, 162, 191, 302
;

Elektryon, 218
Eleusinia, 68

Eleusinian

Mysteries,

57,

64,

68,

69, 120
Eleusis, 6, 10, 66, 68, 69, 172, 237,

266
Eleutheme, 228
Eleutho, see Eileithyia
Elfheim, 312, 320

and Argos, legends

Mini-,,

283
243

of,

172

Einathion, 167
Enibla, 312
Enagonios, 122

i,

190,

197

Euryale, 191
Eurybia, 27

Eurydike, 153, 234, 316

J5ellonia,

187, 193
\urora, III, 164;

Eumenides, see Erinys, 187,

279, 303
,
Kumolpos, 69, 237
Euneike, 147
Euneos, 273, 280
Eunnmia, 131
ICuphrosyne, 174
Euripides,

Enipeus, 271
Enkelados, 43, 91
Enyalios, 187

Erytheis, 157
Eteokles, 230, 277, 278, 281
Eteoklos, 278

Europa, 225, 239, 240, 242

Euros, 164, 1 66

Endymion, 114

165

Erymanthos, 250
Erysichthon, 66

Euclid,

Klves, 123, 320

Elysion, 60, 196, 227

Enyo,

85, 86

Eubrea, 49, 114

Elis, 15, 44, 47, 93, 112,

1-J is

Erl-Konig, 320
Eros, Cupid, Amor, 21,
described, 168 ; 173
Erotidia, 169
Erymanthian boar, 250

Eurynome,
descri1>ed,

318, 325, 335. 346

Epaphot, 107, 210, 211

Epeios, 299
KpllCMl^ 115
Ephialtes, 43, 76, 209, 231

Epicurus, I
Epidauros, 179, 266
Epi^oui, wife of A>klcpio>, 180
Epigoni, 277, 282

39, 79, 174,

189,316

Euryphaasa, 316
lanypylos, 298
244, 246,
250, 251, 254, 255
Eurytion, 232
Kurytos, 235, 248

luiry>theus,

Euterpe, 160
F.
J

afnir, 323,

324

247,

248,

INDEX.

Farbanti, 319
Fate, 38 ; described, 184
Fatuus, see Faunus
Fauna, Fatua, 138 ; described, 140 ;
142, 143
Faunalia, 138
Faunus, Fatuus, 138, 139, 140, 141
Fays, 140
Fenris, 318, 319, 320, 332
Flamen pomonalis, 132
Flora, see Chloris

Graeas, 193, 215

Gram, 322, 323

Gredr, 318
Gudrun, 322, 324
Gulltopr, 319
Gunnar, 317, 324
Gyes, see Gyges
Gyges, Gyes, 26

Gyrton, 231

H.

Parsed, 313
Fortuna, see Tyche

Hades, Aides, Pluto,

50 described, 56 ;
;

Freyr, Fro, 313, 317, 318

Frigg, see Freija
Fulla, Volla, 315
Furise, see Erinys

Gaea, Ge, Tellus, Terra,

Halie, 147
Halirrhotios, 237
Haloa, Thalysia, 67
Hamadryads, 131, 153

5,

22, 26,

Hamund, 323

28, 29, 30, 33, 82, 127, 140, 145,

1

88,

Harmonia, 158, 226, 283

Harpe, 216

237

Galatea, 147

Galaxaure, 154
Galene, 147
Gamelia, 48
Ganesa, 339
Ganges, 20, 339
Ganymeda, 176
Ganymedes, 177 ; described, 178
Ge, see Gaea
Gerda, 317
Geryon, 256
Geryoneus, 216, 256

Harpokrates, 351
Harpys, 162 described, 190 253
Hastmapur, 325
Hebdomeios, 102
Hebe, Juventas, 39; described, 176;
265
Hebros, 235
Hecate, 43
described, 71; 140
;

Ginnunga-gap, 311
Gioll, 312
Gladsheim, 312
Glauke, 147, 275
Glaukopis, 93
Glaukos, 103 ; described, 220
Gmir, 321
Golden Age, 44, 127
Gorgons, 91, 191, 193, 216
Gorgophone, 91
Gortys, 239, 240, 241

Hegemone, 175
Heimdall, 313, 319
Hekabe, Hekuba, 283
Hekate, see Hecate

Giants, 22, 28, 43, 53, 90, 93, 145,

148, 188, 202, 231
Ginki, 310

Graces, see Charites

62,

347

Haempn, 282
Haemos, 234

146, 162,

10,

36, 43,
63, 66,
129, 189, 215, 216, 220, 232, 305,

Freija, Frigg, 312, 314, 315

Hekatombason, 41
Hekatoncheires, 26, 27, 30
Hektor, 75, 84, 291, 293, 294, 295,
301
Hel, 312, 320
Hela, 312
Helena, 187, 284, 285, 286, 287,
291, 298, 301
Helenos, 284, 297
Helgi, 314, 323
Heliades, 108
Heligoland, 314
Helikon, 157, 158, 173
Heliopolis, 346, 348

INDEX.

II( -li.js,

Sol, 51, 76 ; described, 96;

109, 114, 165, 1 66, 240, 274, 331,

345

359

Hilde, 364
1

limeic/s. S^,

171
liminbiorg, 312

Hello, 272
Ik-lien, 206, 271, 272
Hellespont, 135, 203

Hippia, 93
Hippo, 154

lleniera, 22, 193

Hephaestus, Vulcan, 24, 27, 39, 43,

described, 79; 86, 88, 97,
47, 76

Hippodameia,

124, 175, 267, 208, 226, 237, 242,

294, 296, 315, 334, 343, 348
Hera, Here, Juno, 5, IO, 24, 29, 33,

43

described, 46-49; 50,

56, 75, 79, 87, 91, 104, 118,

39, 40,
5

124, 125, 130, 140, 149, 156,

168, 176, 177, 185, 210,

image

of,

162,

212

213; 214, 218, 219, 232,

246, 247, 249, 255, 256, 271, 272,

283, 284, 344
Herakles, Hercules, 39, 42, 43, 47,
52, 58, 76, 90, 91, 104, 105, 125,
148, 157, 169, 177, 204, 207, 209,
218, 220, 223, 233, 242, 245, 246
the choice of, 246; 247 ; legends

248;

265, 266, 267, 268, 272,

273, 289, 290, 297, 324, 327, 330
see
Herakles
Hercules,
1 lenna.
126
of,

Hermaphrodites, 86, 151

[ennapollo, 135
Jlermathene, 135
J

Hermes, .Mercury,

1
8, 20,24,38, 39,
63, 103, 104, 1 18; described, 1 21;
134, 136, 140, 144, 152, 153, 162,
168, 169, 175, 1 83, 198, 208, 209,
2IO, 211, 212, 215, 217, 227, 232,

236, 246, 294, 330, 351

Herodotus,

i,

16,

244

lippolochos, 224

Hippolyte, 256,268

86

[ippolytos,

lipponoos, 278

Hippotes, 163
Hjordis, 323
Hodr, 313, 316, 317

Homer,

I,

17,22,46, 50, 75,81, 158,

248
I 1

or*, 39, 47, 85, 127; described,

129; 161, 184, 208

Horatius Codes, 307

Horus, 347, 351
Lresvelgr, 321
himthursen, 321
Hrungnir, 321
Hunding, 323
Hunin, 314, 315
1

Hunland, 324
Hyads, 154
Hyakinthia, 98
Hyakinthios, 98
lyakinthos, 98
Hyas, 154
I

Hygiea, Hygieia, Hygea, 180

scribed, l8l; 182

lynieii;eos,

Hyperboreans, 101, 104, 252

k-iuiie, 51, 53,

288

ly pei ion, 27,

II
1

107

165
213
194

yperiiiiiestra, 212,

Iypm,

Somiui>,

Hypsipyle, 273, 280

lespere, 157

He-pcridcs, 156, 248

ksperides, iurden of, 156, 258
li>pcris,
156
(

k-Mia, Vesta, 24, 29,

7I;

7, 143

Hialprek, 323
lliU-eira, 285

33

described,

de

86; described,

172

Hyheos, 137
Hylas, 273

Hymen.

342

described, 2OO
(erostratos, 115
lerse, 236, 237
Hesiod, 17,22, 23, 36, 158, 203,310

76, 243,

[ippodromes, 221
lippokunntides, 263
Hippokrene, 157

k eland, 2O, 309, 310

Ida, 46, 51, 153, 178, 2.V,,
M.i nymph), 29
bl.u, 270,

285

INDEX.

Idomeneus, 286, 301

Iduna, 319
Ikaros, 119, 242
Ikelos, 195
Iliad, 46, 50, 51,

75,

76,

177,

194, 203, 276,

see Troy
Ilithyia, see Eileithyia

83,

321,

175,
322,

I lion,

Illyrium, 227

Imbros, 126
Inachos, 210
Indra, 328 ; described, 329

;
330,
33i, 333,. 334, 337, 342
Ino, 149, 226, 272
Inuus, 137
lo, 48, 107, 124, 125 ; described,
210 ; 214, 218
lobates, 213, 222
lolaos, 250

lole,

264

Iolkos,.23i, 270, 271, 272, 275

Ion, 237; legend of, 238
lonians. 206

no,

Iphigeneia, 12,

290, 292, 303

Iphikles, 247

Iphimedeia, 209
I phis,

278
47 described, 162 ; 265, 287
Iron Age, 44
Isandros, 224
Isfeudyar, 317
Isis, Mut, 344,
346, 347; de
scribed, 350
Ismene, 230, 277
Iris,

345>

Ismenios, 101

Isthmian Games, 16, 220, 292

Isthmus of Corinth, 16, 54, 266, 276
Itanos, 239
Ithaka, 163, 306, 307
Itys, 238
Ixion, 30, 60, 61, 231, 232

Jaso, 181
Jason, 233, 270, 271, 280
Jokaste, 229, 230, 231, 277
Jb tunheim, 311, 312
Julius Caesar, 198
Julius, see Askanios
Juno, see Hera

Junones, 49
Jupiter, see Zeus
Juventas, see Hebe

K.

Kadmilos, Kasmilos, 126

Kadmos, 6, 118, 148, 158; legend
228
of, 224
Kaineus, 232
;

Kalais, 191

Kalchas, 289, 290, 292

Kali Yuga, 337, 338
Kalki Avatara, 340
Kalliope, 160, 172, 234
Kallirrhoe, 153, 178

no

Kalliste,
Kallisto, 113
Kalydon, 76, 264,

269
Kalydonian Hunt, 76, 269
Kalydonian Boar, 76, no, 269
Kalypso, 154, 305, 306
Kamadeva, 339
Kapaneus, 278, 280
Karneia, 98
Karneios, 98
Karpo, 129
Kassandra, 283, 284, 297, 301, 302
Kassiepeia, 216
Kastalia, 157
Kastor, 227, 270, 272, 285

Kekropia, 236
Kekrops, 165
238

legend

of,

Kelseno, 191
Kelecs, 66
J-

Jacchos, see Dionysos

Janita, see

Dyaus

Janus, 32 ; described, 132

Janus, Temple of, 184
Japetos, 27, 207
Jardanos, 239
Jasion,

66

Kephalos, 166, 167

Kepheus, 216, 217, 218, 263
Kephissos, 151, 155
Kerberos, see Cerberus
Kerkyon, 266
Keryneian Stag, 250, 252,
Keryx, 236
Keto. 191, 193

236

INDEX.

Klieni,

344
Khuns, 344
Kilix, 225

Labyrinth, 241, 267

Lachesis, 185
Ladon, 87, 156, 252
Laertes, 287

Kirke, see Circe

Kitha-ron, 153, 229, 230, 247
Kleitos, 166

Laios, 229, 230, 277, 323

Lakedamion, 270

Kleta, 175
Klio, 150

Lakonia,

43

Knidos, 85
Knosos, 239
Koios, 27
Kokalos, 242
Kolchis, 191, 204, 271, 274, 275
Kolonos, 190, 279
Komana, 187
Komos, 142

Kopo, 101

53, 97, 106, 262

Lapithre, 231, 232

Laomedon,

Lara, 199
Lar, Lares, 198, 199
Lararium, 198
Larisa, 213, 218
Larvse, 199
Latona. see Leto

79, 81, 82, 120. 126, 207,

208, 273. 280, 290, 298

Lemnos,

Kreios, 27
Kreon, 275, 279, 281, 282
Kreta, see Crete

Kreina, 238
Krishna, 340
of,

12

Latium, 133, 138

Learchos, 272
I.e. la,
285
Leimoniads, 153

Kora, see Persephone, 62

Koronides, 178
Koronis, 124, 178
Korybantes, 34
Kos, 43, 263
Kottos, 26

Krommyon, The Boar

Lakshmi, 339
Lampetia, 108
Lampsakos, 135
Laodamia, 224
Laokoon, 299, 300

Klotho, 185
Klyt^mnestra, 189, 190, 285, 290,
301
Klytios,

36:

266

Knmia, 31
Kronion, Kronides, 36
Kronos, 18, 26, 27, 28; described,
29, 30, 3 5 32, 33, 39. 42, 44, 50,
57, 60, 65, 71, 189, 203, 328, 346

Kuretes, 29, 34
Kurnia, 340

Kuveia, 339

Kybebe, 33, 136, 140, 143

Kyklopes, 22, 26, 27, 30, 106, 304,
306
Kyknos, 76, 108
Kyllenios, 123
Kypselos, 196
Ky/ik<, 273
Kyl)ele,

L.

Labdakos, 227, 228, 229, 237

Lemures, 199
Lenaea, 119
Lerna, 52, 211
Lernaean Hydra, 249, 250
Lesbos, 235
Lethe, 59
Leto, Latona, 39, 61, 70, 100, 104,
107, 215
Leuktppos, 285
Leukophryne, 116
Leukosia, 150
Leukothea, described, 149
Lib^ra, 62, 69
Libitina, Lul>entina, 65
Libya, 211, 216, 225
Lichas, 264
Ligeia, 150
Liiniiads, 154
Limnaia, 113
Limoniads, 153
Linos, 247

Lipara Inlands, 163

Lips, 164
Lit.i-, 188, 189

Loki, 316, 317, 319, 320

226, 306

INDEX.

362

Lucifer, 168

Memnon,

Lucina, 49, 347

Luna, see Selene

Memphis, 343

Lykomedes, 269, 288

Lykos, 228, 229, 239
Lykurgos, (legislator), 113,240
Lykurgos, (king), 119, 256, 280
Lynkeus, 212, 213, 270, 285

Mercury, see Hermes

Merope, 220
Messene, 270
Messenia, 99, 112
Metageitnia, 100
Methymna, 118

Metion, 239
Metis, 30, 38, 88, 127

Midas, 35, 106, 136

Midea, 244
Midgard, 311, 312, 320
Miletus, 103
Mimir, 319
Minerva, see Athene
Minos, 62, ill, 174, 204; legend
of, 240 ; 244, 254, 267, 269
Minotaur, 101, 241, 267
Minyse, 231, 247
Miolnir, 335
Mneme, 158

M.
Machseon, 298
Maenads, 147, 235

Mahabharata, 321, 325,337

Maia, 39, 121, 140
Manes, 199
Marathon, 204, 255, 267
Mars, see Ares
Marspiter (Mars Pater), 77
Marsyas, 106
Maruts, 330, 334, 335
Mat, 346, 350

Mnemosyne,

Mater Turrita, 34
Matronalia, 49
Matsya, 340
Maut, 345

27, 39, 157, 161,

Mnevis, see Apis, 348

Moloch, 31, 239
Molorchos, 249
Moera, Moerae, Parcas,
scribed, 184;

274,

275,

322,

325

127

314

de

296

Moeragetes, 185

Momus, 195

Meditrina, 181
Meditrinalia, 181

Medusa,

296

Menelaos, 245, 285, 286, 287, 299,

301
Menoetios, 288
Menoikeus, 229, 281

Lupercalia, 138, 307

Lupercus, 137
Lyasos, 1 1 7
Lydia, 144, 263
Lykia, Lycia, 102, 213, 221, 222, 243
Lykios, 102

Mechanitis, 93
Medea, 242, 265,

80, 167,

52, 91, 191, 192, 215,

216,

217, 219, 221

Megsera, 28, 190

Megapenthes, 218
Megara, 238
Mekone, 207
Melampos, 214
Melanion, 278
Meleagros, 76, no, 269, 270, 272
Melete, 158
Melia, 210
Melian Nymphs, 28
Melikertes, 149, 220, 272
Melolosis, 154

Melpomene, 159

Morpheus, 195
Mors, see Thanatos
Mosychlos, 79, 81
Mu, 346
Munin, 314
Munychia, 113
Musagetes, 103, 158
Museia, 157
Muses, 130, 149, 150 ; described,
157; 171, 174, 175, 177, 194,226,
234, 235, 297
Museums, 159
Muspelheim, 311, 321
Mut, see Isis
Mutinus, 135
Mykense, 210, 218, 244, 248, 251,
254, 255, 302

INDKX.

363

Nutpe, 346, 347, 350

N \kteus, 228

Myrmidons, 293
Mynv.a, 86
Myrtilo.s, 244

Nympluva, 153

Nymphs,

X.

28,

137

113,

Nwa,

Naganando, 321

1 1

189

22, 70, 184, 185,

described, 193

Naranaya, 338
Narasingha, 340

October horse, 78
Odin, 311, 312; described,
317, 322, 323, 324, 325
Odinand, 311

Nausika a, 306
Nausimedon, 212
Naxos, 1 20, 267

Udy-sey, 59,
3 2I, 322

Nemean Games, 1 6
Nemean Lion, 249

CEchalia, 235, 264

(Kdipos, 229, 230,

<

Nephele, 272
Nephthys, 347, 351
Neptune, see Poseidon
60, 64; described,
149, 154, 2 1 6, 220

described,

146;

146

264

<

279,

)ileus,
>k

see

Ajax

can ids, 146, 154, 174

Okeanos, 22, 23, 27, 30, 38, 55,

148, 150,
described, 145
58
154, 162, 186, 195, 210
;

Nordri, 311
Nornen, 321

191

Olympia, 4,
128, 244
Mympiads,
(

6,

10,

16,

42

\y\
72,

78, 92,

134,

41,

47, 49,

44, 47, 70, 76, 78, 80, 81, 127,

174.
128, 157, 158,
i?6, 177, i /S, ij"- 188, 207, 209,
224, 226, 231, 235, 246, 248, 296,
33 2 345
i

66

40,

Olympian (lames, 16, 244

Olympos, 6, IO, 24, 25, 30, 42, 43,

239
Nomios, 100, 126

oin pilius,

277,

<

Ni>D>,

231,

Kneus, 264, 269

(Knoimvos, 76, 176, 243, 244
(Knone, 324
l-.ta, 264
^*, 335
Oiax, 212
Oikles, 262, 278

>kvpete,

Nestor, 53, 287, 301

Neverita, 55
Niblungs, 317, 321
Niflheim, 311, 312
Nike, Victoria, 93 described, 183
Nile, 211, 339
Niobe, 99, 229, 243

Nuina

276,

<

248,

Nesaie, 147

164,

203,

282

154, 257, 331

N..t os,

76,

<

Nereids,

304

of,

Neinesia, 186
Nemesis, 172; described, 186; 189
Neoptolemos, 288, 297, 301
Neph, Num, Nu, Nef, Cnouphis,
enubis, 343, 344

313;

Mysseus, Ulysses, 60, 95, 149, 150,

296, 297,
163, 287, 288, 290,
298, 299, 300, 301 ; wanderings

Neith, Ncitha, 345, 346

Neleus, 52, 272
Neinea, 249

196

O.

Narkissos, 155
Nastrand, 312
Nauplia, 21 1
Nauplios, 211

145

described,

144

8,

Nyx, Nox, Night,

Naiads, 125, 154

Napoja.-, 153

Nereus, 55,

151

263

hnpliule,

)neiropoinpo>,

)neiros,

huiphis, see Apis

(plieltes,

122

195

280

INDEX.

364

Pax, see Eirene

Pedasos, 292
Pegasos, 52, 91, 155,

Ops, 32, 140

Orchomenos, 173,

174, 247

Oreads, 25, 137, 153

Oreithyia, 165, 238
Orestes, 113, 189, 190, 290, 302, 303
Orion, in, 166

Ormuzd, 342
j

Orpheus, 58, 150, 153, 228 ; legend

of, 234; 272
Oschophoria, 269
Osiris, 342, 346
described, 347
;

Ovid, 133

Penthesilea, 295

Palaemon, 149
Palamedes, 125, 212, 288, 290.
Pales, 143

Pentheus, 119, 227

Pephredo, 193
Pericles,

307

Palladium, 72, 78, 94, 95, 298, 300

Pallantides, 266
Pallas- Athene, see

Athene

Pallas, brother of ^Egeus, 239,

Pallas, the Giant, 43, 183

Pan, 106, 135

Pelion, 153, 179, 209, 233, 251

Peloponnesos, 99, 179, 206
Pelops, 42, 204, 143, 244
Penates, 198
Peneios, 6, 151

Penelope, 306, 307

P.

Palilia, 143,

66, 167, 192,

275

Pelias, 52, 271,

348, 349, 350, 35 i, 35 2

Ossa, 209
Othrys, 30
Otos, 76, 209, 231

2l6, 221, 223

Peirene, 220, 221
Peirithoos, 231, 232, 268, 272
Peitho, Suada, Suadela, 85, 176
Peleus, 128, 147, 158, 187,233,262,
270, 272, 283, 288
Peliads, 153

266

Periklymenos, 263
Periphates, 266

Perkunes, Perune, 316

Persei s, 240, 274

Persephone, Proserpina, Kora, 1 8,

described, 62
32, 57, 6 1
65,
;

described, 136; 138,

67, 68, 69, 70, 86, 99,

Panathentea, 82, 93, 269

129, 149,
170, 189, 220, 232, 234, 347, 350
Perses, 70, 218

Panathenaic prize vases, 93

Perseus,

Pandareos, 191
Pandion, 237, 239
Pandora, 208
Pandrosos, 236
Panes, Paniski, 137, 139, 141
Panic fear, 137
Panope, 147
Paphos, 87

214; 221, 246, 248

Persians, 92, 102, 165
Pessinus, 35
Phseakians, 306
Phaedra, 241, 269
Phaenna, 175

144, 153, 155,

344

Parcse, 127, 182, 184, 269

Paris, 87, 283,284, 285, 286, 287,
Parnassos, 44, 157, 158, 206

legend

91,

191,

192,

193,

of,

Pheestos, 240, 242

Phaethon, 107, 108

324

Parthenia, 48
Parthenos, 93

Parthenope, 150
Parthenopseos, 76, 278
Pasiphae, 240, 241, 242
Pasithea, 147, 175
Patroklos, 203, 288, 289, 293, 295
Paul, St., 115
Pausanias, 41, 196

Phaethusa, 108
Phantasos, 195
Pheidias,

I, 4,

41, 49, 77, 169

1 88
Phene, 106, 262, 270
Pherusa, 147
Philammon, 235
Philemon, 38

Pheme, Fama,

Philoktetes, 242, 290, 298, 301

Philomela, 237, 238
Phineus, 191, 217, 273
Phlius, 176, 177

204

INDEX.

Ponlios, 220
Pontos, 22, 146, 2l8

Phobetor, 195
Phobos, 76
Phoebe, 27, 285
Phoebos, see Apollo

Porphyrion, 43
Poseidon, Neptune, 10, 1 6, 24, 29,
33, 36, 435 described, 50557, 66 f

Phoenicians, 31, 84, 239

Phoenix, 225, 240
Phokis, 302
Pholos, 251
Phorkys, 149, 191, 193

72,

146,
191,

Prithivi,

iS,

29,

33,

191

242

Polydeuko

Pulybos, 230
I

305,

Prometheus, 81, 82, 88, 195, 204;

described, 205; 210, 233, 262
Proserpina,
Persephone
Proleus, 145, 146
Prymno, 154
Psyche, 170, 171
122
>ee

Pthah, 343, 346

Pyanepsia, 269

93

Pollux, see

2^>,

339

Psychopompoe,

P.rna, 186
Polias,

254,

Prodikos, 246
Proetos, 213, 214, 218, 222
Prokne, 237, 238
Prokris, 167
Prokrustes, 266

Podaikes, 263
P<eas,

231,
244,

243,

124,
164,
22Q,

Priamos, 263, 283, 294, 297, 300,

301
Priapos, Lutinus, 135

Plutos, 66, 131

,

118,
154,
219,
233,

Prseneste, 183
Praxiteles, I, 169

Plexaure, 154

Hades, and
149, 179, 220

192,
225,
241,

106,

149,
2l6,

Potamia, 113
Polamids, 154
Pothos, 85, 171
Potiphar, 222

252

Pluto, sec

211,
228,

237,
306, 33 i

Pleiads, 154,
Pleione, 154

85, 88, 92,

147, 148,

222,

Phoroneus, 205, 210

Phrah, Pharaoh, 346
Phrixos, 272
Picumnus, 139
Pious, 138, 139
Pierides, 157
Pieria, 157, 234, 235
Pieros, 157
Pilumnus, 139
Pimpla, Pimplea, 157
Pindar, I, 3, 68, 174
Pindos, 158
Pittheus, 265
Plataeae, 204
Plato,

365

uly boles, 43

Polydektcs, 214, 217, 248

Polydeukes, Pollux, 227, 270, 272,
273, 285
Polydoroft, 226, 227
Polyhymnia, Polyinnia, 160
Polyido-, 221
Polykleitos, 49
Pol yk rates, 49

Pygmalion, 86
Py lades, 302, 303
Pylos, 238
Pylos,

Town

of,

123, 263, 287

Pyrrha, 44, 206

Pythagoras, 14
Pythia, 102

Pythian (James, 16, 59, 104

Pythios, 103, 105
Python, 96, 104, 105, 202

Polyneikes, 230, 277, 278, 279, 280,

281

Qoasir, 333

Polypheinos, 52, 305, 306

Polyphonic, 86
Pomona, 131, 132, 139

Ra,

K.
I

lira,

344, 345, 351

RakhshttM, 331

INDEX.

366

Ramayana, 321, 340

Ranno, 344

Selene, Luna, 70
165
Selinus, 192, 219

Reate, 77
Regin, 323, 324
Reifriesen, 321

Reimthursen, Rime, or Frost, 311

Remus, 74, 77, 307
Rerir, 322
Rhadamanthys, 62, 240, 243, 247
Rhamnusia, 186
Rhea, Kybele, 27, 29, 31 described,
33; 57, 65, 71, 144, 347
Rhea Silvia, 74
Rhodeia, 154
Rhodes, 98, 149
Rhodope, 234
Rhoetos, 43
River Gods, 151
Romulus, 74, 77, 134, 247, 307

Sabaeism, 346
Sabines, 134
Saecular Games, 62

Saga, 314
345

Sais,

Serapis, Sarapis, 350

Seriphos, 215, 216, 217
Servius Tullius, 74, 114, 116, 178
Seth, 347
Seven \Vonders of the Ancient

World, 42

Cumscan

Sibyl, see

Sicily, 84, 98,

143,

163,

192,

219,

242
Sidon, 240
1

Siegfried, 248
Siggeir, 322

Silenos, Sileni, 118, 141; described,

Saivas, 337
Salacia, 55

144
Silvanus, 140, 142, 143
Silver Age, 44

Salamis, 54, 93, 102

78
Samnites, 187
Samos, 49, 169

Sinis,

Salii,

266

Sinon, 300
Sinope, 350

Samothrace, 126
Saranyn, 327
Sarapis, see Serapis
Saraswati, 338
Sarpedon, 240, 243
Sati, 344, 345, 352
Saturnalia, 31, 32, 199
Saturnia, 32
Saturnus, 18, 29
described,
32; 132, 133, 137, 139, 143
;

Sintians, 79

Sirens, described, 149

Sirius,

305

1 1 1

described, 219
Sisyphos, 60, 6 1
Siva,lMahadeva, 337; described, 339
Skirnir, 317
Skyros, 288, 298
Sleipnir, 312
Smyrna, 187
;

31,

Socrates,

17,

I,

So

Sol, see Helios

Solymi, 223
141

144,

145,

Soma, 333, 334

Somnus, see Hypnos

152, 153
Savitar, 332

Sophocles,

Scopas, 169

Soteira, 93

273
Scylla, 306

87,

Seb, 346, 347, 348

109;

Sigi, 322
Sigmund, 317, 322, 323
Sigmund, Sigfusson, 310
Signi, 322
Sigurd, 317, 323, 324
Sikyon, 99, 207, 214, 228

S.

Scutari,

described,

Selli, 37
Semele, 39, 48, 118, 140, 149, 226,
227
Semnse, see Erinys

Satyavrate, 340
Satyriski, 141
Satyrs, described,

i,

231, 325

99, 113, 157, 169,

Sparta,
173, 245, 284, 285
Sparta:, 226, 227
98,

INDEX.

36?

Sphinx, 230 ; (Egyptian), 352

Steropes, 27

Thalia, 159, 174

Thallo, 129

Stheino, 191
Sthenebuea, 213. 222
Sthenelos, 246

Thamyris, 235
Thanatos, Mors, 194, 196, 197
Thargelia, 100
Thargelios, 100
Thasus, 120

Strymon, 234
Stymphalian Birds, 250, 252
Stymphalos, 252
Styx, 58, 107, 162, 183
Suada, Suadela, see Peitho
Sudri, 31 1
Sulla, 103
Surtr, 321

Surya, 331, 332, 337

Sybaris, 98
Symplegades, 274

T.
Talos, 239, 242
Tantalos, 60, 6l, 229, 243
Taranis, 376

Tarentum, 98
Tarquin, 103
Taixjs, 218
Tartarus, 18, 24, 25, 30, 60, 70, 87,
94, 195. 213, 232,
145. I93

243

Taunc Artemis, 113

Taurus, 190, 290, 302
Taygete, 252
Tegca, 77
Teiresias, 59, 306
Telamoii, 262, 295
Teleia, Tclcios, 48

Telemachus, 287, 306

Telepha>sa, 225
Tdephos, 289, 290, 298
Telophoros, l8l
Telesto, 154
eni])e, 6, 52,

231

Tcliedos, 149, 300

Tereus, 237, 238

Terminalia, 135
Terminus, 134
Terp-iclmre, l6l
Terra, see iaea
<

Tethys, 23, 27, 55; described, 145;

146
Teulainia.-,

6, 76, 77, 101, 112, n8,

119, 128, 167, 224; legends of,
224, 247, 263
Thebes, War against, 277
Thebes, 1 )estruction of, 282

Thel>es,

Theia, 27, 165

Themis,

Syrinx, 136

Thaumas, 162, 191

Thebai s, 276
Thebe, 228

2l8
173

27,

39,

104

described,

127; 129, 131, 185, 283

Themistocles, IO2

Theophane, 52
Theophania, 103
Theoxenia, 104
Thersites, 296
Theseium, 269
Theseus, 54, 91, 93, 176, 204, 223,
232, 239, 241, 246, 255
legend
;

of,

265, 270, 272, 275, 279, 286,

322
Thesmophoria, 67
Thesmophoros, 67
247
TlieNpi;e,
247
K>9,

The>pio>,

Thessaly, 24, 30, 52, 66,

217 ; legends of, 231

IO6, 206,

Thetis,

24, 47, 79, 128, 147, 152,

158, 243, 283, 288, 294, 296
Thiassi, 321

Thoe, 147
Thor, Donar, 312, 313
3i5. 321, 330, 335
Thoth, 347, 352

described,

Thrace, 77, 118, 144, 22$; legends

of, 233; 255
Thucydides, i
Thyeiie, 155
Thycstes, 244, 245, 301
Tiiyns, 213, 2l8
Tisiphonc, 28, 190
Tita-a, 156
Titans, 22, 25, 26, 27, 33, 42,
127, 137, 145, 200, 231

50,

3 68

INDEX,

Tithonos, 1 66, 167, 296

Tityos, 60, 6 1, 202
Triformis, 70
Trimurrti, 337
Trinakia, 107, 305

Triptolemos, 66
Tritogeneia, Tritonia, 88, 89
Triton, 60, 63 ; described, 148; 150
Tritonis, 88

Vikings, 309
Vingolf, 312

Vishnu

315, 316, 333,

described, 338
Vithar, 313, 319

334,

337 j

Volsungs, 317, 321, 322

Volsung Saga, 324,^325
Vritra, 331, 333, 342
Vulcanalia, 82

Trivia, 71

Trcezene, 128, 157, 265

Troilos, 291
Trollweiber, 321
Tros, 178

Troy, Ilion, 91, 95, 106, no, 178,

204, 245 ; war of, 282
Tyche, Fortuna, 182, 185
Tydeus, 277, 280, 296
Tyndareus, 263, 286
Typho, 342, 347
Typhon, Typhoeus, 164, 249, 351.
382
Tyr, Ziu, 313, 318, 332

U.

68,

Westri, 311
Wili, 311

Wind Gods, 164

Winds, Tower of,
Wodan, Wuotan,

165
313, 343

X.

Xenophon,

Xuthos, 238

Y.
Yggdrasil, 312, 319

UHr, 313, 319

Ulysses, see Odysseus
Urania, 85, 87, 127, 160
Uranos, 18, 22 ; described, 26; 27,
28, 29, 33, 43, 85, 127, 145, 158,
1

Walhalla, 312, 321

We, 311
Wegtam, 332

Ymir, 3 1

1,

Z.

Zendavesta, 311
Zephyros, 99, 131, 164, 165, 166
Zetes, 191,

328

Ushas 319, 335, 346

;

357

272

Zethos, 227, 228, 229, 247

Zeus, Jupiter, 2, 4, 10, 14,

16,
18, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33,

V.

17,

34

Vaishnavas, 337, 338

described, 35-45; 46, 47, 48, 50,

Valaskialf, 312
Vali, 313

5i, S3, 56, 57, 63, 72, 75, 76, 77,

79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 88, 90, 92
lol
101, 104, 105, 106, 107,

Valkyrien, 321

Varuha, 340
Varuna, 328, 330, 333, 334
Vayu, 334, 337
Ve, 313
Vedas, 9, 338
Vedism, 327
Veneralia, 87
Venilia, 55
Venus, see

Aphrodite
Vertumnus, 131, 132

Vesta, see Hestia

Vestalia, 75
Vestal Virgins, 73
Victoria, see Nike

113, Il8,I2I, 122, 123, 124, 125

127, 128, 129, 130, 131, I 3 2, 136
147, 148, 149, 153, 154, 156, 157
158, 162, 164, 166, 168, 176, 177
178, 179, 1 80, 182, 183, 184, 185,
1 86, 1
88, 189, 190, 197, 200, 203,

206, 207, 208,210,

2l8, 219, 220, 224,
232, 235, 236, 239,
244, 246, 247, 249,
3 5, 329, 330, 343
Zeuxis, I
Ziu, see Tyr

Zygia, 48

212, 214, 215,

226, 227, 228
240, 241, 242,

255, 313, 314,

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Student s Hebrew Grammar, from the twenty-first German edition, as

by E. Roediger, D.D., Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of
Translated by B. DAVIES, LL.D. With special Additions and Improvements,
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Dictionary of the English and German languages.

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:vennui cnapter

me

and the

s Hebrew Lexicon: a compendious Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old

Testament, chiefly founded on the works of Gesenius and Fiirst, with improvements from
Roediger, Dietrich, Ewald, and others. Edited by BENJAMIN DAVIES, Ph.D., LL.D.,
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"

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As

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