Class _Z}-f- Book ■- ^•v St . \ .iSSfe Gopyiight}]". / COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. STORIES e/" HELLAS STORIES ^/HELLAS By CORINNE SPICKELMIRE INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright 1911 The Bobbs-Merrill Company •>^ .v^ .^\ PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO. BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS BROOKLYN, N. Y. ©CI.A297668 CONTENTS THE TRIBAL AGE PAGE A Land Without a People or a Name ... 5 A People and a Name 6 The Coming of the Hellenes 9 The Tribal Age 12 How Lovely Hellas Helped 15 WANDERING BARDS OR POETS AND SOME OF THE SONGS THEY SANG The Wandering Bards or Poets 21 The Creation of the Earth 24 Battle Between Zeus and Typhus .... 26 The Coming of the Immortals 29 The War Between the Gods and Titans . . . 33 The Story of Prometheus 37 Pandora 42 The Flood 45 Perseus 48 The Adventures of Theseus 56 Heracles 66 A Wedding 77 Awarding the Golden Prize of Beauty ... 82 Achilles 85 The Tale of the Wooden Horse 94 The Adventure of Odysseus in the Land of the Cyclops 97 THE HEROIC OR HOMERIC AGE The Divine Homer Ill The Women of Hellas 114 COISITENTS— Continued AN INTERLUDE OF INTERESTING STORIES PAGE The Hellenes' Idea of Earth . . . . , 123 How the Poets Made the Religion of Hellas . . 126 Zeus and His Wonderful Company .... 130 The Divine Agora 143 A Sacrifice at a Temple 146 The Great Olympic Games 151 Oracles 157 The City- States 160 Athens and Solon 165 Sparta and Lycurgus 169 THE GREAT PERSIAN WARS A Great National Danger . . . . . .179 Miltiades at Marathon 183 The Eloquence of Themistocles 188 Leonidas at Thermopyl^ 191 The Burning of Athens 195 The Flight of Xerxes 200 THE GOLDEN AGE A Prosperous Era 207 A Typical Greek House 210 Agoras-Colonnades-Gymnasia 21^ The Greek Maid 219 The Boy of the Age 226 A Dinner- Party of Athens 230 SOME GREAT ATHENIANS Statesmen and Orators 243 Phidias 248 Socrates 252 THE PASSING OF THE GOLDEN AGE Alexander the Great .261 STORIES o/'HELLAS INTRODUCTION GREECE GREECE IS a sunny king'dom of Southern Europe that extends into the blue waves and the white caps of the Ionian and Aegean seas. Rocky walls, streams, and bays wrinkle the peninsula into picturesque valleys, the glories and beauties of which sparkle and change with the glowing tints of the sky. Greece is not a great nation to-Hay but is splendid with the; classic ruins of what she once was and we love her for her ancient splendor. In the springtime of civilization Greece was called Hellas and it was Hellas that first gave to the world a rich legacy of freedom, art, philosophy and literature. I STORIES OF HELLAS This book of stories will open the gates to lovely flower-jeweled Hellas, a realm of poesy, legend and history and of marbled works of beauty. Come, children, let us enter therein and sojourn awhile in Hellas while her pagan poets sing us their songs of gods and goddesses who dwelt in star-palaces and rode betwixt heaven and earth in clouds or in dazzling chariots. What glad golden days we shall have wandering through shadowy grottoes or danc- ing with nymphs to the pipes o' Pan as he fares over the windy headlands ! THE TRIBAL AGE A LAND WITHOUT A PEOPLE OR A NAME LONG ago when the earth was young, aBout twenty centuries before the blessed Christ Child came into this world of ours, the sunny little land we now call Greece had no people living on it. And it had no name in all the world. How strange — a land without a peo- ple or a name! The sea-waters, blue as violets, laughed and rippled about its shores. But there were no red-cheeked, bright-eyed children tumbling on its sands, no merry barefoot children wad- ing in its shallow pools. There were no ships sailing on its waters, nor were there any cities by the sea. Snow-capped mountains and rugged hills stood like grim, silent sentinels, 5 STORIES OF HELLAS while lions and wild boars roared and roamed through forests of laurel, palm and cypress. Birds sang and flitted among the trees. Flow- ers bloomed and tall grasses waved in the breeezes. The sun shone and the brilliant blue sky was over it all. But man was not there to see or to hear. How wild and lonely it must have been! A PEOPLE AND A NAME ONE Hay men, women and children came into this sunny land. And a wild, strange race they were. There were deep-throated, deep- chested warriors armed with pikes, and bows and arrows and clad in skins of wild beasts. They were strong and knew no fear. There were herdsmen too, who came driving their flocks of sheep, goats, swine and cattle, and the sweet wild notes of their rude pipes awoke 6 STORIES OF HELLAS strange echoes among the hills. Tanned brawny women jolted along in clumsy two- wheeled ox-carts with their cooing babes and prattling children by their sides. How glad and happy those people were when they saw this smiling land stretching out before them and bidding them welcome ! How glad the streams and birds and flowers were to hear the play and prattle of little children! The snow-capped mountains and rugged hills rejoiced to hear the tramp of men and war- riors, while at the very sight of bows and arrows, lions and wild boars slunk deeper into the forests. Those wild strange people were Pelasgians. They belonged to the great Aryan race, and had come from the plains and mountains be- yond the Caspian Sea. Some poets and schol- ars say they named their new-found land Pe- lasgia. 7 STORIES OF HELLAS The Pelasgians had come into the land from the north, and as the years went by they sepa- rated into tribes, each governed by a chief, and slowly made their way east, west, and south until they overspread the entire lovely country, finding plenty of work to do as they went over the land. They were busy building queer vil- lages that were mere groups of little round huts, made of clay and brush with reed or grass roofs. Around the villages they put high rough walls to protect themselves from any fierce, wandering tribes who might hap- pen to come their way. With sharp sticks for plows, they made their simple gardens in the narrow valleys and ' raised wheat, barley, flax, onions, peas and beans. The herdsmen tended their flocks and herds on the mountain sides and in the narrow valleys. At sunset they drove them up the steep slopes and within the walled towns to 8 STORIES OF HELLAS save them from prowling beasts and robbers. You see, the flesh and milk of those herds were the chief food and wealth of the Pelasgians. Those simple folk knew nothing of our God. They thought the golden sunlight was a god, and they worshipped everything in nature. But they gave no name to any god, and built no temples of no images. The snow-capped mountains were their altars and the sunlit for- ests were their temples. THE COMING OF THE HELLENES THE Pelasgians were not to hold their lovely land in peace. There came a time when they were glad they had walled towns, when their warriors used pikes and bows and arrows. One day whole tribes of people called Hel- lenes, came into Pelasgia from the north. They, too, belonged to the great Aryan race, 9 STORIES OF HELLAS and their ancestors had lived among the plains and mountains of Asia. But those Hellenes had long lived in Europe. Over the mountains they came, down through the fair Vale of Tempe, making war upon the Pelasgians. How brave and strong and fearless they must have been! We can easily fancy that the Pelasgians fought hard and long for their homes and their lands. Hills and vales echoed with the din and noise of battle. Slowly but surely the strong new tribes conquered the Pelasgians, and took their walled towns and their lands. Then the Pelasgians made friends with the conquering Hellenes, united with them and formed one people — the Hellenes or old Greeks so noted in song, legend and history. They named the country Hellas, a name it kept for centuries and centuries. In our stories we shall call it both Hellas and Greece 10 STORIES OF HELLAS and the people both Hellenes and Greeks. Glad and happy years now followed in Hel- las. The fierce warfare between the Hellenes and Pelasgians was over, and all were busy and helpful. Hills and vales once more echoed with the sweet notes of shepherd's pipes and the shouts and play of children. The hus- bandmen planted their rude gardens of grain and vegetables while the women and maidens laughed and chattered in their queer way as they fashioned their rough garments or cooked and served their coarse, plain food. Like great untaught children, these early people were full of the mere joy of living, and wondered at all the glad sights and sounds round about them. They loved the bees and the birds, and the woods, streams, flowers, and blue sky. They thought spirits must dwell in such lovely things and in the sun, moon, stars and mountains. And those simple Hellenes, II STORIES OE HELLAS like the Pelasgians, worshipped all things in nature and offered their prayers and their sac- rifices out in the sunlit forests and upon the snow-capped mountains. How wild, primitive and barbarous were all life and thought in that gay, gladsome land! But that selfsame Hellas was destined to be the birthplace of a freedom and culture that have been the wonder of ages. THE TRIBAL AGE FOR centuries the Hellenes, like the Pelas- gians, lived in tribes each governed by a chief, and they owned no lands, but moved about and settled where they willed. Historians call those centuries of tribes and chiefs, beginning with the Pelasgians, the Tribal Age of Greece. Primitive and barbarous though it was, life in those old days was charming and idyllic — like 12 STORIES OF HELLAS woodland music or some rude, sweet pastoral poem. Often picturesque hordes of those old Greeks or Hellenes, together with their flocks and herds, roamed through the forests of laurel, palm and cypress and trailed over rugged mountains. They were seeking rich pasture lands, near some steep crag or hill on which to build their fort. What jolly, carefree days those were! The flocks and herds cropped grass and flowers by the way. They drank from silver mountain streams and rested in the cooling shade of trees. The hardy Greeks ate nuts and fruits plucked from the forests, and drank from those same silver streams. At night they flung them- selves upon the ground to sleep and dream beneath the stars. Their women and chil- dren took refuge from the night in some leafy covert of the woods. Who knows? Perhaps ^3 STORIES OF HELLAS they slept in some lovely, ancient grotto of the nymphs. Those mothers crooned soft lullabies to tired ears, just as dear mothers have done through all the ages. What joy it was to sleep in moonlit groves a-lilt with songs of nightin- gales! And then to waken in the dewy, rosy morning, among the trees and birds! But we must not think that all the Tribal days were jolly and carefree, glad and happy. Often hills and vales echoed with the groans and cries of kinsman fighting kinsman, and the sweet notes of shepherds' pipes and the shouts and play of children were hushed in the awful tumult. Right well did those old Hellenes know that their pasture lands must have hill-forts and walled towns to protect them from wandering hostile tribes. Many a hill-fort thus selected by the wan- dering Hellenes became an Acropolis of the H STORIES OF HELLAS historic days, and the walled town they built about it grew to be a famous city. All unwit- tingly those old Greeks were laying the foun^ dations for that glorious civilization which was destined for Hellas. HOW LOVELY HELLAS HELPED LOVELY Hellas was fashioned and fitted by nature for freedom and culture, poetry and song. Close-pressed to a grim wall of mountains, Hellas hung like a magnificent citadel out in the seas, a glorious guardian of liberty. For did not her huge sea moats and rugged moun- tain walls keep back hordes of foreign in- vaders? The sea waters had laughed and pushed themselves into the land until all parts of Hel- las were close to the sea ; those bays and inlets, 15 STORIES OF HELLAS together with flashing streams anci rugged mountains, had dimpled all Hellas with water- girt, mountain-walled valleys that were mina- ture kingdoms of grasses, birds, flowers and sunshine. The picturesque bands of wanHering Hel- lenes invaded those kingdoms, built their hill- 'forts and walled towns, took the grasses for pasturelands, made friends with the birds and the flowers, and worshipped the sunshine. What gay, brilliant invasions and victories! Not a war paen,but the song of bird and the perfume of flowers! But those happy, blood- less invasions made for freedom and culture, poetry and song. !A11 the world to the westward was unknowrt and barbarous. The glowing young day be- gins in the east with the sunrise and carries its glories and charms to the westward, and in the rosy dawn of creation, civilization and i6 STORIES OF HELLAS culture began in the east and followed the golden path of the sun. Lovely flower-jewele'd Hellas faced the east — faced the glorious sunrise, civilization and culture. Only the beautiful Aegean Sea, with its countless enchanting harbors and delightsome islands, rolled between ancient Hellas and pagan Oriental culture and splendor. The breezes of morning were ever impatient to waft fair-sailing vessels from Hellas over the Aegean Sea toward the sunrise and splendor. The winds of evening were joyous and eager lightly to blow them back home. What a heritage was Hellas! A glorious guardian of liberty, she offered the Hellenes minature kingdoms, all teeming with natural wealth, to be strongholds of freedom and cul- ture. Her countless enchanting harbors and de- 17 STORIES OF HELLAS lightsome islands, and the broad expanse of blue sea were like beautiful sirens wooing the Hellenes to a life on the waves, to trade, travel, colonization, glory and power. And the mingled beauty of mountain and sea, the soft splendor of brilliant blue skies, and the rosy clearness of a radiant atmosphere were like the Muses of Mount Helicon, in- spiring the people to poetry and song. THE WANDERING BARDS OR POETS AND SOME OF THE SONGS THEY SANG THE WANDERING BARDS OR POETS iTHE stately centuries rolled on, leaving Hel- las all aglow with the roseate dawn of civiliza- tion. In the dim far away years the wandering Hellenes felt the spell of sea-moat and grim mountain walls. Their hill-forts and walled towns grew to be city-states, and their mina- ture water-girt, mountain-walled valleys were strongholds of sceptered kings, nobles and war- riors. The enchanting harbors, laughing waves, and fair morning breezes wafted them far out to sea. There the rude Hellenes sensed the charm of the east, and the glories of civil- ization. Soon that broad expanse of blue sea was a road for trade, travel, culture, and 21 STORIES OF HELLAS wealth, and beautiful cities of Hellas were blossoming in Asia Minor and on the islands. The potent poetic spell of the land had awakened the poets, and lovely Hellas was thrilling and glowing with their songs and with the joys and labor of civilization. The tribal days of Hellas were over. The poets were singing how from the first beginning gods and earth were born; and the great deep, and the stars, and the blue heavens above ; how from those gods sprang other gods, givers of all great and good gifts. They were singing of great Zeus, the father of gods and of men, and of gods and goddesses who dwelt in palaces far upon Mount Olympus. And there were love songs of gods and god- desses, who dwelt low on earth, of those who dwelt deep down in the sea, and of grim Hades under the earth. 22 j STORIES OF HELLAS They were singing strange tales of the wick- edness of men, and of a raging flood, sent by great Zeus in his anger. How that flood had destroyed all the people of earth but Pyrrha and Deucalion, who, at the will of Zeus, cast stones on the ground from which sprang forth the Hellenes. The poets were wandering bards or min- strels, who went over land and sea, singing or reciting their poems to the notes of sweet- toned lyres, and they were welcomed in camp, hut and palace. Twanging their harps, they sang the deeds of gods, heroes, and men, of wonderful wars, and the founding of cities. They sang of fierce-snorting, fire-breathing dragons, and many-headed, flesh-eating serpents and mon- sters, slain by mighty heroes — the children of gods and of men. There were glad songs of the woods and of 23 STORIES OF HELLAS the mountains, of laughing nymphs and reel- ing satyrs sporting in woodlands, and two- horned Pan faring over the headlands. But best of all the wandering bards loved to sing the deeds of gods and heroes. THE CREATION OF THE EARTH THE poets said that once there was no smiling earth, with its laughter, song and play, its happy babes and children. There was no life- giving air with its fierce winds and gentle breezes; no deep blue sky and fleecy clouds; neither was there any sea with foaming waves and billows. All those, and more, were jum- bled into one mighty mass called Chaos. And Chaos was full of countless beginnings, but all were ugly and discordant. At last some strange, kind, wonderful god, full of life and love, put an end to Chaos. 24 STORIES OF HELLAS Then all things were fair and splendid. Grass-covered and flower-crannied, the earth smiled in the golden sunlight, and the deep blue sky with fleecy clouds arched overhead. In the same golden sunlight rolled the sea with its foaming waves and billows, and the rivers and lakes, the woodland streams and the foun- tains flashed and sparkled like jeweled ribands. Hills and vales were in the land, and glorious snow-capped mountains; giant trees waved their branches to the breezes that were per- fumed with the breath of a thousand flowers. Then lovely Night was born and trailed over the land. Stars gemmed the sky and the moon flung down her silver light. Sleep touched hill and vale and flower, while dreams hung tremulous in the air. Love, in a brooding, perfumed silence, was over it all. Each golden morrow brought back the blessed sunlight, and earth was ready for gods and for men. 25 STORIES OF HELLAS THE BATTLE BETWEEN ZEUS AND TYPHUS WHEN Zeus and the gods had cast forth the Titans fWrn Olympus, earth and Tartarus brought forth Typhus, a monster, whose feet were as untiring as those of the gods, and whose hands were strong enough to do their deeds of strength. From his shoulders arose a hundred snaky dragon heads with blacken- ing tongues. In each terrible head crackling fires shone and sparkled from the eyes that rolled about in their sockets. In those fearful heads were voices that uttered all sounds of earth — soft tones meet for the gods, the song of the nightingale, the cry of the wounded stag, the roar of the lion, the yell of the whelp, the howl of the wolf, the loud bellowing cry of the bull, and the hissing of serpents. That horrible quivering creature aspired to be ruler over gods and men. 26 STORIES OF HELLAS Great Zeus saw the peril and danger and instantly thundered till earth and high heaven reeled with the crash. He uprose in his wrath and all Mount Olympus shook beneath his everlasting feet. The monster darted flames and blasts of fiery winds, while Zeus hurled thunderbolts and lightnings. The burning radiance diffused over the earth, the billows heaved and foamed round the shores, and all was wildest confusion. Even the Titans, down in murky Tartarus, shuddered with fear when they heard the rage of tumult and the din of battle. In the fullness of his might great Zeus gath- ered and grasped all the thunders and light- nings and at a bound he leaped from Olympus and smote the screaming Typhus. The fifty heads hissed and scorched in one blaze of fire and thundering Zeus had quelled him. Thunder-smitten and mangled, he fell among 27 STORIES OF HELLAS the dark, rugged mountain-hollows. Earth groaned beneath his weight and the heat and the vapors that arose from his body spread over the land melting rocks and drying up rivers. In bitterness of heart Zeus hurled his body from earth down the wide abyss of Hades, and it rolled with a sickening thud into gloomy Tartarus, forever. The toils of the gods were over. Great Zeus took hisf place high on Olympus as the father and ruler of gods and of men and divided all honors wisely and fairly among the gods. He made Poseidon, his brother, ruler over the sea and the waters, and to grim Hades he gave the dread mansions of the underworld, and he gave him misty Tartarus, where were im- prisoned the fallen Titans and Typhoes. Then were born the blue-eyed Athene, Jus- tice, Order and Peace, the Hours and the Graces, Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, 28 STORIES OE HELLAS and the nine Muses, who danced on Mount Helicon. Zeus made white-armed Hera his bride and to them were born blooming Hebe and grim-visaged Mars. Other gods and god- desses were born and to each one, mighty Zeus apportioned some beautiful work and honor. All was peace and joy on Olympus. THE COMING OF THE IMMORTALS FR.OM out that brooding, perfumed silence Heaven and Earth brought forth a race of god-like creatures, the Titans, strong, stern and mighty. Of those Titans, the wily Kronus was the youngest and the sternest of Earth's sons. Thousands of graceful nymphs, children of the Titans, played among the gladed hills of earth and splashed in woodland streams and fountains. Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, 29 STORIES OE HELLAS builded his coral palace deep down in the ocean, while his fifty fair daughters, among whom was silver-footed Thetis, ravished the halls with their music. Earth brought forth three Cyclops, giants haughty in spirit and resembling gods, save that a single eye was fixed in the middle of their foreheads. The Cyclops had three brothers, fierce and dreadful, who each had fifty heads, and a hundred arms growing from his body. Heaven would not permit the ter- rible creatures to live upon the earth, but cast them down in gloomy Tartarus and bound them fast with cords of iron. Monsters and dragons of the land and the deep were born, and also the three Grey Sis- ters, who had but one eye and one tooth among them and nodded on a white log of drift-ice beneath the cold winter moon. Then were born the Gorgons, who lived on the further- 30 STORIES OF HELLAS most verge of the earth, beyond where the sweet maids of the Evening Star danced round the sacred tree and plucked the bloomy golden apples of Hesperides, that were guarded by a hundred-headed dragon. The Titans were the gods of the earth. Wily Kronus builded him a throne high on Mount Olympus and wedded Rhea, a fair-haired Titan. To them were born the glorious race of the gods, the givers of all great and good gifts. Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, the golden- sandaled; grim Hades, and Poseidon, the great earth-shaker, were born. But huge Kronus devoured each baby god, fearful lest one of them more splendid than he should grow up and usurp his throne and his crown, for the tidings had once reached his ear that it had been ordained by fate that to his own son he should bow down his strength. When Zeus, the sire of gods and of men, was 31 STORIES OF HELLAS born, fair-haired Rhea begged Heaven and Earth to save the dear little god from the fury of Kronus. Earth took to herself the mighty babe and hid it away in the shadowy, flowery caves of Mount Ida. She gave to the imperial Kronus a heavy stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he greedily snatched and swal- lowed, little dreaming that the child lived, and would soon cast him forth from Olympus and himself rule the Immortals. Far away in Mount Ida, Zeus, attended by Earth and the nymphs, grew up in great majesty and beauty. One day in the full glow of godhood, he left the fragrant haunts of his childhood and appeared on Mount Olympus. Charmed and overawed by his presence, Kronus knew Zeus for his son, and he belched forth the stone, and the gods and goddesses whom he had Hevoured. Hestia, Demeter, Hera the golden-sandaled, grim Hades, and 32 NEPTUNE STORIES OF HELLAS Poseidon, the earth-shaker, were full-grown and shining, but Zeus towered above all, as towers the oak above the rose-tree. Kronus knew that the time was near when that majes- tic company would rule over heaven and earth, and he would be cast forth from Olym- pus. THE WAR BETWEEN THE GODS AND THE TITANS FROM the beginning, it was decreed that Zeus should be father of gods and men, and that the gods should win glories and great vic- tories over the Titans. Zeus sung forth a song of battle, and the gods flung back the refrain. They met in their awful splendor on the highest peaks of Olym- pus, and pledged themselves to wage fierce war against the Titans, a war for conquest and celestial empire. 33 STORIES OF HELLAS On the Othrys, a lordly chain of mountains to the southward, Kronus flung forth a brazen war cry and gathered the Titans about him, all chafing and eager to wage deadly conflict with Zeus and the gods. Prometheus and Epime- theus, brothers and Titans, espoused the cause of great Zeus, and took their stand on Mount Olympus. Thus opposed each to each, the Titans warred from Othry's loftiest summits and the gods from the snowy peaks of Olympus. Long they fought with a toil that was soul-distress- ing. For ten years and more the furious battle went on without ceasing and neither host won or lost in the conflict But now Zeus unloosed the Cyclops and the hundred-armed giants whom Heaven had fast- locked deep down in gloomy Tartarus. Those giants yelled with delight when released from their bitter bondage, and arose from the depths 34 STORIES OE HELLAS of darkness, up through the blessed sunlight, to the highest peaks of Olympus, raging against the Titans. The Cyclops bore with them the thunderbolts and the lightnings which they gave to Zeus to be his weapons of warfare. Zeus set before the giants and gods the nec- tar and ambrosia. iWhen all had shared the heavenly food a noble, heroic feeling kindled in each breast, and every god and giant burned with an ardor to destroy the Titans. The mon- sters whom Zeus had released from Tartarus were of enormous force. From their many shoulders fifty heads and a hundred arms sprang forth and with the Cyclops, they pulled up crags and mountains and hurled them aloft. On the other side, the Titans closed their phalanx, joined their hands of strength and prowess and displayed new works of war. Zeus no longer kept back his anger, but was 35 STORIES OE HELLAS: in truth a very god and went forth from Mount Olympus in fearful majesty, hurling thunder- bolts and flashing burning, radiant lightning. The whirling flash cast splendor, forests crackled and the seas were boiling. 'Heat and vapor arose, winds were blowing, war cries ascending and thunderbolts, mountains and crags were hurling through the air. It seemed that earth and heaven were meeting in one crashing din. Full long the Titans stood and bore the brunt of war. The thunderbolts and lightning deprived them of their eyes. The hands of the hundred-armed giants hurled each three times a hundred rocks against them. Their hands of strength bore the Titans down to Tartarus and bound them with galling chains. Poseidon forged a wall of brass about them and a night of triple darkness. And there the giants who had each a hundred arms and fifty 36 STORIES OF HELLAS hands growing from their bodies were set as faithful sentinels of Zeus. Atlas, a Titan rebel, was banished to the western rim of the earth and doomed to hold the skies forever on his shoulders. THE STORY OF PROMETHEUS PEACE and love brooded over the earth and the sea that lay like great golden dreams, awaiting the coming of man. Prometheus and Epimetheus, the Titans, who had espoused the cause of the gods, left the shining courts of Olympus and sped earth- ward in the glow and glory of the sunshine. 00 them had been given the divine task of cre- ating man and all animals of the earth and the waters. Soon myriads of fishes swam in the seas, birds poured forth their songs, and bees, in- 27 STORIES OF HELLAS sects, beetles, reptiles and worms, and animals of every size and condition were upon the earth — all created by Epimetheus. To each he gave some special gift, as song, wings, fins, talons, feathers, shelly coverings, cunning courage, strength and swiftness. Prometheus took earth and water and fash- ioned the first man of earth in the image of the gods. Epimetheus had made all the animals to look toward the earth, but Prometheus made man upright of stature that he might gaze on the stars. He gave him all the good gifts of earth and still longed for some greater and more wonderful gift whereby man might grow more godlike and win dominion over the land and the sea. He knew that fire was the great- est thing in heaven and earth and that it was sacred to the immortal gods. So well did he love mankind that he resolved to brave the eternal wrath of great Zeus and secure some of 38 STORIES OF HELLAS the treasure. With the help of Athene, Pro- metheus ascended to the very gates of the sun, snatched a firebrand and, hiding it in his bosom, floated to earth. Man now had in his possession the gift whereby he might win do- minion over the land and the sea, build cities, and develop commerce, science and art. Then followed the Golden Age of Earth, when all things were gay, joyous and happy. Men and animals were innocent and harmless and lived together like brothers. Flowers, fruits and harvests grew in riotous abundance, the streams flowed with milk and wine, and honey distilled itself from the trees. There were no quarrels, sickness, sin, labor, sor- row or death and life was an eternal spring- time. The ever-watchful eye of the great Zeus saw the radiant light down on earth and knew it was the sacred fire. Maddened with fury he 39 STORIES OF HELLAS (dashed down to earth and carried it back to Olympus, vowing revenge on Prometheus. Zeus sent the seasons, the days were made shorter, fierce winds swept over the headlands, and harvests no longer grew without being planted. Men and animals were forced to seek refuge from the heat and cold in the caves, grottos and leafy woodland coverts. Prometheus again went to the gates of the sun and stole sacred fire which he carried to earth in a fennel-stalk, and soon thousands of fires were kindled. Prometheus taught men to build rude huts, fashion the plow, harness the steeds to the moving car, and to bend the neck of the ox to the yoke. The altars of earth were neglected and gods and men were contending over the rights of the sacrifice. Eager to procure every good thing for man, Prometheus divided a huge ox, intended for the sacrifice, and placed all the 40 PROMETHEUS BOUND STORIES OF HELLAS flesh and rich fat in the skin, and the bones he cunningly put in a bundle of gleaming white fat. Then wily Prometheus laughed low to himself and said to great Zeus : "Most glori- ous Zeus, greatest of ever-living gods, choose which of these you would have men burn on the altars!" Zeus, with both hands, lifted up the white fat. And oh, how angry he was when he saw the bones arranged with such art! Henceforth the tribes of men burnt the bones wrapped in fat on their fragrant altars and feasted themselves on the flesh of the animal. Prometheus had cheated Zeus and the gods in the sacrifice, and for the second time had stolen the fire from heaven. The great Thun- derer saw the fires among men and remem- bered the burnt offerings of bones. He vowed that he would wreak evil on Prometheus and men. He seized Prometheus and bore him away to the highest peak of the Caucasian 41 STORIES OE HELLAS Mountains, where he bound him down with painful chains and bade him lie on the rocks for a thousand years. Zeus sent a hungry eagle each day to feed upon his liver, and at night while the bird slept the liver of Prome- theus grew whole again ready for the next day's feasting. So well did the great-hearted Prometheus love mankind that, for ages, he bore the agony of the rock, the bird, and the chains, and while men were praising and hon- oring him on earth he was enduring all the pain and the misery that mortals have known. PANDORA CHAINING Prometheus to a rock for a thousand years and sending an eagle each day to feed on his liver was a fierce, terrible pun- ishment for a god to inflict. But it did not 42 STORIES OF HELLAS appease the wrath of Zeus. He was still furi- ously angry with man for accepting the fire from Prometheus. In his anger, Zeus decided to create countless evils and send them to earth by a beautiful woman. Hephaestus, the god who was lame in both feet, fashioned a lovely maiden. Athene clad her in silver-white raiment and set a golden coronet around her beauteous head, with gar- lands of sweet-budding meadow flowers. She hung about her a veil that enveloped her in fleecy, billowy folds like shimmering mist. Zeus led the fair lady into the presence of the gods, and all were charmed with her loveli- ness. They named her Pandora, and each god and goddess gave her some exquisite gift of grace, charm or beauty, until Pandora, who was to be the first woman of earth, was indeed a ravishment of wonder. Hermes, the charm- ing young scamp of a god, gave her the fatal 43 STORIES OF HELLAS gift of curiosity, and that gift was destined to work unutterable woe upon earth. Zeus had fashioned his countless evils and imprisoned them in a box made of ivory and gold, fast-clasped with jeweled seals. The god placed the gift in her hands, bidding her never to open it, knowing full well that the gift of curiosity given her by Hermes would cause her to peep into the box. 'Hermes took Pandora and sped away to earth. He gave her to Epimetheus for his bride. Men wondered at her grace and her beauty, and land and sea burst into flowery splendor at her coming. Pandora was delighted with earth, but she wandered over its fragrant ways, thinking only of the box made of gold and ivory. Ah, the fatal gift of curiosity, given her by Hermes! That box was filled with woes and evils which had never before been known upon earth. 44 STORIES OF HELLAS Pandora broke the jeweled clasps and opened the box, when out rushed the myriads of ugly creatures — pain, trouble, sickness, lies, worry, pestilence, wars, sorrow and death. (They flew over land and sea, stinging Pandora and men as they went. Screaming with fright and pain. Pandora quickly closed the box. A wee soft voice in- side kept piping, "Please let me out. Pandora; I am Hope, and I can take away the sting of all evils." She again opened the box, and out flew a shiny, gauzy creature with glisten- ing wings. She kissed away Pandora's pain, then floated away among men, and she has ever been one of earth's greatest blessings. THE FLOOD ALL things were changed. Men and beasts were no longer friends. The animals skulked through the forests, wild and savage, feeding 45 STORIES OF HELLAS upon man and man feeding upon them. Crime, sickness, sorrow, wars, hatred and death were in the land and the gods and the altars were forgotten. Great Zeus was so angry at the wickedness of men and women, and at the neglect of their gods and their altars that he determined to send a great flood, which would drown all liv- ing creatures^ and then re-people the land with a race of god-serving people. Poseidon emptied the rivers and seas over the earth, and mighty Zeus sent storm-clouds that poured down oceans of water. All the earth except the snowy peaks of Parnassus were deluged with water, and all living things were destroyed, save Pyrrha and Deucalion, who were standing on the top of Parnassus. Deucalion was the son of Prometheus and Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus. They were husband and wife, and had always lived 46 STORIES OF HELLAS pure, devout lives, serving their gods and their altars. Zeus remembered their good deeds, and ordered them to live and re-people the earth. The north winds blew away the storm- clouds and Poseidon bade Triton to blow on his wreathed horn and sound a retreat to the waters. Once again the earth lay smiling and fair in the sunlight, and Pyrrha and Deucalion were the only living creatures upon it. They went into the Delphian temple, and there before the unkindled altar they fell prostrate, praying their gods to make known unto them what they should do. The oracle said: '^Good people, go forth from this temple, casting stones over thy shoulders." Hermes appeared with the stones, and Pyrrha and Deucalion went forth out into the world, casting stones as they went. Soon there were thousands of new people. The stones cast by Deucalion turned into 47 STORIES OF HELLAS brave, hardy men, and those cast by Pyrrha made beautiful women. Cities were built, heroes were born, and temples and gods were again held sacred. The new race of people was called Hellenes, in honor of Hellen, the beloved son of Pyrrha and Deucalion. PERSEUS THE poets twanged their harps and re- cited the deeds of Perseus, who was born in a great brazen tower, where his mother, the beautiful Danae,; had been fast-locked by the wicked king of Argo. That same wicked king placed the mother and babe in a huge golden chest and set it afloat on the sea, hoping that the winds and the waves would bear them out and away to some horrible death. But those were the days when the earth was 48 STORIES OF HELLAS young. Then the skies were always blue, the waves always gentle, and no storms ever ruffled the deep. The golden cask danced over the billows, while the sweet babe slept on its mother's breast and the gentle breezes sang drowsy lullabies. 'A fisherman cast his nets out to sea and twined in their meshes the huge golden chest. He drew it ashore, and his heart rejoiced and was glad when he saw the pretty young mother and the tiny, blue-eyed, golden-haired Perseus. He made them his own loving children, and for many happy years they lived on that frag- rant, water-girt isle of the sea. Perseus adored his dear mother and loved and obeyed the fisherman. He grew up like a god, wise, good, true, and dauntless in heart and spirit. So beautifully did he play on the lyre, and so skilful was he in rowing, swim- ming, running, leaping and wrestling, and in 49 STORIES OF HELLAS throwing the javelin and spear, that the peo- ple called him the son of great Zeus. The young hero made wonderful cruises over the seas and did many deeds of daring. The beautiful Danae was made temple- sweeper in a temple of Athene, and gods and men set her son a dangerous task to perform. He was sent to slay Medusa and to carry her head to the blue-eyed Athene, that she might wear it for ever on her bright, polished shield. Far away in the Unshapen Land beyond River Ocean lived the Medusa with her sis- ters, the Gorgons. Her sisters were immortal, huger than elephants and fouler than swine. Their bodies were covered with vile, brazen talons and they had flapping wings, a hundred- fold more massive than wings of the eagle. But Medusa was mortal and had once been a blithesome girl, more charming than day, un- til she boasted that she was fairer than Athene. J50 STORIES OE HELLAS From that hour she was banished to outer darkness and horror, to be a sister to the loath- some Gorgons. She was a maiden no longer, but with talons of brass and wide-sweeping wings, she was clad in gay plumage from which her gleaming throat and face rose like some ruined dream of beauty, while her hair was one mass of hissing vipers. So terrible was the head of Medusa that any living thing that gazed upon it was immediately turned to stone. And the grim task set young Perseus to do was to cut off that snake-entwined head and bear it over land and sea to Athene. No hero of earth could have done it without the help of the gods. Athene lent her own polished shield as a mirror to reflect the Gorgon, for we know that not even Perseus dared gaze on that head. A goat-skin was attached to the shield wherein to carry the treasure. Hermes fastened his STORIES OF HELLAS golden-winged sandals to the hero's ankles and gave him his magic sword. Borne by the winged sandals, Perseus flew over land and sea faster than skims the swal- low. He passed the western rim of earth, where Atlas held the sky on his shoulders, and on past the white log of drift-ice, where nod- ded the Three Grey Sisters under the pale, cold moon. He sped through the sun-bright deep of the Hyperboreans and paused a while in the Garden of Hesperides while the fleet maidens went down into Hades and fetched him the hat of darkness which made him in- visible. After countless wanderings, Perseus reached the Unshapen Land, where there is neither night nor day and where everything is topsy- turvy. He heard the rustle of wings and the dreary clanking of brazen talons. Holding Athene's shield aloft he saw re- 52 PERSEUS STORIES OF HELLAS fleeted the Gorgons, as they lay sleeping. Like some enchanting horror, Medusa was tossing and moaning, her cheeks pale and her eyes and mouth drawn and clenched with everlasting pain^ and sorrow. Every snake on her head was alive, hissing and writhing, with bright, beady eyes and forked tongues of poison. Gaz- ing into the shield, Perseus reached for the sword of Hermes, and with one fell stroke cut off the head of Medusa, wrapped it in the goat skin, and turned about homeward. Me- dusa's talons and wings rattled when she fell dead on the rocks and awakened her sleeping sisters. Howling and yelling with rage, they rushed after Perseus, their wings beating the air and their hot breath forming clouds of scorching vapor. But the sandals of Hermes were swifter than Gorgon wings, and soon they were left behind like specks on a distant sky. '52 STORIES OF HELLAS Perseus went over mountain, plain, and sea. As he passed over the deserts of earth, blood- drops fell from the head that bred deadly asps and serpents. A few drops fell into the sea and forthwith Pegasus, a famous winged horse, appeared. Athene caught and tamed the winged steed and gave it to the Muses who dwelt on Mount Helicon. Once in the early dawn as he flew over the sea he saw a maiden chained to some rocks down at the water's edge. It was Andromeda, the princess of the kingdom. She had been put there as an offering to appease the wrath of a sea-god. Even then the grinning monster was lashing the waves with his tail as he shot forward to devour his delicate victim. Quicker than thought, Perseus, made invisible by his hat of darkness, darted down like a shooting star and flashed the head of Medusa before the eyes of the beast. Instead of a sea- '54 STORIES OF HELLAS god there was a long black rock with the water gurgling over it. Removing his hat of dark- ness, Perseus made himself known to the prin- cess and with the magic sword he clove asun- der the chains that held her, then he wedded Andromeda in the royal palace of her king- dom. Taking her in his arms, he floated away toward home, stopping many times on the way to redress wrongs by unveiling the Gorgon's head and turning cruel men and kings and beasts into stone. Perseus was made king of Argo and Andromeda was his young queen. Athene ever afterward wore the head of the Medusa on her bright, polished shield, and when Perseus and Andromeda died^the god- dess carried them, up to the skies, where they shone as beacon stars through the night, but during the day they feasted with the gods on Olympus. 55 STORIES OF HELLAS THE ADVENTURES OF THESEUS THE poets told wonderful tales of Minos, king of Crete, who was the wisest of all mortal kings. His ships were as countless as the sea- gulls, and his palace was like some marbled hill. They sang of his throne of beaten gold, of the speaking statues that adorned his halls, and of the great dancing-room of Ariadne, his daugher. They told of the Minotaur, a hor- rible monster with a body of a man, the head of a bull, and the teeth of a lion, that was owned and beloved by Minos. The beast was kept in a building called the Labyrinth, which had been builded by the orders of the king, and consisted of hundreds of rooms, both above and below the ground. So full was it of doors and of windings that none who en- tered therein ever found their way out again. In the cavern depths of those rooms, the Mino- 56 STORIES OF HELLAS taur pawed and raged, awaiting his yearly victims of seven youths and seven maidens from Athens. And this is the tale that the minstrels told of those victims and the Adventure of The- seus: Once Minos had a son who went up to Athens and won in the great sports and games. The Athenians admired his beauty and strength and honored him as a hero. But Aegeus, the king, was jealous and fearful lest the youth should take away his scepter and be- come king of Athens. In his wrath he plotted against him and slew him, no man knew how, or where. Then Minos went to Athens with a mighty army to avenge his son's death. He would not depart from the city until the peo- ple promised him a yearly tribute of seven youths and seven maidens who wxre to be chosen by lot, and sent in a black-sailed vessel '57 STORIES OF HELLAS to the Island of Crete and there fed one by one to the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Once, years before, that same king, Aegeus, was traveling in a distant kingdom when he met and married the princess. They lived happily together and had a sturdy young son named Theseus. One day the king was called home to Athens, and for some strange cause he left the mother and babe behind. Before departing he gave the queen a pair of golden sandals and a bronze sword with a golden hilt, saying, as he did so : 'Tlace the sword and san- dals under a marble slab close by the temple of Poseidon, and when Theseus is strong enough to raise the stone he shall journey alone to Athens and be made known as the prince of the city." For eighteen long, weary years the mother watched and waited, training her boy to be kind and gentle and to do deeds of prowess. 58 STORIES OF HELLAS Then she took him up to the temple and from there sent him to a thicket, near by, to find the marble slab beneath the laurels and plane- trees. With one superb effort of strength the boy lifted the slab and saw the golden sandals and sword. With a joyful cry he gathered them up and sped away to his mother as fleet as runs the deer in the forest. She then told him of the beautiful Athens in Attica. She told him that Attica was the land of Cecrops, the serpent-tailed king, and was made up of twelve walled-cities, and bee- haunted, vine-clad mountains; meadows, where blossomed the asphodel and the crocus, and wooded glens wherein the nightingale poured forth her song. The queen-mother asked Theseus what he would do were he ever made king of Athens, and the boy replied: ^'I would rule so wisely and well that when I died the people would 59 STORIES OF HELLAS mourn for me, as mourn the sheep for their lost shepherd." The mother rejoiced and said, "Depart, my son, to Athens, for thou art indeed a mighty prince, the son of King Aegeus, and some day thou mayst be king of the city." With his eyes alight with a new-born fire, Theseus put on the sandals and sword, kissed his mother a loving adieu and fared over the way to Athens, slaying dragons, righting great wrongs and ridding the forests of robbers till his fame and glory spread throughout the kingdom. Theseus ascended the long flight of steps that led up to the Acropolis and entered the city of Athens. He sought out the royal pal- ace and found the court feasting and making merry. He entered the banqueting hall, and the ancient king knew Theseus to be his own beloved son, by the golden sandals and the 60 THESEUS STORIES OF HELLAS glittering sword. 'He clasped the boy in his arms, and they both wept for the sheer joy of meeting. The people came out with harps, dances and songs. They offered sacrifices to Athene and reveled throughout the night, re- joicing that their king had found a valiant son and the city a prince and a hero. A herald appeared in the court demanding the yearly tribute to King Minos of Crete. The whole city was thrown into a panic of mourning and lamentations, for seven brave sons and seven fair daughters of Athens must be sent to the Labyrinth to feed the Minotaur. Theseus was appalled at the blood-curdling practice and resolved then and there to slay the Minotaur and free his people. When the lots were being cast the young hero offered himself as a victim. King Aegeus wept and stormed, forbidding so great a sacrifice. But Theseus sailed away in the black-sailed ship, 6r STORIES OF HELLAS having promised his father to change the black sails to white if he returned victorious. The black-sailed ship reached the city of Crete which nestled beneath the peaks of Mount Ida, and those fourteen sons and daughters of Athens were taken before King Minos, who sat in his marbled palace. The king looked them over and ordered them sent to prison, and cast one by one to the monster, that the death of his son might be avenged. Theseus begged the king to allow him to be thrown first to the beast, and told him how he had chosen himself to be a victim. The king was so struck with the beauty and bravery of the youth that he begged him to go home in peace. Theseus replied: ''I will never depart from your city till I have stood face to face with the Minotaur.'' At that the king cried: "Take the mad man away and let him see my beloved monster." 62 STORIES OF HELLAS iThey led Theseus away to prison with the other youths and maidens. Ariadne, the king's daughter, saw the young prince of Athens as she came out of her great dancing-hall, and she loved him for his courage and strength. At night she crept into the prison and gave him a sword to slay the beast and a clue of thread by which he might find his way out of the Labyrinth. Theseus loved Ariadne and promised to make her his wife and take her away to his own beautiful city. He hid the sword and the clue of thread in his bosom and slept sweetly until the morning. In the evening the guards led him away to the Labyrinth. Theseus went down into that dark, winding gloom, but he carried the clue of thread, which he had fastened to a stone at the entrance, and let it unroll out of his hand as he went through the rooms and arches and over heaps of fallen stones. 63 STORIES OE HELLAS 'He met the Minotaur in a narrow gorge of black cliffs, and was startled when he saw the stupendous beast roar, put down his head and plunge at him. The youth stepped quickly aside and struck at him with the sword, which Ariadne had given him. He stabbed him again and again, and the monster, who had never before felt a wound, ra» through the thousand wayed Labyrinth bel- lowing wildly with pain. Theseus was hot on his trail. He found him panting in a glen that was white with eternal snows. How they fought, man and beast! All that vast winding gloom echoed and trembled with the noise of the combat till the hero of Athens caught the Minotaur's horns, thrust back his head and pierced his throat with his sword. Halting and weary, Theseus made his way through the gloom by the clue of thread, till he reached the entrance of the building. There 64 STORIES OF HELLAS he found Ariadne, the princess, and whis- pered: ^^The monster is slain," and showed her the sword. In the star-lit darkness they hastened away to the prison and freed the youths and maidens, while the guards were sleeping heavily. Soon they were sailing away on the black-sailed ship, a merry crew bound for Athens. iThey reached an island, where Theseus and Ariadne were wedded, and all the gay crowd were spending the bridal day in the shadowy glades of the forest. Dionysus, the god of wine and revels, went wandering by and stole the fair Ariadne and bore her away to be his own bride. Again they set sail in the black-sailed ship, a sorrowing crew bound for Athens, and in his sorrow and grief Theseus forgot to change the black sails for white. Far away on a cliff sat old king Aegeus 6s STORIES OF HELLAS watching for the return of the vessel. When he saw the black sails he gave one piercing shriek and fell headlong into the sea, which ever since has been called the Aegean. The people were wild with delight and won- der when they saw the youths and the maidens and knew their days of tribute were over. Theseus was crowned king of Athens and was honored as one of the greatest heroes of earth. HERACLES THE minstrels recited the deeds of Heracles, who was the son of great Zeus and was born within the gates of Thebes. Golden-sandalled Hera hated the young child, and when he was but a few days old she sent two terrible serpents to devour him with their poisonous fangs. They crept into the palace and coiled round the cradle. Their 66 STORIES OF HELLAS rustle and hissing awakened the babe, who sat up in his crib and rubbed his sleepy eyes. While his nurses stood by, helpless and screaming, Heracles strangled the deadly ser- pents with his baby fingers and laughed and cooed with delight. Heracles had a long, happy childhood and was trained by Chiron, a Centaur or creature of the woods who was half man and half horse and skilled in all arts and all virtues. Chiron was the teacher of many chieftains and heroes of Hellas and was greatly beloved by the Hellenes. So well did the Centaur train Heracles that he grew up fine, strong and noble, and could easily strangle a wolf or a lion. Once Heracles killed a lion that ranged through the mountains, and ever afterward wore its skin, which was his only garment. He pulled up a tree of the forest and carried 67 STORIES OF HELLAS it in his hand for a weapon. Then he went out into the world to seek his fortune. On the way he met two strange maidens named Pleas- ure and Duty. Pleasure was handsome and bold, and was clad in jeweled raiment. With smiles and dimples, she begged Heracles to follow her all the days of his life, offering him ease, comfort, good times and riches. Duty was a very plain, modest maiden. She stood aside and quietly asked the hero to fol- low her throughout his life; but she warned him that if he did so he would have to labor hard, do right, war against evil and endure many hardships and hunger. Heracles scorned all the soft smiles and fine arts of Pleasure, and chose to follow plain, simple Duty. He went on his way rejoicing, resisting tempta- tions and doing deeds of valor. Wicked Hera still hated the youth and de- vised means to destroy him. She persuaded 68 STORIES OF HELLAS Zeus to decree that Heracles should serve a certain king of Hellas for a twelve-month. Now, that king was wicked and jealous like Hera, and was glad to have the hero in his power and service. He set him Twelve La- bors to perform, each fraught with great dan- ger and seemingly impossible. Heracles was angry and amazed at the injustice, and pon- dered long in his heart as to whether he should attempt them. He sought the oracle at Delphi, who bade him remember Duty and obey every task that was assigned him. Thrilling with joy and enthusiasm, Heracles went forth to perform all his labors. Now, listen, children, to the Twelve Labors of Heracles which the minstrels recited to the notes of their lyres : Heracles killed an awful lion that raged in Nemean forest and devoured men, women and children. The lion had a skin which no 69 STORIES OF HELLAS weapon could pierce, and when Heracles went into the forest he picked up the lion and strangled it in his powerful arms as easily as he had destroyed the deadly snakes in his babyhood. He destroyed the Hydra that lived in the marshes and ravaged the surrounding king- doms. When Heracles cut off one of the heads, he noticed that two more instantly grew. He told a servant to burn each wound with a fire- brand, and in that way the wise hero cut off every head. Heracles dipped some arrows into the Hydra's blood and they were thus made deadly poison, and were carried by the young hero during the rest of his life. The king told Heracles to capture a wild boar that roamed through the mountains of Arcadia. The youth caught the boar and car- ried it alive to the king, who was so fright- ened that he shut himself up in a brazen 70 STORIES OF HELLAS room of the palace and ordered the boar taken out of the city. Artemis had a beautiful stag with golden horns and brass hoofs, and so fleet was the stag that its feet seemed never to touch the ground. The king bade Heracles capture the animal and carry it home to him. For a long time the hero chased the stag, and at last drove it into a snowdrift, from which he freed it and car- ried it to the king in triumph. Some vicious birds lived close by a lake and fed on human flesh. Heracles shot his pois- oned arrows at them, which killed or drove them away forever. He defeated the Amazons, a strong race of fierce female warriors of Asia Minor, and kept as the spoil of the battle the exquisite girdle of their queen, which he gave to Ad- meta, the king's daughter. For thirty years a king had kept three thou- 711 STORIES OF HELLAS sand head of cattle in some stables that had never been cleaned in all that time. Heracles was required to clean them, which he easily did by turning the course of a river through the stalls. Once Poseidon gave Minos, the king of Crete, a bull to offer up as a sacrifice. Minos was so charmed with the animal that he re- solved to keep it and sacrifice one of his own. Poseidon was very angry and caused the bull to go mad and dash over the island, frighten- ing the people and doing much damage. By the order of his king and master, Heracles caught the maddened animal, slung it over his shoulder and marched away to the palace. There was a king of Thrace who had some fine horses, which he fed on human flesh. He made a decree that all strangers who entered his kingdom should be seized, fattened and served as food to his horses. The valiant 72 STORIES OF HELLAS young Heracles overcame the king of Thrace and caused him to be fed to the horses, which he tamed and drove home to his master. Somewhere in Hellas was a frightful mon- ster with three bodies and three heads. Hera- cles slew the terrible creature and drove the king's flesh-eating cattle into the wilder- ness. Far away to the outermost verge of the earth was the Garden of the Hesperides, where grew the golden apples, that were guarded day and night by a hundred-headed dragon. The king ordered Heracles to fetch him some of the marvelous fruit. The hero was sorely perplexed, for none but the im- mortals knew where lay the Garden of the Hesperides. He found the Old Man of the Sea asleep on the beach, and held him fast until he told him that Prometheus alone could direct him to the garden. Now, we know that 73 STORIES OF HELLAS Prometheus was bound to a rock, high on the Caucasian mountains, and that an eagle was feeding each day upon his liver. Heracles sprang up the mountainside, killed the hungry bird, snapped the chains and freed Prome- theus, the Titan and lover of mankind. So grateful was Prometheus for his freedom that he gladly told Heracles to go to Atlas, his brother, who would help him procure the apples. With a bound the young man was off and away to the western rim of the earth, where he found Atlas holding the sky on his shoulders. Atlas offered to get the apples if Heracles would hold up the sky. Quickly the burden was shifted to the broad shoulders of Heracles and Atlas stretched his long limbs and capered and danced for the pure joy of motion and freedom. Covering long miles with each stride, he hastened away and saw the golden apples glinting in the sunshine. He en- 74 (JnTn' pi-ad Ho-mer'ic O-lym ' pic Hy'dra Oth'rys (ris) Hy-per-bo're-ans Pan-do ' ra Ic-ti'nus Par ' the-non n'i-ad Pa-tro ' clus I'ris Peg'a-sus Ith'a-ca Pelasgia — Pe-las ' ji-a Juno — Jew ' no Jupiter — Jew ' pi-ter Pelasgians — Pe-las ' jians Peleus — Pe ' lus Peloponnesus — Pel-o-po-ne ' sus Pe-ne ' us WORD LIST Pen-tel ' i-cus Spar'ta Pericles — Per ' i-kleez Styx— Stix Persephone — Per-sef o -ne Symposia — Sim-po ' si-a Perseus — Per ' sus Symposiimi — Sira-po ' si-um Phidias — Fid ' i-as Phidippides — Fi-dip ' pi -deez Ta-ren'tum Phoenicia — Fe-nish ' a . 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