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Ladi NPN Purvtap er inbanr Ab aa ate mR ATRIAL Mihir Puhahunt en ued het Ment Hite ab ie de f PD Mee Waitt ide Nidtme ahidkamtabtinrha dy (quik c) Pee heitanwied tle ve aa (aa “ “bow cee re ee i 421) aes Dte MBA nade Res bay ee teah ah peas bp WR a el ele at ee et | * eC eter Ware eer te? oi) ed Soetoro Balai gd ab ed CO he oe eh eb. oi panied Lisl AMA oll web dau bobit 3 thick Harb ig DW i edd Oo dealt He Hh shenet Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. University of Illinois Library _ Pa =} 7 » at oo pay 4 1959 A é} ACT 3 APR2 01970 oj nan ann led 179 3 ie > . b Aamanllotmie a y ie, “ie DEC 2.9, 198¢ May 251966 MVG%24 Wh feb 14 839 BEA APR- — % 1981 y) 1983 AUG 1 3 1993 | HOV 0 3 nea” NOY L161—H41 Ua ics i Le ing x THE MYTHOLOGY OF ANCIENT GREECE AND ITALY. | ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE Romance AND _ Counrrizs. ee eee ee Foolsea 8v0, THE MYTHOLOGY OF ANCIENT GREECE AND ITALY, INTENDED CHIEFLY " FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITIES AND THE HIGHER CLASSES IN SCHOOLS. BY THOMAS KEIGHTLEY, AUTHOR OF THE “ FAIRY MYTHOLOGY, ”’ ‘(OUTLINES OF HISTORY” IN THE CABINET CYCLOPEDIA, &c. &c. Kal mov Ti kal Bpotay ppévas “Yrtp Toy dAaH Adyoy Acdaidarpévor Weddeor moiktros *Ekamar@vtTt mvdou TIINAAPOS. WITH TWELVE PLATES, ETCHED ON STEEL, By W. H. BROOKE, F.S.A. LONDON: | WHITTAKER, TREACHER, AND CO.,, AVE MARIA LANE. MDCCCXXXI. 3'53BDG Car PREFACE. My design in the following work, which was ‘un- dertaken at the suggestion of the head of a re- spectable school, is to supply an acknowledged desideratum in our literature ; to make known the advances which the knowledge of Classical My- thology has made in Germany, and to initiate stu- dents in what may be regarded as its philosophy. As I profess myself to be a disciple of the rational school of Voss and Lobeck, I also wish to oppose, if possible, an effectual bar to the introduction of the wild fancies of Creutzer and the mystics into this country. How far I have succeeded remains for competent judges to determine. The task was no doubt one of difficulty; but I had already tried my strength in this department, and not wholly without success. In my “ Fairy Mythology” I had taken a view of a curious branch of superstition, as it exhibits itself over a great part of the world; and many of the most eminent men of letters, both here and on the Continent, have expressed their approbation of the performance. I had also written, in the Foreign Quarterly Review, two articles on the Ancient Religion and Mytho- logy of Scandinavia, which were not contemned by the literati of the North, 4861839 al PREFACE. As the booksellers were generally of opinion that a Work on Mythology was not likely to meet with success, I adopted the precaution of printing a spe- cimen-sheet, and sending it to the Universities, to the heads of some eminent Schools, and to some men of high rank in literature. The answers which I received were such as induced me to commit the Work to the press without hesitation; and I hope by means of this volume to be instrumental in diffusing juster ideas on the subject of Mythology than have hitherto prevailed in this country. There is, Iam aware, a general prejudice against the Grecian Mythology on the score of delicacy. I think, however, that the love-adventures of the Gods and Heroes of Greece may be told in such a manner as not to offend; and I feel confident, that the narratives in the following pages will be found unexceptionable in this respect. No one can more highly respect true delicacy, no one would more anxiously avoid all occasion of offence to it, than I; but false delicacy, that sure mark of a prurient iina- gination, I view with contempt, and never will do it homage: Honi soit qui mal y pense. Superficial as my Work may appear to some, I can assure the Reader that, as the references will show, it is the result of extensive research; and I _ may truly say on presenting it to him, ** Accipe dona meo multo vigilata labore.” I would at the same time request him to bestow on it a consecutive perusal, as otherwise the appli- PREFACE. Vil cation of the principles which have been laid down for the explanation of the mythi will not be per- fectly understood. Error and defect are almost unavoidable in a first attempt on an extensive subject. My ideas, it will be observed, became more precise on some points as the work was passing through the press, and I corrected a few mistakes into which I had fallen. As there are probably still some remaining, I shall feel most grateful for the public or private cor- rection of error and suggestion of improvement. The nature of my plan has obliged me to use the Greek names of the Gods and Heroes ; which many, I trust, will deem to be an advantage. I have also taken the liberty of employing some new words ; one of which, pragmatise, may require explanation : —I mean by it, the reducing of mythic narratives to historic truth, by altering or rejecting fabulous or improbable details. I can hardly hope to be believed or pardoned when I declare, that I did not read the elegant little volume of Mr. Coleridge until three-fourths of my Work had been printed. I mention this, as it gives me an opportunity of expressing the pleasure which a perusal of it afforded me; and also for the sake of pointing out the curious coincidence of our agree- ‘ ing to illustrate the origin of the Homeric poems by the ballads on the Cid and Robin Hood. The two articles on Mr. Coleridge’s work in the Quar- terly Review will amply repay a perusal. Vill PREFACE. The subjects of the Plates in this volume are all genuine antiques. They have been selected and engraved by Mr. Brooke, whose fanciful and spirited illustrations of my “Fairy Mythology” have been so generally admired. They are taken chiefly from the noble collection of gems, medals, bas-reliefs, and paintings of vases contained in Millin’s Galérve Mythologique, (a work which every admirer of an- cient art should possess,) and from the splendid Musée des Antiques \ately published at Paris*. The execution will testify for Mr. Brooke’s taste and accuracy. I cannot refrain, ere I close, from expressing my gratitude for the extreme care and solicitude which have been manifested in the typographical depart- ment at the Printing Office of Mr. Taylor. It is a pleasing relief to the irksomeness of the task of conducting a work through the press, to find one’s associates in the toil anxious for its perfection and its success. In conclusion, I have to express my hopes that I shall have succeeded in producing a Work useful to the student and not unacceptable to the scholar, and from which the general reader may derive both information and pleasure. T. K. London, April 18th, 1831. * Messrs. Treuttel, Wirtz, and Co. announce a publication of this Work in Parts. The 281 Plates which it contains will form 31 Parts, with descriptive Tables in English. CONTENTS. Se MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Part I.—THE GODS. CHAP. I. INTRODUCTION. Of Mythology in general, 1. Origin of Mythology, 2. Theories of the Origin of Mythology, 9. CHAP. II. GRECIAN MYTHOLOGY. Its Origin, 12. Historic View of Grecian Mythology, 14. Literature of the Grecian Mythology, 21. CHAP. III. MYTHIC VIEWS OF THE WORLD AND ITS ORIGIN. Mythic Cosmology, 29. Cosmogony and Theogony, 39. CHAP. IV. THE HOMERIC GODS IN GENERAL, 44. CHAP. V. URANIDES OR TITANS. Kronus, 49. Japetus, 51. Atlas, 51. Prometheus, 52. Eos, 53. Helius, 55. Selena, 58. Hecate, 59. Oceanus, 60. CHAP. VI. THE KRONIDES. Zeus, 62. Poseidon, 66. Hades, 68. Hestia, 72. CHAP. VII. HERA AND HER OFFSPRING, Hera, 74. Ares, 79. Hephestus, 82, Hebe, 85. CHAP. VIII. LETO AND HER OFFSPRING. Leto, 86. Phoebus Apollo, 87. Artemis, 98. CHAP. IX. DIONE AND HER OFFSPRING. Dione, 105. Aphrodite, 105, Eros, 112. X CONTENTS. CHAP. X. PALLAS ATHENA AND HERMES. Pallas Athena, 119. Hermes, 124. CHAP. XI. DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE, 131. CHAP. XII. SISTER GODDESSES. Muses, 146. Seasons or Hours, 150. Graces, 151. Fates, 153. Eileithyiz, 154. Keres, 155. Furies, 155. CHAP. XIII. THEMIS, IRIS, ETC. Themis, 158. Iris, 158. Peeon, 160. Sleep and Death, 160. Momus, 161. Personifications, 161. CHAP. XEV: Dionysus, 163. CHAP. XV. FOREIGN DEITIES. Cybele, 191. Cotytto and Bendis, 194. Artemis of Ephesus, 194. Isis, 195. CHAP. XVI. RURAL DEITIES. Pan, 198. Satyrs, 203. Silenus, 204. Priapus, 205. Nymphs, 206. CHAP. XVi1. WATER-DEITIES. Oceanides, 214. Nereus, 215. Nereides, 216. Phorcys, 216. Tri- ton, 216. Proteus, 218. Glaucus, 219. Leucothea and Palemon, 220. River-gods, 221. CHAP, XVIII. DEITIES OF THE OCEAN-SHORE. 3 Gorgons, 222. Gree, 224. Hesperides, 224. Harpies, 225. Winds, 227. CHAP. XIX. INHABITANTS OF THE ISLES AND COASTS OF THE WEST-SEA. Lotus-eaters, 233. Cyclopes, 234. Giants, 237. A‘olus, 240. Leestry- gones, 241. Circe, 242. Sirens, 246. Scylla and Charybdis, 247. Phaethusa and Lampetia, 249. Calypso, 250. Phzacians, 251. Ortygia and Syria, 254. CONTENTS. Xi Part Il.—THE HEROES. CHA. ts INTRODUCTION. Origin and First State of Man, 257. Ages of the World, 258. Pan- dora, 262. Deucalion and Pyrrha, 267. Early Inhabitants of Greece, 269. CHAP. II. LEGENDS OF THESSALY. Ceyx and Halcyone, 276. Admetus and Alcestis, 277, Jason, 277. Peleus, 279. Centaurs and Lapithe, 282. CHAP. III. LEGENDS OF £TOLIA. Cineus, 286. Meleager, 287. CHAP. IV. LEGENDS OF BCOTIA. Cadmus, 291. Semele, 294. Autonoe, Aristeus, and Acteon, 294. Ino and Athamas, 296. Agave and Pentheus, 298. Zethus and Amphion, 298. Laius, 300. C&dipus and Jocasta, 301. Teiresias, 304. Minyans and Phlegyans, 306. Trophonius and Agamedes, 308. Hercules, 310. CHAP. V. LEGENDS OF ATTICA. Cecrops, 388. Cranaus, 340. Erichthonius, 340. Pandion, 341. Procne, Philomela, and Tereus, 341. Erechtheus, 343. Procris and Cephalus, 344. Creusa, Xuthus, and Ion, 346. Oreithyia, 346. Pandion II., 347. Nisus and Scylla, 348, Aigeus, 348. Theseus, 349. Dedalus and Icarus, 359. CHAP, VI. LEGENDS OF CORINTH. Sisyphus, 361. Bellerophon, 362. CHAP. VII. LEGENDS OF ARGOLIS. Inachus, 366. Argus, 366. lo, 367. Danaus and Agyptus, 370. Preetus, 372. Acrisius, Danae, and Perseus, 374. Amphitryon and Alcmena, 379. Atreus and Thyestes, 381. Asclepius, 384. CHAP. VIII. LEGENDS OF ARCADIA. Lycaon, 386. Callisto and Arcas, 387. Atalanta, 389. CHAP IX. LEGENDS OF LACONIA. Tyndareus and Leda, 390. Polydeukes and Castor, 391. Xl CONTENTS. CHAP. X. LEGENDS OF ELIS. Salmoneus, 395. Tyro, 395. Neleus and Periclymenus, 396. Me- lampus and Bias, 396. Iamus, 398. Tantalus, 400. Pelops, 401. CHAP. XI. LEGENDS OF ACHEA. Melanippus and Cometho, 404. Coresus and Calliroe, 405. Selem- nus and Argyra, 406. CHAP. XII. LEGENDS OF THE ISLES. Tectamus, 408. Europa, 408. Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon, 409. Ariadne and Phedra, 411. Glaucus, 411. A‘acus and Te- lamon, 413. Orion, 415. CHAP. XIIT. MYTHIC WARS AND EXPEDITIONS. Argonautic Expedition, 420. Theban Wars, 430. Trojan War, 435. Returns, 441. Agamemnon, 442. Menelatis, 444. Odysseus, 446. MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. CHAP. I. INTRODUCTION. Early State of Italy and Rome, 449. Etruscan Religion, 452. Latin Religion, 453. Sabellian Religion, 454. CHAP. II. DII MAJORUM GENTIUM. Jupiter or Jovis, 457. Neptunus, 459. Mars, 459. Mercurius, 460. Vulcanus or Mulciber, 460. Apollo, 460. Juno, 461. Minerva, 462. Vesta, 462. Ceres, 463. Diana, 463. Venus, 464. Saturnus, 465. Janus, 466. Orcus, Summanus, Vejovis or Vedius, Dispater, 468. Liber Pater, 469. Sol and Luna, 469. Genius, 470. Earth, 470. CHAP. III. DII MINORUM GENTIUM. Quirinus, 472. Bellona, 472. Libitina, 473. Consus, 473. Laverna, 473. Bonus Eventus, 474. Vertumnus, 474. Anna Perenna, 474. Terminus, 475. Silvanus, 476. Faunus, 477. Picus, 477. Pales, 478. Pomona, 478. Flora, 479. Feronia, 480. Portumnus, 480. Mater Matuta, 481. Salacia and Venilia, 481. Lara or Larunda, 481. Juturna, 482. Penates, 482. Lares, 482. INDEX, 485. DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES. *,* The number after each Description refers to the Galérie Mythologique. Prare I. 1, Zeus conquering the Giants. Cameo, engraved by Athenion. 33. Bracci, Intagliator, i, 30.—2. The Olympian Zeus. 34, Mus. Florent. I. lxvi. 1.— 3. Dodonean Zeus. Gold Medal of Alexander I, king of Epirus. 35. Seguin, Select. Num. 68.—4. Zeus A giochus ; the egis on his shoulder, and crowned with oak. Cameo in the Bibliotheque Impériale. 36.—5. Jupiter Capitolinus holding a sceptre and a patera, a crown lying in his lap. 44. Passeri, Lucern. i. 28. Puare II. 1. Helius, as it would seem (Millin says Saturnus), in a four-horse chariot. L. Saturn. (L. Saturninus) is the name of the monetary triumvir. Coin of the Sentian family. 4.—2. Kronus with the harpe in his hand. 1. Winkelman, Pierres Gravées de Stosch, p. 24. No. 5.—3. Hestia (Vesta). Round Altar in the Mus. Capitol. and Bas-relief in the Villa Albani. 31.—4. Eos in a chariot, preceded by Eosphorus. Painting on a Vase, 93. Puare III. 1. Hera of Samos, her head veiled and bearing the modius, between two peacocks. Coin of the Samians. 49. Decamps, Select. Num. 83.—2. The triple Hecate; one with the crescent on her head, and holding two torches; the second wearing a Phrygian cap, and holding a knife and a serpent; the third crowned with laurel, and holding cords and keys. 123. Lachausse, Mus. Rom. il, 22,3. Poseidon holding a dolphin and a trident. Sculpture on the foot of a Candelabrum. 297. Mus. Pio Clementino, iv. 32.—4. Ares. Round Altar, 28. (See Plate ii. 3.)—5, Hermes, accompanied by Spring, demanding Persephone from Hades. Bas-relief in the Palace Rospigliosi. 341. Hirt. Bilderb. ix. 6. Pirate IV. 1, Artemis, Statue. 115.—2. Apollo Nomius. Statue in the Villa Ludo. visi. 67. Hirt. Bilderb. iv. 6.—3. Apollo Pythius. 52. Mus. Pio Clem. i. 14.— 4. Apollo Citharcedus. Statwe. 61. Mus. Pio Clem. i. 16. XiV PLATES. Puate V. 1. Aphrodite at the bath; beside her, the Alabastrites or perfume-vessel : she holds a cloth in her hand. Coin of the Cnidians of the time of Caracalla, taken from the Aphrodite of Praxiteles. 179. Lachau, Sur les Attributs de Vénus, p.'71.—2. Psyche in terror of Venus. Statue in the Villa Pinciana. 196.—3. Eros. Intaglio, 191. Millin, Monum. Antig. ined. ii, 1.—4. Ares and Aphrodite. Groupe. 169. Mus. Cap. ili. 20.— 5. Adonis dying in the arms of Apne Ancient Painting copied by Mengs. 170. Prate VI. 1. Demeter and Triptolemus in a chariot drawn by dragons; he has in his chlamys the seed which he is to scatter abroad ; the goddess holds the roll of the laws of agriculture. Cameo. 220. Acad. des Belles Lettres, 1. 276.— 2, Athena Polias feeding the serpent which reared Erichthonius. On a Candelabrum. 184. Mus. Pio Clem. iv. 6.—3. Hermes. Intaglio by Dioscor- ridos, 206. Bracci, Memor. ii. 65.—4. Peace-bringing Athena extinguishing the torch of war. 137. Paciaudi, Mon. Pelopon. i. 35.—5. Demeter ‘Thesmo- phorus showing Bacchus the roll with the rites of the mysteries; a priestess at the window. 276. Tischbein, Vases Grecs, iv. 36. Prate VII. Persephone and Spring come to Zeus: Hermes explains to him why the goddess is to spend but a part of the year in the upper-world. Below, Trip- tolemus is in the winged chariot, holding a sceptre and ears of corn: Demeter is handing him some more: a person, supposed to be Hecate, is behind the goddess, and another is feeding the serpents. Painting on a Vase be- longing to Prince Stanislaus Poniatowski. 219. Puate VIII. 1. Birth of Bacchus: Earth rising, confides the babe to two nymphs of Nysa. Bas-relief in the Villa Albani, Musée des Antiques, ili. 34.—2, Bacchus, Ariadne, and Hercules on a couch beneath a vine. Bacchus in the centre, holding a drinking-horn (fury) in one hand, a cup in the other : Ariadne with a thyrsus in one hand, a cantharus in the other; a Genius hovers over her; a female stands behind her. Hercules has his lionsaan and club; a female with a thyrsus stands beside him. Painting on a Vase. 246.—3. Bacchus and Demeter in a chariot drawn by Centaurs and Centauresses: he holds a dioton and a thyrsus; she, poppies: the Centaurs carry rhyta and thyrst: one Centauress plays on 'the double flute, the other on the tambourin. Cameo, 275. Buonarroti, Med. Ant. 427. PLATES. XV Prate IX. 1, Cybele. Medal of Hadrian, 9.—2,. Cybele and Attis. Medallion of Faustina. 13.—3. Artemis of Ephesus. Statue. 108. Mus. Pio Clem. i. 32. —4. Artemis of Ephesus and Serapisin a galley. Medallion of Gordian. 111. —5. Artemis of Ephesus in her temple. Coin of the Ephesians. 109.—6. Isis suckling Horus. Sculpture at Phile. Descrip. del’ Egypte Antig. i. pl. 22. Pirate X. 1. Jason putting on his sandal. Statue, 416. Mus. Pio Clem. iii. 48. —2. Antiope and her children, Bas-relief in the Villa Borghesi, 94. Musée des Antiques, iii—3. The labours of Hercules: Omphale and the hero in the centre. Bas-relief belonging to Cardinal Borgia. 453. Pruate XI, 1, Perseus and Andromeda. Bas-relief. 388. Mus. Cap. iv. 52.—2. Gany- medes. 534. Mus. Pio Clem. ii. 35.—8. Bellerophon slaying the Chimera: Tobates and Athena viewing the combat. 343. Tischbein, i. 1.—4. Battle of the Amazons, Sarcophagus, Musée des Antiques, ii. 95. Prate XII. 1. Juno Matrona. Statwe.—2. Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Gem.— 3. Mars Gradivus. Gem.—4. Janus. Medal of Antoninus Pius. —5. Lares. Sepulchral Lamp.—6. Vertumnus, Gem.—7. Jupiter Pluvius. Medal,— 8. Silvanus. Sepulchral Lamp.—9. Flora. Statue-—10. Faunus. Statue.— 11. Pomona. Gem. All from Spence’s Polymetis. ry > ai THE MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE awp ITALY. MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Part I.—THE GODS. -—p—- —— CuaPprTer I. INTRODUCTION. Of Mythology in general. Tue mythology’ of a people consists of the various popular traditions and legendary tales which are to be found amongst them. Such are the fabulous adventures of the imaginary beings whom they may happen to wor- ship; the exploits of the ancient heroes of the nation ; the traditions of its early migrations, wars, and revolu- tions; the marvellous tales of distant lands brought home by mariners and travellers ; and the moral or phy-~ sical allegories of its sages and instructors. Mythology stands at the head of history ; for the early history of every people is mythic’, its first personages and Sera al a aa A ee eo 1 From pv6os a tale or legend, and Aéyw to relate. 2 This word, derived from pos, mythus, and which we shall have frequent occasion to employ, signifies, like legendary, what is altogether B 2 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE; actions chiefly imaginary. It is only gradually that the mist clears away, and real men and deeds similar to those of later times begin to appear; and the mythic period is frequently of long duration, the stream of history having to run a considerable way, before it can completely work off the marvellous and the incredible. The component parts of a nation’s mythology may be divided into two classes. The first will contain the true or fabulous Events which are believed to have occurred either among the people itself, as its own adventures, and those of its princes and heroes, and which may therefore be called domestic; or those of ancient or distant nations, handed down by tradition or brought home by voyagers, and these we may entitle foreign. The second class will consist of Docrrines or articles of popular belief, and will comprise the earliest attempts of man to account for the various phenomena of the heavens and the earth, and the changes which appear to have taken place among them. These last are however, in the popular mode of viewing them, as much eventsas the former, as they were propounded by their inventors in the historic or narrative form. The wonderful is usually a component part of mytho- logy. The deities of popular belief are very frequent ac- tors in its legends, which differ from ordinary tales and fables in this circumstance, and in that of. their having been at one time articles of actual belief. Origin of Mythology. It‘is an interesting but a difficult task to trace out and explain the various causes and occasions that have given origin to the different legends which form the mythology of a people, such as the Greeks for example, with whom or in great part fabulous. Thus the Trojan war, for example, is what we term mythic; not that it was not in all probability a real event, but because so much fable manifestly enters into it, that it is impossible to fix on any one circumstance which can be decidedly taken for truth, INTRODUCTION. : 8 it is rich and complicated. The following however seems to us the most probable hypothesis’. Polytheism, or the belief in a number of beings of a nature superior to man, and who can be of benefit or in- jury to him, seems congenial to the human heart. It is always the religion of unenlightened tribes, and even in lettered and polished nations it still retains its hold over the minds of the weak and the ignorant”. An appear- ance so general can only be the result of some law of the mind ; and those who have directed their attention to the language and ideas of man, in different stages of culture, will probably concede that there is a law which impels the human mind to ascribe the attribute of intelligence to the efficient cause of natural phenomena, particularly of those which are of rare occurrence. The less the mind is ex- panded by culture, the more powerful is the operation of this law ; and while the philosopher ascribes all effects to one great intelligent cause, and usually views not so much Him as the secondary unintelligent causes which He em- ploys, the simpler children of nature, who cannot rise to so just and elevated a conception, see multitude where he contemplates unity, and numerous intelligent causes ac- tively engaged in producing the effects which he refers to one single mind. Either the true idea of One God has been resolved by the vulgar into that of a plurality ; or the numerous deities of the people have been by the phi- losopher reduced to one, possessed of the combined powers of all; or, which is more probable, rather we may say is the truth, both hypotheses are true: man commencing with the knowledge of one God, gradually became a poly- theist ; and philosophy, slowly retracing the steps of error, returned to the truth which had been lost. It is utterly impossible to fix historically the period of 1 In the author’s Fairy Mythology he has in the Introduction advanced and copiously illustrated the hypothesis here given; and throughout that work numerous proofs and illustrations will be found. 2 The belief in fairies, for example. he 4 : MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the rise of polytheism among any people. Supposing however, for the sake of hypothesis, a race to have been from some unassignable cause in a state of total ignorance of the Deity, their belief in many gods may have thus commenced. They saw around them various changes brought about by human agency, and hence they knew the power of intelligence to produce effects. When they beheld other and greater effects independent of and be- yond human power, they felt themselves, from the princi- ple we have already stated, invincibly impelled to ascribe their production to some unseen being, similar but su- perior toman. Thus when the thunder rolled and the lightning flamed along the sky, the terrified mortal re- garded them as sent forth by a god who ruled the heavens; when the sea rose in mountains and lashed the shore or tossed the bark, the commotion was referred to a god of the sea; the regular courses, the rising and the setting of the sun and moon, appeared to him plainly to indicate the presiding care of peculiar deities ; the rivers which flowed continuously, which swelled and sank, must be under the controul of intelligences ; and trees at regular seasons put forth and shed their foliage beneath the care of unseen deities. In this manner all the parts of external nature would have become animated ; and the thoughts of cou- rage, wisdom, and love, which involuntarily rise in the soul of man, and the ready eloquence which at times flows from his lips, being referable to no known cause, would be attributed to the unseen working of superior beings. Man knows no form so perfect or so beautiful as his own, and_none so well adapted to be the vehicle of mind. He naturally, therefore, fell into the habit of assigning a human form to his gods; but a human form divested of weakness and imperfection, and raised to his highest ideal of beauty, strength, and power ; yet still varying accord~ ing to the character and occupation of the deity on whom it was bestowed. Thus the Grecian votary viewed manly strength and vigour as the leading attributes of the god INTRODUCTION. 5 who presided over war, and inspired daring thoughts ; while in the god of archery and music beauty and strength appeared united, and dignity and majesty of mien and countenance distinguished the father of gods and men and ruler of heaven. These deities, so like to man in form, were still held to exceed him far in power and knowledge, but to be, like him, under the influence of passion and appetite. They had their favourites and enemies among mankind ; were gratified by prayers and offerings ; and severely punished slight, neglect, or insult. They dwelt in celestial houses, but similar in form to those of man ; and, like man, they stood in daily need of food and repose. Chariots drawn by horses or other animals of celestial breed conveyed them over earth, sea, and air; their clothing and arms were usually of the form of those of mortals, but of su- perior workmanship and materials. The gods were not, strictly speaking, eternal: they were born, according to most systems of mythology; and some, if not all, as- signed a period to their duration. The belief in gods of this nature being once established amongst a people, the ready wit of man speedily devised numerous adventures for the objects of his worship. Many mythologists seem to go upon a supposition that the minds of men were differently constituted in the early ages of the world from what they are at present; and that conse- quently the venerable mythi of antiquity are of far deeper import than the legends of later times. To this opinion we cannot accede; and we think that the old Greek who derived the hyacinth from the blood of Aias or Hyacinthus, acted on the very same principle as the Christian, whoever he was, who ascribed the cross on the shoulders of the ass to the circumstance of our Lord’s having ridden on one of these animals. Each wished to give some account of an unusual appearance. 1. The first origin which we would assign to mythology is, Metaphorical language understood literally ; possibly a very fruitful source of legends. Thus cause and effect 6 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. and other relations are in various languages, particularly the Oriental, expressed by terms of kindred. The He-~ brews termed sparks, sons of the burning coal; one who is to die, a.son of death. The Arabs call a traveller, a son of the way ; a warrior, a son of battle; springs, daughters of the earth; mist, daughter of the sea; tears, daughters of the eye; and dreams, daughters of night : an ass is with them the father of hanging ears’. Applying this princi- ple to the ancient language of Greece, a stranger arriving there by sea may have been called a son of the sea. Gra- dually the metaphor coming to be understood literally, persons thus spoken of may have been looked upon as children of the sea-god, and legends of the amours of Po- seidon been devised accordingly. Schol. Asch. Prom. 803. 34 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. gold in the mountains. This poet, whose geographical knowledge far exceeded that of Homer, knew of the Ligyes', who dwelt beyond the Tyrrhenians, and of the river Eridanus’ (Rhine), which flowed out of the Rhi- pean mountains (Adps) northwards to the ocean, of which the Rhone and the Padus were afterwards regarded as branches ; of the amber which was collected at its mouth, and of the singing swans who haunted its waters and those of the ocean. He alsotold of the rich land of Umbria, where the flocks and herds brought forth three times in each year, two, three, and four each time, where hens laid thrice a day, the fruits of the earth ripened thrice a year, and the women bore two or three children at a birth. The progress of discovery gradually dissipated many of the illusions of poetry. As Spain and Gaul became known, their fabulous inhabitants were succeeded by Iberians and Kelts, the Rhipeans and their wonders gave place to Alps and Pyrenees, and in the days of Herodotus we find even the trans-oceanic Kimmerians crossing the Bosporus and invading Lesser Asia. On the south side of the earth dwelt, along the coast of the Mediterranean, Sidonians, Erembians*, Egyptians, Libyans, and the fabulous tribes above enumerated. The Asthiopians, a name inclusive of all the unknown nations of the East and South, possessed all the oceanic coast of this side. They were divided into two tribes, and the appellation was gradually restricted as the names of the various nations became known. The fabulous lake Triton lay to the north of them, and communicated with the Mediterranean. ' Colchis and the neighbouring Caucasus seem to have ‘been unknown to Homer; but they were in very early times held to be the eastern extremity of the earth. Be- yond them lay the lake (Aiuyn*) out of which the sun rose every morning,—possibly a tradition of the Caspian Sea. The conquests of the Persians in Lesser Asia brought the 1 Strabo, vii. * Hyginus, 154. 3 Arameans? 4 Od.ili.1. MYTHIC COSMOLOGY. 35 Greeks acquainted with the existence of the Indians ; and this knowledge was greatly increased by the wars and expeditions of Alexander and his successors. Like the Rhipean mountains, Caucasus gradually advanced east- wards, and its name was given to the Paropamisus or Hindoo Koosh, north of Caubul. In the geography of Homer, Oceanus is always repre- sented as a@ river or stream (morapoc, pdoc) which flows round the earth from south to north; forin various passages of the Homeric poems the sun and the other heavenly bodies are described as rising out of and sinking into the ocean. It communicated with the Mediterranean ; but whether by a strait, or by the sea in its entire breadth open- ing into it, is uncertain. The Phasis at Colchis was held to flow out of it into the Euxine. It is doubtful, however, if this idea be so old as the time of Homer, who makes no mention of that river. The Nile was also in after times thought to flow out of the Ocean-stream, which was held to be mediately or immediately the parent of all fountains and rivers, and whose waters, we might probably thence infer, were sweet. In the time of Pindar and /Eschylus the Ocean had increased to the dimensions of a sea, and Herodotus derides those who still regarded it as a river. It gradually widened more and more with the advance of knowledge, and became divided as now into several por- tions with different appellations. It would appear from Homer’, that some ancient theogony represented Oceanus as the father of the gods, a theory which agrees with that of Thales, of all things being produced from water, As Oceanus was a river, it must have had a bank on its further side. From the Odyssey* we learn, that beyond .- the Ocean-stream to the west lay a land unvisited by the sun, the seat of perpetual darkness, inhabited bya people called the Kimmerians*. Here too was the abode of the eee 1 Tl. xiv. 201. 2 Od. x. 207. xi. 13. ° Voss, after the pseudo-Orpheus, places the Kimmerians on his Dark-side of the terrestrial disk, in the modern France we may suppose. This however does not accord with the language of the poet. Circe p 2 36 MY 'FHOLOGY OF GREECE. dead, or at least the entrance to the domains of Aides. and Persephoneia. Theopompus of Chios’ gave a curious description of the continent which surrounds the great sea, and of its inhabitants; a thousand myriads of whom, he informs us, once crossed the ocean and invaded the land of the Hyperboreans. | At the western extremity of the earth, that is of the south side, the present coast of Africa, was the Elysian Plain, where those who were the relatives or connections of the gods enjoyed an immortality of bliss. Thus Pro- teus says to Menelatis®: But thee the ever-living gods will send Unto the Elysian Plain, and distant bounds Of earth, where dwelleth fair-haired Rhadamanthus : There life is easiest unto men; no snow, Or wintry storm, or rain, at any time Ts there; but Ocean evermore sends up Shrill-blowing western breezes to refresh The habitants; because thou hast espoused Helen, and art the son-in-law of Zeus. In the time of Hesiod* the Elysian Plain was become the Isles of the Blest. Pindar* appears to reduce the number of these happy isles to one’. (Qd. x. 507.) tells Odysseus that he will be carried thither from her island (which was in the Mediterranean) by the blowing of Boreas, i.e. the north or north-east wind, which is impossible if he was to sail northwards. She adds, GAN rr’ av On vyt dv "Axeavoio wepnons, and the usual meaning of repdw is, to cross, to go from one end or side to the other. The passage Od. xi. 57-58. we regard as almost decisive of the abode of the dead being beyond the Ocean-stream. We cannot help suspecting that the Kimmerians (Kippéprou, the - same with the Cimbri, Strabo, vii. 2.) are the Germans (Teppavoi). A transposition of the middle consonants in the last word will approximate them very much. Should this supposition be correct, it will bring the Germans into Europe at a very remote period. It must however be no- ticed, that the Welsh, who are undoubted Kelts, call themselves Kymry. 1 #lian. Var. Hist, 1. ill. c. 18. 2 Od. iv;503..¢ 3’ Works and Days, 169. 4: Ol. u.429: 5 A remarkable instance of the system of transference, which we have already mentioned, is that (Eur. Androm. 1236., Pausanias, iii. 19.) which places Achilles, Aias, and the other heroes, in the island of MYTHIC COSMOLOGY. 37 Beneath the earth, according to the Ilias, was Erebus, the realm of Aides or Aidoneus, the abode of the dead. This region, which in the poems of Homer appears dis- mal, dark, and comfortless, underwent creat alteration with the progress of philosophy and geographical knowledge. Elysium was transferred thither, to form an abode for the good; Tartarus was elevated to it, and became the place of punishment for the wicked. According to the ideas of the Homeric and Hesiodic ages, it would seem that the world was a hollow globe, divided into two equal portions by the flat disk of the earth. The external shell of this globe is called by the poets brazen, probably only to express its solidity. The superior hemisphere was named Heaven, the inferior one Tartarus. The length of the diameter of the hollow sphere is given thus by Hesiod. It would take, he says, nine days for an anvil to fall from Heaven to Earth ; and an equal space of time would be occupied by its fall from Earth to the bottom of Tartarus. All the interior of the upper hemisphere was illuminated by the luminaries which gave light to gods and men; that of the inferior one was filled with eternal oeloom and darkness, and its still air unmoved by any wind. Were we to follow analogy, and argue from the cosmo- logy of other races of men, we would say that the upper surface of the superior hemisphere was the abode of the Grecian gods; and this opinion might be supported by not a few passages of the Homeric poems. The Hebrews seem, for example, to have regarded the concave heaven as being solid (hence Moses says, that Jehovah would make their heaven brass, and their earth iron), and its upper surface as the abode of Jehovah and his holy angels, the place where he had formed his magazines of hail, rain, snow, and frost’. According to the notions of the ancient Leuce, at the mouth of the Ister, in the Euxine, where Achilles was married to Helena, and had by her a winged son named Euphorion. ' The very rational supposition made by many learned and pious divines, that it did not suit the scheme of Providence to give the 38 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Scandinavians the heaven was solid, and its upper surface which they named Asgardr (God-abode) was the dwell- ing of their gods, and the place to which the souls of the dead ascended along the celestial bridge Bifrost, i.e. the Rainbow. The ideas of the ancient Italians and other nations seem to have been similar. Hence we might be led to infer that Olympus, the abode of the Grecian gods, was synonymous with Heaven, and that the Thessalian mountain, as well as thase of the same name in Mysia and Cyprus, were called after the original heavenly hill. But on a careful survey of all the passages where the terms Heaven (Uranus) and Olympus occur in Homer and He- siod, we rather incline to think that the Acheans believed the dwellings of their deities to be situated on the summits of the Thessalian Olympus, the highest mountain with which they were acquainted. We do not however make this assertion with any very great degree of confidence : we were ourselves long of the contrary opinion, and still feel that much may be urged in its support’. The entrance to the city of the gods, or Olympus, was closed by a gate of clouds kept by the Seasons; but the cloudy portals not unfrequently rolled open of themselves, to permit the greater deities to pass to and fro on their visits to the earth. 7 Israelites more correct ideas on natural subjects than other nations, relieves Scripture from many difficulties. 1 Voss, Muller, Volcker, and the most eminent scholars in general, are in favour of the former opinion. See Volcker, p. 4. et s g. As in- stances of the difficulties which the Ilias alone presents on this sub- ject, we will just observe, that when Zeus (vill. 18. et seq.) challenges the gods to a trial of strength, and proposes that a golden chain should be let down from heaven, one end of which he would hold while they pulled at the other; he says, that he would draw it up with them and the earth and sea, and binding it round the peak of Olympus, leave them all suspended in the air. The poet could hardly in this case have re garded Olympus as being on the earth. But again, if we take the Hesiodic computation of the distance from heaven to earth as being correct, it is quite evident that Hephestus, who, when flung (Il. i. 590.) from the “divine threshold,” reached Lemnus in perhaps less than twelve hours, could not have taken his departure from heaven. COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 39. It is apparently an unfounded supposition of some. critics, that there were doors at the eastern and western extremities of the heaven, through which the sun-god and other deities ascended from and went down into the stream of Ocean. The celestial luminaries seem rather, according to Homer and Hesiod, to have careered through void air, “bringing light to men and gods.””’ When in after times the solid heaven was established as the abode of the gods, the necessity for these doors was perhaps felt; and they were accordingly invented by those who were resolved to leave nothing unexplained. The stars appear to have been regarded as fixed in the solid heaven. The only ones mentioned by name by Ho- mer and Hesiod are the constellations Orion, the Bear, the Pleiades, and the Hyades ; the single stars Bootes or Arc- turus, and Sirius ; and the planet Venus, which they seem to have viewed as two distinct stars, in its characters of Morning-star (Hosphorus) and Evening-star (Hesperus). There is no reason to suppose the Greeks to have had any knowledge of the signs of the Zodiac until after their in- tercourse with Asia and Egypt had commenced. Tartarus was, as we have already remarked, unvisited by the light of day. It was regarded as the prison of the gods, and not as the place of torment for wicked men. A full though not perfectly intelligible description of it will be found in the Theogony of Hesiod. Tartarus was to the gods what Erebus was to men,—the abode of those who were driven from the supernal world. The Titans when conquered were shut up in it, and in the Ilias’ Zeus me- naces the gods with banishment to its murky regions. Cosmogony and Theogony. The origin of the world and the origin of the gods, i. e. cosmogony and theogony, are in the Grecian system, as in those of some other nations, closely united. The sages eee tJ, yiit,. 18. 40 ’ MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. of antiquity seem to have had a strong persuasion that to bring creation and similar acts down to the comprehension of tribes led by the senses, it was necessary to represent natural agents as living and active persons; or they felt a pleasure in exciting admiration, by the narration of the - strange and wonderful adventures of beings older one more powerful than mankind. The lively and creative genius of the Greeks seems particularly to have delighted in this species of fiction. They loved to represent the origin, the union, and the changes of the various parts of nature, under the guise of .iatrimony and birth (their more cheerful system, unlike those of Asia and Scandinavia, excluding the idea of the death of a god) ; causes with them becoming parents, ef- fects children, the production of an effect being the birth of a divine child. No regular system of cosmogony appears in the poems of Homer, though it is by no means improbable that many were in existence at the time they were composed. The oldest which has come down to us 1s that contained in the poems ascribed to Hesiod, which, though it may not belong to that poet, is undoubtedly of remote antiquity. Apol- lodorus commences his work with a somewhat different one. Aristophanes in his Birds gives fragments of an- other; as also does the tragic poet Aischylus: others will be Panis in the Banquet of Plato, and in the historic work of Diodorus. On so wide a field as that of the origin of things, imagination was free to expatiate ; and it need not surprise us to find the same effects, when contemplated, from a different point of view, ascribed to different causes, and arranged by each cosmogonist in the order which he deemed the most correct. Asa specimen of these cosmogonic and theogonic sy- stems, we shall give the following: sketch of a portion of the BOs OUy of Hesiod. Chaos’, that is empty space, was first, then, ‘ broad- 1 From yaw to gape. The chaos of Scandinavian mythology is called Ginnunga Gap, z.e. Swallowing Throat. COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 41 breasted ” Geea (Earth), the gloomy Tartarus, and Eros (Love). Chaos produced Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night); and Nyx bore by Erebus, Hemera (Day) and Aither (the highest, clearest Air). Night was the mother of all things pernicious or of obscure origin. Among her children were Death, Sleep, and Dreams, the Keres, the Destinies, the Hesperides who kept the golden apples on the shore of Ocean, Mo- mus, Woe (Ozzys), Nemesis, Old-age, and Discord. This last bore War, Strife, Contention, Hunger, and a whole host of allegorical personages. Gea now produced Uranus (Heaven), of equal extent with herself, to envelope her, and the Mountains and Pontus (the Sea), that is the inner sea. She then bore by Uranus a mighty progeny: the Titans; six males, Oceanus, Cceus, Creius, Hyperion, Japetus, and the youngest of them Kronus ; and six females, Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Pheebe, and Tethys. She also bore the three Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges, and the Hundred-handed (éxatoyyeipec), Cottus, Briareos, and Gyges. These children were all hated by their father, who, as soon as they were born, thrust them out of sight into a cavern of Earth, who, grieved at his unnatural con- duct, produced the “‘ species of hoary steel,” and forming from it a sickle, roused her children to rebellion against him : fear seized on them all except Kronus, who lying in wait with the sickle with which his mother had armed him, mutilated his unsuspecting sire’. The drops which fell on the earth from the wound gave birth to the Erinnys, the Giants, “‘ glittering in arms, holding long spears in their hands,” and the Melian nymphs: from what fell into the sea sprang Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty”. 1 There is something wonderfully grand and awful in the descrip- tion (Hes. Th. 1. 176, et seq.) of Heaven coming, bringing on Night, and spreading himself in the rapture of love around Earth. 2 The resemblance between a@pos (foam) and Aphrodite, it is plain, gave origin to the legend. 42 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Earth bore to her other son Pontus the ‘‘ truth-speak- ing” Nereus, Thaumas ( Wonder), Phorcys, and “ fair- cheeked ” Ceto. Nereus had by Doris, a daughter of the Titan Oceanus, the fifty sea-nymphs Amphitrite, Thetis, Galatea, and their sisters. Thaumas was by Electra (Brightness), another daughter of Oceanus, father of the swift Iris (Rainbow), and of the “ well-haired” Harpies, Aello and Ocypete. Ceto bore to her brother Phorcys the Gree and the Gorgons. The progeny of the Titans was numerous. Oceanus had by his sister Tethys all the rivers that flow on the earth, and all the fountains and springs that fructify her. Thea bore to Hyperion, Helius (Sun), Selene (Moon), and Eos (Dawn). Creius had by Eurybia, Astreus, Pallas, and Perses. To Astreus Eos bore the winds Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus; and to Eosphorus (Dawn-bearer, or Morning-star), the stars of heaven. Styx, a daughter of Oceanus, was by Pallas the mother of Envy and Victory, Strength and Force. The children of Coeus and Phebe were Leto and Asteria, the latter of whom bore to Perses Hecate. Rhea was united to Kronus, and their offspring were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Aides, Poseidon, and Zeus. Kro- nus having learned from his parents, Heaven and Earth, that he was fated to be deprived by one of his sons of the kingdom which he had taken from his father, devoured his children as fast as they were born. Rhea, when about to be delivered of Zeus, besought her parents to teach her how she might save him. Instructed by Earth, she con- cealed him in a cavern of Crete, and gave a stone in his stead to Kronus. This stone he afterwards threw up’, and with it the children whom he had devoured. As Zeus grew in strength, Kronus, to secure his dominion against him, ‘It was shown in after times in the neighbourhood of Delphi, (Hes. Th. 498. Pausanias.) the legend having been transplanted thither from Crete, its original soil. The whole fable seems to have been un- known to Homer, who always speaks of Zeus as the eldest son of Kro- nus. It is idle to say that he styles him so, as never having been devoured by his father. COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 43 released his brethren the Uranides, whom his father had inclosed within the earth. The Kronides, or children of Kronus, released the Hundred-handed. War broke out between the Uranides and the Kronides; the former fought from Othrys, the latter from Olympus. Ten entire years was the conflict undecided; at length Zeus called the Hundred-handed to his aid, and the Titans were over- thrown. They wereall, except Oceanus, Helius, Selene, and Eos, deprived of their dominion and offices, and chained in Tartarus under the guard of the Hundred-handed. The Kronides remained in undisturbed possession of the su- preme power, and the largest portion of Grecian mytho- logy is occupied by their subsequent adventures. The Titanomachia, or battle of the Titans and the Gods, is narrated with the highest strains of poetry in the Theo- gony of Hesiod. Later poets took occasion from it to fable a Gigantomachia, or battle of the Giants and Gods, led to it perhaps by the account of the heaven-storming youths Otus and Ephialtes in the Odyssey. In this narrative of the hiding and destroying of child- ren, the wars of different dynasties, and the other events, we seem to discern a tradition or conception of the gra- dual progress of creation, and of the violent commotions of nature in a time anterior to the earth’s assuming its present state, and becoming obedient to the laws which now regulate it;—a truth confirmed every day more and more by the discoveries of geology. 44 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHAPTER IV. THE HOMERIC GODS IN GENERAL. FAMILIARITY is productive of indifference, and the great- est charms of nature and art lose most of their attractions in the eyes of those who are long and intimately ac- quainted with them. This is particularly the case with the beautiful mythology of Greece: we are in eeneral familiar with its legends from an early age, but view them detached and unconnected, ignorant of their place and importance in the system (though a loose one) to which they belong ; they therefore rarely produce their full effect on our minds. But did the Grecian mythology not enter into our literature, and were we to remain unac- quainted with it till we should open the volumes of Homer, what a new world would burst on our sight, — how splendid | would Olympus and its dwellers arise to view! The present chapter will present the gods in their Olympian abode, and exhibit a sketch of their life and occupations. It has been already observed, that man loves to bestow his own form upon his gods, as being the noblest that he can conceive. Those of Homer are, therefore, all of the human form, but of far larger dimensions than men; great size being an object of admiration both in men and women in those early and martial ages. Thus when the goddess Athena’ ascends as driver the chariot of Diomedes, Loud groaned the beechen axle with the weight, For a great god and valiant chief it bore. When in the battle of the gods* Ares is struck to the earth by Athena, he is described as covering seven plethra of ground, and the helmet of Athena would, we are told*, cover the footmen of a hundred towns. 1Tl. v. 837. 2 J]. xxi. 407. 3 JT], v. 744. “THE HOMERIC GODS IN GENERAL. 45. The gods can, however, increase or diminish their size, assume the form of particular men, or of any animals, and make themselves visible and invisible at their plea- sure. Their bodies are also of a finer nature than those of men. Itisnot blood, but a blood-like fluid named Ichor, which flows in their veins.. They are susceptible of injury by mortal weapons: Diomedes' wounds both Aphrodite and Ares. They require nourishment as men do; their food is called Ambrosia’*, their drink Nectar. In the pa- laces of Olympus they feast at the approach of evening, converse there of the affairs of heaven and earth, the nectar is handed round by Hebe (Youth), Apollo delights them with the tones of his lyre, and the Muses in responsive | strains pour forth their melodious voices in song. When the sun descends, each god retires to repose in his house, built by Hephestus. They frequently partake of the hos- pitality of men”, travel with them, and share in their wars and battles. With the form, the Homeric gods also partake of the passions of men. They are capricious, jealous, revenge- ful, will support their favourites through right and wrong, and are implacable towards their enemies, or even those who have slighted them. Their power was held to extend very far; men regarded them as the authors of both good and evil; all human ability and success was ascribed to them. They were believed to have power over the thoughts of men, and could imperceptibly suggest such as they pleased. They required of men to honour them with prayer, and the sacrifice of oxen, sheep, goats, lambs and kids, and oblations of wine and corn, and fragrant herbs. a eet erste Le ee eb ive hw baht Lik Y: * A passage in the Odyssey (xii. 63.) would seem to say that the ambrosia was brought each day by pigeons to Olympus from the shores of Ocean in the blissful West. From a passage in Athenzus it ap- pears, that by Alcman and Sappho the food of the gods was called Nectar, their drink Ambrosia. 3 J], 1. 424. 46 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. When offended, they usually remitted their wrath if thus appeased. The Homeric gods have all different ranks and offices ; Olympus being in fact regulated on the model of a Grecian city of the heroic ages. Zeus was king of the region of the air and clouds, which had fallen to him by lot on the dethronement of his father Kronus ; the sea was the realm of his brother Poseidon; the under-world fell to Aides, in the division of their conquests. Earth and Olympus’ were common property. Zeus, however, as eldest brother®, ex- ercised a supremacy, and his power was the greatest. The other inhabitants of Olympus were Hera the sister and spouse of Zeus, Apollo the god of music and archery, his sister Artemis the goddess of the chace, and their mo- ther Leto, Aphrodite goddess of love, and her mother Dione, Ares god of war, Pallas Athena goddess of pru- dence and skill, Themis goddess of justice, Hermeias god of gain, Iris the messenger of the Olympian king and queen, Hephestus the celestial artist, and Peon the physician. Poseidon was frequently there, but Demeter the goddess of agriculture, and Dionysius the god of wine, do not appear among the residents of Olym- pus. The Nymphsand the River-gods occasionally visited or were summoned to it’. Eos, Helius, and Selene, rose every day out of the Ocean-stream, and drove in their chariots along or under the floor of heaven. All the dwellings of the gods upon Olympus were of brass, the material which was in the greatest abundance. Hepheestus was architect, smith, &c., and he forged all the arms, household furniture, and other articles in use among the Celestials. Their dress, especially that of the goddesses, appears to have been the workmanship of Athena or the Graces. The gold which proceeded from the workshop of Hephestus was filled with automatic power; his statues were endowed with intelligence; his tripods could move of iT). xv. 193. 2 See above, p. 42. note. SM ax. 7; THE HOMERIC GODS IN GENERAL. 47 themselves ; the golden shoes which he made for the gods enabled them to go through the air, along the waters, or stride from mountain to mountain upon the earth with the speed of winds or even of thought’. The brazen shoeing of the celestial horses gave them similar power; and they could whirl the chariots of the gods to and fro between earth and heaven, through the yielding air, or skim the sur- face of the sea without wetting the axle. These chariots and their appurtenances were formed of various metals. That of Hera, for example, is thus described ?: Then Hebe quickly to the chariot put The round wheels, eight-spoked, brazen, on the strong Axle of iron. Gold their fellies were, And undecaying, but thereon of brass The tires well fitting, wondrous to behold. Of silver was the rounded nave of each; The seat was hung by gold and silver cords, And two curved rims encompassed it about. Its pole was silver, and upon its end She tied the beauteous golden yoke, and bound On it the golden traces fair: the steeds Swift-footed then beneath the yoke were led By Hera, eager for the war and strife. These chariots, which were drawn by horses of celes- tial breed*, were only used on occasions of taking a long journey, as when Hera’® professes that she is going to the end of the earth to make up the quarrel between Oceanus and Tethys; or on occasions in which the gods wish to appear with state and magnificence. On ordinary occa- sions the gods moved by the aid of their golden shoes: a Bil) Ve 770. Il. v. 722. et seq. $ The old, now provincial, term streaks (German Strichen), signifying the separate pieces of iron which were nailed round the wheels of ve- hicles, seems exactly to correspond to the Greek érioowrpa. We can hardly suppose the smiths of Homer’s days to have understood the mode of shoeing in a hoop. * The earliest instance to be found of any other species of animal drawing the chariots of the gods, is in Sappho’s hymn to Aphrodite, where she describes the chariot of that goddess as drawn by sparrows. Sappho flourished in the 45th Olympiad. * Tl. xiv. 300. AB? 9 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. when at home in their houses, they, like the men of those ages, went barefoot. In conclusion, it is to be observed of the Homeric gods, that they often conceived a passion for mortals, and the mingled offspring of the two races were numerous in the heroic ages. Most royal or noble houses claimed a de- scent from Zeus or one of his kindred gods. The pro- bable origin of this notion has been already given. KRONUS. 49 CHAPTER V. URANIDES or TITANS 'W—KRONUS, JAPETUS, ATLAS, PRO- METHEUS, EOS, HELIUS, SELENE, HECATE, OCEANUS. Kpdvoc. Saturnus. Kronus was the youngest child of Uranus and Gea (Heaven and Earth). At the desire of his mother he muti- lated his father. He then occupied the chief rank among the Titans, or children of Heaven and Earth, devouring his own children by Rhea; till Zeus, who was saved from him by stratagem, grew up, and at the head of the Kronides, or children of Kronus, made war on the Titans or Uranides, the children of Uranus, and terminated a protracted con- flict by overcoming and dethroning his father. Kronus was imprisoned with the other Titans in the gloomy region of Tartarus, “‘ beneath the earth and barren sea ;” but at a subsequent period, according to later poets, he was re- leased, and set to rule over the Island of the Blest, in the western waves of Ocean”. The only adventure recorded of this god is his amour with the nymph Philyra, whom, dreading the jealousy of his wife Rhea, he changed into a mare, and himself into a horse. The produce of their love was the Centaur Cheiron, half-man half-horse. Virgil’, in describing a horse of perfect strength and beauty, says, Such, at the coming of his wife, the swift Saturnus’ self upon his equine crest Poured out a mane, and lofty Pelion filled With his shrill neighings as away he fled. a a eg yy eed, ' The Titans here noticed are those who, like Helius and Oceanus, continued in their original offices under the reign of Zeus. Kronus and Japetus are included from their connexion with the others. * Pindar, Ol. ii. In the Loosed Prometheus of /Eschylus the chorus consisted of Titans, who, it would appear, came from the Isles of the Blest, in the stream of Ocean. ° Geor. iii, 92. 50 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. It is scarcely necessary to mention that this legend is the invention of a later age, and long posterior to Homer. The golden age, so celebrated by poets, was in the reign of Kronus, when, according to Hesiod’, Men lived like gods, with minds secure from care, Away from toils and misery: then was not Timid old-age, but aye in feet and hands Equally strong the banquet they enjoyed, From every ill remote. They died as if O’ercome with sleep, and all good things were theirs. The bounteous earth did of herself bring forth Fruit much and plenteous, and in quietness Their works midst numerous blessings they pursued. The principal epithet which we find applied to Kronus is Crooked-counselled (ayxvAountns), indicative of the artfulness of his character. It is highly probable that the whole history of this deity was originally a philosophical mythus. Kronus evidently signifies time”: he is the son of Heaven, by the motion of whose luminaries time is measured ; he is married to Rhea (péa, flowing), and time flows ; he devours his own children, and time destroys what it has brought into exist- ence. Ifhis history be a mythus, it is however older than Homer, who calls Rhea the wife of Kronus. Kronus was in after times confounded with the grim deity (Moloch perhaps) to whom ‘the Tyrians and Car- thaginians offered their children in sacrifice. The slight analogy of this practice with the legend of Kronus de- vouring his children, probably sufficed for the Greeks to infer an identity of their ancient deity with the object of Pheenician worship. It was not improbably the circum- stance of both deities being armed with a sickle, which led to the inference of Kronus being the same with the Saturnus of the Latins®*. . 1 Works and Days, v. 112. 2 Kpdvos and ypovos time, scarcely differ. 3 See below, article Saturnus. Buttmann’s essay on this subject is well worth reading. JAPETUS. ATLAS. 51 ‘laweroc. Japetus. Japetus, one of the sons of Heaven and Earth, was married to his sister Ciymene, or Asia, by whom he had Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Mencetius; which last was in the Titan war struck with thunder by Zeus, and hurled down to Tartarus. J apetus is mentioned by Homer’ as confined in Tartarus along with Kronus. Similarity of name might lead to a supposition of some connection be- tween Japetus and the Japhet of Scripture. "AriXac. Atlas. Atlas is in Homer® celebrated for his wisdom, and described as acquainted with the depths of the sea, and holding (or keeping) ‘‘ the lofty columns which keep heaven and earth asunder.” It was afterwards® fabled that he sustained the heavens on his shoulders, a punish- ment inflicted on him for the share which he took in the Titan war*. Later fabulists say it was for having aided the Giants. According to the legend followed by Ovid’, Atlas was aman, and king of the remote West, rich in flocks and herds, and master of the trees which bore the golden apples. An ancient prophecy delivered by Themis had announced to him, that his precious trees would be plun- dered by a son of Zeus. When therefore Perseus, on his return from slaying the Gorgon, arrived in the realms of Atlas, and seeking hospitality announced himself to be a son of the king of the gods, the western monarch, call- ing to mind the prophecy, attempted to repel him from his doors. Perseus, inferior in strength, displayed the head of Medusa, and the inhospitable prince was turned into the mountain which still bears his name. Atlas was father of the beautiful nymph Calypso, who ne ee Te LY ' IL. viii. 479. 2 Od. i. 59. ° Hesiod. Theeg. 517. * Hyginus, 150. > Met. iv. 631. H 2 52 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. so long detained in her umbrageous isle Ogygia the pru- dent Odysseus, on his return from Troy. He had also by Pleione, or AAthra, or Hesperis, a daughter of Oceanus, the seven nymphs called from him Atlantides, and also the Hesperides. Theirnames were Maia, Electra, Taygete, Asterope, Merope, Alcyone, and Celeno. These maid- ens, it was fabled, formed the constellation called the Pleiades, in the head of the Bull; and as Merope was the only one of them who espoused a mortal, Sisyphus king of Corinth, her star shines more dimly than those of her more fortunate sisters. The supporters of the historical system endeavour to explain the mythus of Atlas by saying, that he was a prince devoted to astronomy, and in the habit of ascend- ing lofty mountains to make his observations. Hence, they say, he was fabled to support the heavens. It is more probable however that, as the passage of Homer above alluded to seems to intimate, he was originally regarded as the god who had charge of the pillars of heaven to keep them from decay, and that the ambiguity of the Greek word éyw' gave rise to the fable of his supporting the heavens. TIpounOetc. Prometheus. Prométheus, another son of Japetus, may perhaps be regarded in a twofold point of view, as a Titan and as a man. The latter view will be noticed in its proper place *; the former represents him as the benefactor, sometimes as the creator of men. ene NT er Omi td éxeu 0€ Te Kiovas avros Makpas at yaiav re cai oipavor dugts éyovoty.—Od. i. 53. We conceive that keeps, has charge of, is the only meaning of éyex which will suit this passage. See the Scholiast on the passage, and Il. v. 749. Mount Atlas could have been at all events only one of the pillars of heaven. Many opportunities will occur as we proceed, for showing that several fables arose from a misunderstanding of Homer, or a desire of making definite what he had left undetermined. 2 See Part ii, chap. 1. ta ek . PROMETHEUS. EOs. ba On the occasion of a strife between the gods and men, it is said, an ox was slain by Prometheus at Mecone (so Sicyon was anciently called) for the feast ofreconciliation. He rolled the fat and flesh up in the skin and placed it on one side, and the bones covered with some fat on the other, and then desired Zeus to choose. The god was aware of the deception : he removed the fat, and displayed. the bones. From that time, says the poet’, The tribes of men on earth unto the gods Burn the white bones upon the fragrant altars. Enraged at the attempted deception, Zeus deprived man- kind of fire; but Prometheus stole it from heaven, and conveyed it to earth in the stalk of the Ferula. Zeus finally chained Prometheus on a rock in the remote re- gions of the East, where an eagle evermore preyed on his inconsumable liver, till at length Hercules shot the eagle with his arrows, and delivered the suffering deity. The noble drama of AEschylus called the Bound Pro- metheus, one of the grandest pieces of poetry in any language, is founded on this portion of the history of Prometheus. In it Zeus is represented as a gloomy jea- lous tyrant, and the genius of the poet is exerted to the utmost to represent the dignity and energy of the suffer- ing Titan, whose only guilt was his love to man. "Hoc. Aurora. Dawn. Eos was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia (Over- going and Swift), or of Pallas son of Creius, whence she is called Pallantias. She was goddess of the dawn, or rather of the day-light. Every morning she ascended the celestial road before Helius, whose coming she an- nounced. According to Homer’, she drove in a chariot drawn by two horses, Lampus and Phaéthon (Splendour Reidel yh a RE Ce I Pa an ay ' Hes. Theog. 556. This is evidently an attempt to account for a practice the real cause of whose origin had been lost. 2 Od. xxiii. 245. hod 54 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. and Brightness). Euripides’ places her in a yellow cha- riot with four horses, or riding or driving a single horse ’*. fischylus and Phonericus describe her steeds as of a brilliant white colour. All day long she careers in advance of Helius through the sky, and ia the evening sinks before him into the waves of Ocean in the West’. The lovely goddess of the dawn was more than once smitten with the love of mortal man. She carried off Orion, and kept him in the isle of Ortygia, till he was slain there by the darts of Artemis*. Cleitus, the son of Mantius, was for his exceeding beauty snatched away by her, “‘ that he might be among the gods’.” But her strongest affection was for Tithonus, son of Laomedon, king of Troy. When she had carried him off she besought Zeus to bestow on him immortality. The sovran of Olympus assented, and Tithonus became exempt from death; but the love-sick goddess, having forgotten to have youth joined in the gift, began with time to discern old age creeping over the visage and limbs of her beautiful lover. When she saw his hairs blanching, she abstained from his bed, but still kept him and treated him with due attention aa Ber palace on the eastern margin of the Ocean-stream, ‘‘ giving him ambrosial food and fair gar- ments.” But when he was no longer able to move Sas limbs, she deemed it the wisest course to shut him up in his chamber, whence his feeble voice was incessantly heard. So sings the Homeride in his Hymn to Aphrodite. Later poets say that the goddess out of compassion turned him into a grasshopper. In Homer the goddess is less fas- tidious, and she is described as rising from the bed of the “illustrious Tithonus, to bear light to mortals and immor- tals.” Memnon and A‘mathion were the children whom Eos bore to Tithonus. 1 Troad. 855. 2 Orestes, 995. 8 See Voss, Mythologische Briefe: Brief 46. This is denied by Volcker. 4 Od,-¥: 121. 5 Od. xv. 250. HELIUS. 55 Kos in the works of the artists drives a four-horse car. Night, the moon, and the stars, retire before her. Some- times she is winged, at other times not. . Eos was styled’, 1. Rose-fingered; 2. Rose-armed; 3. Yellow-robed; 4. Gold-seated; 5. Morn-producing ; 6. Well-seated ; 7. Well-haired ; &c. ‘HéAtoc, “HXtoc. Sol. Sun. Hélius was the brother of Eos. Like her he dwelt on the eastern side of the earth. Homer does not relate how Helius, and consequently Eos, passed from West to East during the night; but according to the poets Stesichorus and Mimnermus, quoted by Athenzus ®, he and his horses were received into a golden basin or cup (Sérac), which carried him during the night along the Ocean-stream round the earth to the place whence he was to set out again in the morning. Thus Stesichorus : Helius Hyperionides Into the golden cup went down; That, having through the Ocean passed, He to the depths of sacred gloomy Night might come, Unto his mother and his wedded wife, And to his children dear. Mimnermus Says : Helius is doomed to labour every day ; And rest there never is for him Or for his horses, when rose-fingered Eos Leaves Ocean and to heaven ascends. For through the wave him beareth his loved bed, Hollow and formed of precious gold By Hephestus’ hand, and winged; the water’s top Along it bears the sleeping god, From the Hesperides’ to the thiops’ land, Where stand his horses and swift car Until forth goeth morn-producing Eos : Then Helius mounts another car, SA ae at ei Lica Fp aE URES ob aoe meee eS a eet Lo eee F, ' 1 pododdkrudos : 2. poddanxus: 3. kpokdmremXos : 4. ypuacOpovos : 5. pryévera: 6. €vOpovos: 7. éiimOKapos. ® Athen. xi, 6. 56. MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The palace of Helius was behind Colchis, on the eastern side of the earth, on the margin of the Ocean. Mimner- mus, quoted by Strabo’, says, ZEetes’ city, where swift Helius’ beams Within his golden chamber lie, By Ocean’s marge, whither bold Jason went. . | In Ovid*® we meet with a most splendid description of this palace of Helius, in which he sat enthroned in state, surrounded by the Days, Months, Years, and Seasons, Ages and Hours. The later Greek poets, in whose days luxury was on the increase, provided Helius witha baiting- placein the West, to refresh himself and to feed his wearied steeds with ambrosia before setting out on their voyage to the East. Nonnus’ describes the dwelling of Helius on the western Ocean, where Phosphorus (Light-bringer) takes the reins and whip from the god, washes the horses in the waves of Ocean, and leads them to their glittering crib; while Helius, greeted by the Hours, rests himself in his house, and then attended by these deities drives his chariot round to the eastern Ocean. The park and gar- dens of Helius are thus richly described by the Latin poet Claudian*: Thus having said, his gardens all bedewed With yellow fires he (Sol) enters, and his vale, Which a strong-flaming stream surrounds, and pours Abundant beams upon the watered grass, On which the Sun’s steeds pasture. ‘There he binds With fragrant wreaths his locks, and the bright manes And yellow reins of his wing-footed steeds. Helius was the father of many children : amongst these were /Metes, and his sister Circe the great enchantress, and Pasiphae the wife of Minos king of Crete. By Clymene he was the father of Phaéthon, whose claims to a celestial origin being disputed by Epaphus the son of Zeus, he jour- neyed to the palace of his sire, from whom he extracted an unwary oath that he would grant him whatever he asked. 1 Strab. i. 2 Met. il. 1. 3 Dionys. xil. 1. * In Prim, Cons. Stil. 1. 467. | HELIUS. 57 The ambitious youth instantly demanded permission to guide the solar chariot for one day, to prove himself there- by the undoubted progeny of the Sun-god. Helius, aware of the consequences, remonstrated, but to no purpose. The youth persisted, and the god, bound by his oath, re- luctantly committed the reins to his hands, warning him of the dangers of the road, and instructing him how to avoid them. Phaéthon grasps the reins, the flame- breathing steeds spring forward, but soon aware that they are not directed by the well-known hand, they run out of the course; the world is set on fire, and a total con- flagration would have ensued, had not Zeus, at the prayer of Earth, launched his thunder, and hurled the terrified youth from his seat. Helius, grieving for the death of his son, refuses again to ascend his car; and the world would have been sunk in darkness, had he not been mollified by the entreaties of the gods and the apologies of Zeus. This story is beautifully told by Ovid, after the Greek poets’. Clytia, a daughter of Oceanus, was beloved by Helius; but he transferred his affections to Leucothea, daughter of Orchamus, king of the eastern regions. The god visited her during the night in the form of her mother. The vir- gin was obliged to comply with his wishes, and Clytia filled with jealous rage discovering the secret to Orcha- mus, he buried his hapless daughter alive. The god, unable to save her, turned her into the frankincense plant, and the neglected Clytia pining away became a sun-flower’. Helius had a passion for cattle. On the island of Thri- nakia* fed his flocks and herds, under the charge of his daughters, the nymphs Phaéthusa and Lampetia (Shining and Gleaming). There were seven herds of oxen, and as many flocks of sheep, fifty in each flock and herd: they nei- ther bred nor died. When Odysseus arrived in that island, he warned his companions, as directed by Circe, to abstain eet. il. * Met. iv. 190, e¢ seq. 3 Od. xii. 262, et sey. 58 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. from touching the cattle of the Sun-god; but pressed by hunger, they during the sleep of their prince slaughtered some of the sacred cattle. Helius complained to Zeus, me- nacing a descent to Hades if he was refused satisfaction; and Zeus struck with a thunderbolt the ship of Odysseus, and drowned all the sacrilegious crew. Thesheepof Helius fed at Teenarus in Laconia’, and in Herodotus” we read an account of his sacred sheep at Apollonia. Helius was fre- quently invoked asa witness tosolemn oaths, as a god whose eye was over all things. The chief seat of his worship was the isle of Rhodes, where the celebrated colossus of brass seventy ells high stood in his honour’. Helius is vaoeabtited by artists driving his fore Hie rie chariot, his head surrounded with rays, a whip in his hand, and preceded by Eosphorus. Sometimes he is standing with a flambeau in his hand, and two of his horses near him. This god was styled*, 1. Mortal-delighting; 2. Mortal- alluminating ; 3. Unwearied; &c. LVeAnvyn. Luna. Moon. Seléna, the sister of Helius, drove along the sky in her chariot, drawn by either two or four horses, while Eos and Helius were reposing after the toils of their diurnal course. Few actions are recorded of this goddess. She bore, it is said’, to Zeus a daughter, Eérsa (Dew), the natural progeny of the moon and sky. Enamoured of the beauty of Endymion, who had obtained from Zeus the boon of perpetual youth united with perpetual sleep, she used to descend on Mount Latmus in Caria, where he lay, to enjoy his charms. Others say it was in Elis®. Pan, the god of Arcadian shepherds, falling in love with Selena, ' Hom. Hymn to Pythian Apollo, 234. 2 Herod. ix. 93. 5 Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxiv. 7. * 1. repWipPporos: 2. paeotuPporos : 3. akapas. > Aleman apud Plut. Quest. Nat. 24. “ 6 Apollodorus, i. 7. HECATE. 59 turned himself into a snow-white ram, and gained her love’. Selena is usually represented with the filling moon upon her forehead, and a torch in her hand. Sometimes she is in a chariot, sometimes on horseback. ‘Exarn. Hecate’. Hécate was, according to Hesiod’, the daughter of the Titan Perses, by Asteria, the sister of Leto and daughter of Coeus and Phoebe. She was highly honoured by Zeus, who allowed her to exercise extensive power over land and sea, and to share in all.the honours enjoyed by the children of Heaven and Earth. She rewards sacrifice and prayer to her with prosperity. She presides over the deliberations of the popular assembly, over war, and the administration of justice. She gives success inwrestling and horse-racing. The fisherman prays to her and Poseidon; the herdsman, to her and Hermes,—for she can increase and diminish at her will. Though an only child (in contrast to Apollo and Artemis who have similar power) she is honoured with all power among the immortals, and is by the appointment of Zeus the rearer of children whom she has brought to see the light of day. There is a good deal of obscurity attached to this god- dess, with whom Homer appears to have been unacquainted. Her name, the feminine of Hecatus, (one of the epithets of Apollo,) would seem to denote an affinity with him. It signifies Far-shooter or Far-worker, and therefore would apply to the moon-goddess. Many of her attributes just enumerated are the same as those of Artemis, with whom she was afterwards confounded, as both were with Eilei- thyia and Persephone; and hence the offices and attributes i ee 1 Virg. Geor. ill. 391. * The following absurd derivation is given by Servius, ad Ain. iv. 510: “Unde et Hecate dicta est, éxardy id est centum potestates habens.” 5 Theog. 411. e¢ seq. 60 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. so foreign to her original ones ascribed to Hecate, who became the patroness of magic and mistress of the under- world. She was invoked as the triple goddess’, and be- lieved to wander by night along the earth, seen only by the dogs, whose baying announced her approach. She was regarded as beneficent, and the averter of evil. Her statues at Athens and elsewhere were set up before the houses, in the market-places, and at cross-roads; and at the new moon small offerings of mean food were made to her, that she might prevent the souls of the dead from appearing. By the Orphicans and the later writers Hecate is often confounded with Tyche or Fortune. It is not improbable that Hecate was originally to one tribe of the ancient inhabitants of Greece nearly what Artemis was to another; and that, either when the tribes mingled more intimately, or the system of theocrasy began to prevail, the two goddesses were, after the usual process, made one. ‘Oxeavée. Oceanus. Ocean. Océanus, with his wife Tethys and his daughters the Oceanides, dwelt in a grotto-palace in the western waters of his stream which compasses the earth. He does not often appear in the works of the poets: he is however mentioned several times by Homer. Hera® for instance, when seeking to deceive Zeus, tells him she is going to the house of Oceanus, to endeavour to reconcile him and Tethys, who were on ill terms with each other. In the ' Voss, in whose Mythological Letters (vol. iii. p. 190.) the fullest account of Hecate will be found, thinks that Hecate and Artemis were each regarded as triple, and yet distinct from each other. He quotes Virgil, An. iv. 511, Tergeminamque Hecaten, tria virginis ora Diane, in proof. The passage of Ovid (Met. vii. 192.) which he also adduces, appears to us insufficient to prove what he advances. 2 J]. xiv. 301. OCEANUS. 61 Bound Prometheus of Aischylus, Oceanus comes riding on a griffon to comfort the afflicted god. The deities above considered were such of the Uranides or Titans as remained in power and honour after the de- thronement of Kronus'. The Kronides*, or descendants of this god, became possessed of the chief dominion after the overthrow of the Titans ; and we shall now proceed to the account of them and of their actions. It is acircumstance which has not been generally observed, that the Homeric inhabitants of Olympus are all the brothers and sisters, wives and children, of Zeus; the progeny of no other of the Kronides having been at that time admitted to dwell there®. This affords us an easy mode of classing the Olympians. 1 The goddesses Circe, Calypso, and others whom we shall meet with as we proceed, may be classed among these deities. * Though Kronides is used only in the singular number, and per- haps exclusively appropriated to Zeus, we venture from the analogy of Uranides to employ it in the plural. 3 Unless Terror and Fear, the sons of Ares (Il. xv. 119.), form an exception. 62 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaprer VI. THE KRONIDES,—ZEUS, POSEIDON, HADES, HESTIA. Tue Kronides, or children of Kronus and Rhea, were Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, and Demeter. The four first we shall place here: the two last, as wives of Zeus, will find their more appropriate situation along with their children. Zevc'. Jupiter. On the dethronement of his father, the dominion of the aéreal regions fell to Zeus ; and as eldest he enjoyed the right of precedence over his brothers Poseidon and Hades. In Homer he is commonly styled the king and the father of gods and men. The thunder is the weapon with which he terrifies or punishes guilty man. All the aereal phe- nomena, such as snow, rain, meteors, are ascribed to him. The Zeus of Homer is like an earthly monarch, partial, capricious, and apt to use his supreme power somewhat tyrannically, yet kind and indulgent to his children. He is to man, the guardian of social and civil life, punishing breaches of law and hospitality, and in general the great director of the destinies of mankind. Princes were more especially under his care, and were therefore called Zeus- sprung (dwyevetc), Leus-reared (Otorpedetc), and Zeus- loved (cwdiAor) ; and hence arose many a tale of the amours of the father of the gods with the daughters of men. The celestial progeny of Zeus were numerous, The- mis bore him Peace, Order, Justice, the Fates, and the 1 Zevs, Aolice Aevs, appears equivalent to Qeds and deus: it makes in the oblique cases Znvos or Zavds, and Acos, evidently from Ziv or Zay and Als, names of this deity. Zav is probably the participle Zawy contracted. Als differs little from Aevs. ZEUS. 63 Seasons ; Eurynome, a daughter of Oceanus, produced him the Graces ; Mnemosyne, the Muses; Demeter or Styx (according to Apollodorus), Persephone; Dione bore Aphrodite; Leto, Apollo and Artemis; Maia, Hermes ; and Selena, Eersa. Metis (Prudence), who had given Kronus a draught which had made him disgorge the stone and the children that he had swallowed, was, when preg- nant by Zeus, devoured by her lover, who feared that her offspring might exceed himself in wisdom and power. But the result was, that the brain of the god became the seat of the unborn babe, and on opening his skull Pallas Athena sprang forth completely armed. Asteria, one of the daughters of Coeus, refusing to hearken to his suit, changed her form into that of a quail, cast herself down into the sea, and the isle of Delus received the name of Asteria from her’. His sister Hera was the lawful wife and queen of this god. Some writers say that their couch was childless ; but Homer calls the lame artist Hephestus, and Ares the god of war, their sons. The Eileithyie are by the same poet styled the daughters of Hera, and consequently of Zeus, for the honour of the queen of heaven was unstained. Hebe and Argo were two other of their daughters *. But mortal women bore a more numerous progeny to this amorous monarch of the gods, and every species of transmutation and disguise was employed by him to ac- complish his object. He assumed the form of her husband Amphitryon to deceive the modesty of Alemena, who be- came the mother of Hercules. Leda was deceived by him in the shape of a beautiful white swan. Under the form of a shower of gold he penetrated the brazen prison in which Danae was inclosed, and became the father of Per- seus. Antiope, the mother of Amphion and Zethus, was forced by him in the guise of a satyr. To seduce the Ar- 1 Apollod. i. 4. ® Apollod.i.3. In Od. xi. 604. Hebe is called the daughter of Zeus and Hera; but the genuineness of that line may be doubted. 64 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE, cadian nymph Callisto he presumed to take the form of Artemis, the goddess of chastity. A bull was the form in which he carried off Europa, the sister of Cadmus; and a flame of fire disguised the god from AXgina, the mother of fHacus. By Semele he was the father of Dionysus, who became a god. By Io he had a son named Epaphus. Many other heroes could also boast of being the sons of Zeus by different mothers. Of all these mortal loves we shall give a detailed account when we come to speak of the heroes who sprang from them’. The love of Zeus was not always a source of happiness to those whom he honoured with it. lo, for example, un- derwent a dreadful persecution from Hera, as also did Leto. Semele perished in the flames which invested the lord of the thunder and lightning. Danae and her babe were abandoned to the waves of the sea. As has been already hinted, metaphor, that fruitful mo- ther of fable, was most probably the origin of many of these tales. A bard, to exalt the fame of the chief whose praises he celebrated, called him Zeus-descended or Zeus-sprung, in the oriental style, which exalts by connecting with the name of the divinity*. Soon the metaphor was understood literally, and a legend invented of the amour of Zeus with the mother or one of the ancestresses of the lauded prince. Legends, many of a pleasing cast, were devised by poets, of Zeus taking the human form, and coming down like an eastern monarch, to view more closely the conduct of mankind over whom he ruled. Such was his visit to Lycaon king of Arcadia, whom he punished for his im- piety; that on occasion of which the piety of Hyrieus was rewarded by the birth of Orion ; and that related with such ‘ The amours of Zeus, enumerated by himself to Hera (II. xiv. $12. et seq.), were those with the wife of Ixion, who bore him Peirithous, with Danae, with the daughter of Phcenix, hy whom he had Minos and Rhadamanthus, with Semele, Alemena, and with the goddesses Demeter and Leto. * In Hebrew, Cedars of God are lofty cedars. ZEUS. 65 pleasure by Ovid’ amidst the luxury of Rome, in which the hospitality of Baucis and Philemon saved them from the fate of their impious neighbours. The companions of Zeus on these expeditions seem to have been his brother Poseidon and his son Hermes’. The celebrated Aigis’, the shield which sent forth thun- der, lightning, and darkness, and struck terror into mortal hearts, was formed for Zeus by Hephestus. It was some- times borne by Apollo and by Athena. The most famous temple of this god was at Olympia in Elis, where every fourth year the Olympian games were celebrated in his honour. But his worship was widely diffused through Hellas, all whose inhabitants conspired in the duty of doing homage to the sovran of the gods. Amidst the oak-woods of Dodona was his great oracle, where, even in the Pelasgian period, his priests, the Selli, announced his will and futurity*. The eagle was the favourite bird of the Olympian king, and the office of bearing the thunder-bolts was in the post- Homeric times assigned to him. The oak was the tree sacred to the god, who was adored in the oak-woods of Dodona. Zeus was represented by the artists as the model of dignity and majesty of mien; his countenance grave but mild. He is seated on a throne, and grasping his sceptre and the thunder. The eagle is standing beside the throne. The principal epithets of this god were’®, 1. Aigis-hold- ing ; 2. Cloud-collecting ; 3. Black-clouding ; 4. Thunder- loving; 5. High-seated; 6. Lightening; 7. Counselling ; 8. Mild; 9. Wide-seeing or Wide-thundering ; &c. 1 Met. vill. 620. et seg. ° They remind us of Haroun al Raschid and his companions Jaffer and Mesroor. * This word is derived from dicow to excite ; but as it greatly resem- bles the Greek word for goat (aif, aiyds), the legend of its being co- vered with the skin of the goat which nursed the god was devised at a subsequent period. feUl.xvi. 233. > 1.aiyioxos: 2. vepeAnyepérns: 3. KeXatvedis: 4. TEPTLKEpauvos : 5. bWiluyos: 6. darepornri}s : 7, pnreérns : 8. pecdlxios: 9. evpvora. F 66 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Hlocersawv, Ilocerdwv'. Neptunus. This brother of Zeus was the ruler of the sea. Accord- ing to Herodotus” he was a Libyan deity, who was received into the Grecian system: but it is difficult to believe that any system could have been without a god of the waters, and it is much more probable that the Greeks, on finding ~ that the Libyans worshiped a deity analogous to their own Poseidon, inferred, in their usual manner, that they had in remote times derived a knowledge of him from Libya. Poseidon may, we think, be justly regarded as one of the original gods of Grecian mythology. The ordinary legend® says that Poseidon was devoured by his father ; but according to Pausanias*, the legend of Arcadia was, that Rhea substituted a young colt for him, on which Kronus banqueted. In the division of the domi- nions of Kronus, the sea fell to his lot. His queen was Am- phitrite, one of the daughters of Nereus and Doris, or as some say, of Oceanus and Tethys. She had made'a vow of celibacy ; but the god won her love under the form of a beautiful dolphin, and she bore him Triton, and a daugh- ter named Rhode, whom Helius espoused’. Poseidon was nearly as famous for his amours as his brother Zeus, but his domestic peace was less disturbed in consequence of them. He equalled his brother too in his mutability of form. Having become enamoured of Demeter, he, like his father, turned himself into a horse, and the goddess bore the steed Arion. The legend is ob- scure: some say that Demeter had taken the form of amare, when in quest of her lost daughter; Apollodorus® says she was in the guise of an Erinnys. Arion was endowed with 1 TIoreOcs is another form of this name. We may thence infer its affinity with the family of words to which rdw, rivw, rorapos, belong. 2 Herod. ii. 50. 3 Apollod. i, 1. 4 Paus. viii. 8. The fountain Arne, according to this legend, derived its name from Rhea having given the infant Poseidon to some shep- herds, to rear among their lambs (dpyoc). 5 Apollod. 1. 4. 6 Apollod. iil. 6. POSEIDON. 67 marvellous fleetness ; the Nereides, who reared him, often yoked him to his father’s car, and he drew it rapidly along the surface of the sea. Poseidon gave him to Copreus, who bestowed him on Hercules, who gave him to Adrastus king of Argos. Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus, and wife of Cretheus, loved the river Enipeus, and frequented his stream ; Poseidon, under the form of the river-god, ‘ min- gled in love ” with her, and she became the mother of Pe- lias and Neleus’. Iphimedeia bore him Otus and Ephialtes’, gigantic babes, who in their ninth year attempted to scale heaven. As aram, he was by Theophane, the daughter of Bisaltus, the sire of the gold-fleeced ram which bore Phryxus to Colchis. Melantho was deceived by him as a dolphin.—His other amours are too numerous to recount. As we have already observed, it was in all probability the figurative language of the early ages, which gave occa- sion to this great multiplication of the offspring of Posei- don. The same may also have been the cause of his being regarded as the producer of the horse’, if it be true that this animal was first brought into Greece by the Phceni- cians. A simpler reason, however, will perhaps be found in the analogy which regarded ships as the horses of the waves. The legend says, that in a contest with Athena for the right of naming the city afterwards called Athens, Poseidon struck the ground, and forth sprang the horse: Athena’s wand caused the olive to shoot up, and the gods decided in favour of the emblem of peace. The praises of both are beautifully sung by Sophocles in his CEdipus at Colonos. Poseidon contended with Apollo for the pos- 70, X1,. 935. A Oe x1. as * Poseidon would appear to have been regarded as presiding over horses and horsemanship as early as the days of Homer; see II. xxiii. 584., if this portion of the poem be genuine. There is every reason for supposing that the Grecian horses were of the Scythian breed; yet the Pheenicians may have imported African horses into Greece, as we know was done after the colony had been settled at Cyrene. * Od. iv. 708. Volcker, Mythologie des Japetischen Geschlechtes, p. 145. et seg. FQ 68 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. session of the isthmus of Corinth’, and again with Athena for Treezene. Besides his residence on Olympus, Poseidon had a splendid palace beneath the sea at /Ege*. Homer gives a noble description of his passage from it on his way to Troy, his chariot-wheels but touching the watery plain, and the monsters of the deep gamboling around their king. His most celebrated temples were at the Corinthian isthmus, Helice, Troezene, and the promontories of Sunium and Teenarus. Poseidon is represented, like Zeus, of a serene and ma- jestic aspect ; his form is strong and muscular. He usually bears in his hand the trident, the three-pronged symbol of his power: the dolphin and other marine objects accom- pany his images. The epithets of Poseidon are*, 1. Harth-keeping ; 2. Earth-shaking ; 3. Dark-haired ; 4. Wide-ruling ; 5. Loud-sounding ; &c. "Alc, “Aino, ASwvevc,“Adnc, TAotrwyv. Orcus, Pluto. Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, was lord of the subterrane region, the abode of the dead. He is de- scribed as being inexorable and deaf to supplication, —for from his realms there is no return,—and an object of aver- sion and hatred both to gods and men. All the latter were sure to be sooner or later collected into his kingdom. His name appears to denote invisibility*, significatory of the nature of the realm over which he ruled. At a later period he received the appellation of Pluton’, as mines within the earth are the producers of the precious metals. This notion, Voss thinks, began to prevail when the Greeks first visited Spain, the country most abundant in gold. 1 Pausanias, il. 1. 2 J]. xili. 20. 34. yathoxos: 2. Evvociybwy, évvooiyaus : 3. kuavoxairns: 4. ev- pupédwy, evpuxpelwy: 5. Bapvopdpayos, Bapvcoumos. 4From a and ¢icw, to see. > rrovros, wealth. HADES. 69 The only adventure of Hades upon record, is the car- rymg off of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, a legend which we shall presently relate at length. Ac- cording to Homer’, he was wounded by an arrow in his shoulder at the gate of the nether-regions by Hercules, who dragged his dog to the realms of day*. ° The region over which Hades presides is represented in the Ilias* as being under the earth : in the Odyssey * it, or the entrance to it, is placed in the dark region beyond the stream of Ocean: it is called Erebus’; and the poet everywhere describes it as dreary, dark, and cheerless’. The dead, without distinction of good or evil, age or rank, wander about there, conversing of their former state on earth : they are unhappy, and they feel their wretched state acutely. Achilles, the son of a goddess, declares to Odysseus that he would rather be a day-labourer to the poorest cultivator on earth, than a king in those regions. They have no strength or power of mind or body. Some few, enemies of the gods, such as Sisyphus, Tityus, Tan- talus, are punished for their crimes, but not apart from the "Tl. v. 395. év rtm. Many both in ancient and modern times understand by this word Pylus, where he aided the Pylians, who were his worshipers. Nothing conclusive can be alleged against this inter- pretation. 2 I]. vill. 368. 5 I]. xx. 61. xxiii. 100. * Od. x. 508. xi. passim. xii. 81. * Itis a strange notion of Passow (Handwérterbuch, sub épe(os) that Erebus is distinct from Hades, lying between it and the surface of the earth, and that it is expressly distinguished from it by Homer, (II. viii. 368). He adds, that it is not the abode of the departed, but only a passage to Hades, the proper under-world, and refers to Il. ix. 572.and Od. x. 528, xii. 81. in support of his opinion. By examining these pas- sages, the reader will see on what slender foundation his hypothesis rests. Hades, or rather Ais or Aidoneus, is in Homer and Hesiod always (for we cannot allow Il. xxiii. 244. to be of authority) the name of a person, never that of a place : to express the place they use épe/3os or eiy and eis aidao, with ddjors expressed or understood. By the tragic poets (Asch. Ag. 664. Soph. Cid. Col. 1698. Eur. Alc. 18.) aidns and aons are used for death. In the Alexandrine period they seem first to have denoted the under-world : Moschus,i.14. Apoll. i. 2. 6 Od. xi. passim, xx. 356. 70 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. rest of the dead’. Nothing can be more gloomy and com- fortless than the whole aspect of the realm of Hades as pictured in the Odyssey. It is in fact surprising, that men who had such a dreary prospect before them should not have been more attached to life, and more averse from war and every thing that might abridge its period, than the ancient Greeks were’. In process of time, when communication with Egypt and Asia had enlarged the sphere of the ideas of the Greeks, the nether-world underwent a total change. It was now divided into two separate regions: Tartarus, which in the time of Homer was thought to lie far beneath it, and to be the prison of the Titans, becoming one of its regions, and the place of punishment for wicked men; and Elysium, which lay on the shore of the stream of Ocean, the retreat of the children and relatives of the gods, being moved down thither to form the place of reward for good men. A stream encompassed the domains of Hades”, over which the dead, on paying their passage-money (vavAov), were ferried by Charon*: the three-headed dog Cerberus guarded the entrance; and the three judges, Minos, Atacus, and Rhadamanthus, allotted his place of bliss or of pain to each of the dead who was brought before their tribunal. A river called Oblivion (AnOn) was added to those of Ho- mer’s trans-Oceanic region, of whose waters the dead were aa ce ama AENIEEGE SENS eee * 1 The genuineness of the passage (Od. xi. 568-—630.) in which these personages are mentioned was doubted by Aristarchus. Notwithstand- ing the arguments of Payne Knight (Proleg. § xix.) in defence of it, we incline to the opinion of the Alexandrine critic. 2 The ancient Hebrews seem also to have had gloomy ideas of the under-world. 3 This notion, however, would appear to be as old as the Ilias, in which (xxiii. 73.) the river is mentioned, which could not be passed till the funeral rites had been performed : when these were completed, the soul crossed the stream and passed through the gates of Aides, This very circumstance, however, would lead to a doubt of the genuineness of the passage. 4 The earliest mention of Charon in Grecian poetry seems to be in the ancient poem of the Minyas, quoted by Pausanias, x. 28. HADES. 71 led to drink previous to their returning to animate other bodies on earth. All these circumstances were, if we are to credit the historian Diodorus, framed in imitation of the customs of Egypt; where judges of the dead sat, in an island to which each body was conveyed, ere it was con- signed to the tomb, to have sentence passed on the life and character of the deceased, and sepulture was assigned ac- cording to his merits. In this country, also, the doctrine of the Metempsychosis, or animation of successive bodies by the same soul, was taught; and thence it was probably first imported into Greece. In the sixth book of Virgil’s Aineis will be found the richest and fullest description of the new-modified under-world, and it will not be an uninterest- ing employment to compare it with that in the eleventh book of Homer’s Odyssey. The poet Claudian", too, has with his usual elegance drawn a luxuriant description of the blissful scenes which the under-world would present, to console and reconcile its future mistress. Before we quit Aidoneus and his realms, we must call attention to the circumstance of mankind agreeing to place the abode of departed souls either beneath the earth, or in the remote regions of the West. The former notion, it is probable, owes its origin to the simple circumstance of the mortal remains of man being deposited by most nations in the bosom of the earth ; and the habits of thinking and ‘ speaking which thence arose, led to the notion of the soul also being placed in a region within the earth. The calm- ness and stillness of evening succeeding the toils of the day, the majesty of the sun sinking as it were to rest amid the glories of the western sky, exert a powerful influence over the human mind, and lead us almost insensibly to picture the West as a region of bliss and tranquillity. The idea of its being the abode of the departed good, where in calm islands they dwelt “from every ill remote,” was then an obvious one. Finally, the analogy of the conclu- sion of the day and the setting of the sun with the close 1 De Raptu Proserpine, 11. 282, 72 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. of life, may have led the Greeks to place the dwelling of the dead in general in the dark land on the western shore of Ocean. Hades, we are told by Homer, possessed a helmet which rendered its wearer invisible: it was forged for him by Hephestus, the later writers say, in the time of the war against the Titans. Pallas Athena, when aiding Diomedes, wore it to conceal her from Ares’. When Perseus went on his expedition against the Gorgons, the helm of invi- sibility covered his brows. The helmet of Hades will find its parallel in many an eastern and western tale now consigned to the nursery. By artists, the god of the nether-world was represented similar to his brothers, but he was distinguished from them by his gloomy and rigid mien. He usually bears a two-pronged fork in his hand. Hades was called*, 1. Subterranean Zeus; 2. People- collecting ; 3. Much-receiving ; 4. Laughterless ; 5. Horse- renowned ; 6. Untamed or Invincible ; 7. Strong ; &c, ‘loria, Eoria. Vesta. An idea of the sanctity of the domestic hearth, the point of assembly of the family, and the symbol of the social union, gave the Greeks occasion to fancy it to be under the guardianship of a peculiar deity, whom they named from it, Hestia. This goddess does not appear to have been known to Homer, who, if such had been the case, had abundant opportunities of noticing her. By Hesiod she is said to have been the daughter of Kronus and Rhea. In the Homeridian hymns Hestia is described as going about the temple of Apollo at Delphi, her locks dripping with liquid oil. She is addressed in conjunction with Hermes, as possessing an eternal seat in the “ lofty houses 1 Hom. Il. v. 845. 24. Zevs xaraxOovios: 2. a&yeciiaos: 3. moAveeypwr, moAv- Géxrys: 4. ayédaoros: 5. KAuTéTwdos: 6. dddpacros: 7. tpOcp0s. HESTIA. 73 of immortal gods and men who walk on earth.” It is added, that mortals held no banquets at which they did not at the beginning and end pour out “ honey-sweet wine” to Hestia. The hymn to Aphrodite relates that Hestia, Artemis, and Athena, were the only goddesses who escaped the power of the queen of love. When wooed by Poseidon and Apollo, Hestia, placing her hand on the head of Zeus, vowed per- petual virginity. Zeus, in place of marriage, gave her to sit in the middle of the house “receiving fat,” and to be honoured in all the temples of the gods. In these passages relating to Hestia, the confusion between the goddess and the object over which she pre- sided is very perceptible. 14 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuapter VII. HERA,—ARES, HEPHESTUS, HEBE. “Hea. Juno. Hera’, the daughter of Kronus and Rhea, was reared by Oceanus and Tethys, and attended on by the Seasons. Her brother Zeus fell in love with and secretly married her; according to the Argive legend*, he assumed the form of a cuckoo, and flew to the shelter of her bosom during a storm which he had raised, and then resu- ming his shape gained her love. When he attained the sovranty of the world, Hera shared in his honours, and became the queen of the gods. Her character was dis- tinguished by matronly dignity and strict correctness of behaviour. Like wives in general, of whom she is the patroness, she could ill brook the infidelities of her lord; and Io, Leto, Semele, Callisto, and others, paid dear for their intrigues with the Olympian king. Yet in Homer she is represented as dwelling in peace and harmony with Leto, Themis, Dione, and their children. Hera was held to preside over marriage, and she was the patroness and protectress of married women. She was also herself, or through her daughters the Hileithyie, the easer of the pains of women in labour. In Homer Zeus is represented, though in awe of the tongue and arts of his wife, at times punishing her in rather a severe and rough manner for her acts of opposi- tion to him. Once’, when she had raised a storm which drove Hercules out of his course at sea, Zeustied her 1 The name Hera is by some derived from ap the air, by others from épdw to love. It is, however, plainly the Latin hera, German her- rinn, (a mistress) ; this goddess was so called, just as Demeter, Perse- phone, and Aphrodite were termed déo7otvat. 2 Pausanias, il. 17. & 36. 3 Il. xv.16. Ht HERA, 75 hands together, and hung her with anvils at her feet be- tween heaven and earth; and when her son Hephestus approached to assist her, he took him by the foot and flung him down to earth’. On another occasion he threatens her with a similar punishment. Zeus and Hera are on all occasions described after the model presented by a Hel- lenic prince and his wife of the heroic ages. Ares is by Homer said to be the child of Hera by Zeus. A later legend, preserved by the Latin poet Ovid?, gives a different account of his birth. Hera, it is said, jealous that Zeus should have brought forth Pallas Athena without her aid, journeyed to the dwelling of Oceanus and Tethys, to complain to them of the act of her husband. On the road she stopped to rest at the house of Chloris the god- dess of flowers, to whom she made her complaint, express- ing her desire to become a mother, yet without injury to her modesty. The patroness of the flowers recollected that it was in her power to gratify the spouse of Zeus, but she feared the anger of the sovran of the gods. Pressed at length by Hera, who saw her power in her countenance, she pointed to a flower which grew in her garden, and Hera on touching it obtained the accomplishment of her wishes. She retired to Thrace, and gave birth to Ares. The Roman poet, in the usual style of connecting Grecian and Roman mythology, adds, that for this cause Mars had given in his city of Rome a place to Flora the goddess of flowers. Hera, it is related®, wearied out with the infidelities of Zeus, resolved to abandon his bed and society, and re- tired to the island of Eubeea. Zeus, anxious for a recon- ciliation, applied to Citheron, king of Platea, for advice. That prudent prince counselled him to get a statue, dress it up in bridal apparel, and place it in a chariot, giving out that it was Plata, the daughter of Asopus, whom he was going to espouse. The stratagem succeeded: Hera on hearing it was filled with jealousy ; she flew to meet a aa ae nae Ee Aa a 'T. 1. 590. 2 Fasti, v. 229. 5 Pausanias, ix. 3, 76 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the chariot, attacked the supposed bride and tore off her finery. She was so gratified on discovering the cheat, that she immediately became reconciled to her husband. A festival celebrated every sixty years by the Beeotians, on the top of Mount Citheron, commemorated this breach and reconciliation ’*. Hera was the chief cause of the destruction of Troy. Homer’ does not assign the reason of her enmity, but it was perhaps the infraction of the sanctity of the marriage _ vow by Paris and Helena. The later poets assign a less honourable cause. At the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, Discord, who was not invited, flung among the guests 2 golden apple inscribed ‘“‘ For the fairest.” All the god- desses and nymphs of course laid claim to it; but their pretensions were finally forced to give way to those of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The gods, as it was a matter of such extreme delicacy, declined acting as judges. The affair was referred to the decision of Paris, son of Priam king of Troy, who was at that time keeping herds on Mount Ida. Hermes led the goddesses thither. Each displayed all her charms before the youth ; each proffered her most costly gift; Hera, empire; Athena, fame in war ; Aphrodite, the fairest of women. Paris was young, and as a herdsman careless of fame or dominion ; the offer of the queen of love dazzled his imagination, already perhaps affected by her own charms. The goddess of beauty received the apple, and Paris brought Helena and destruction to Troy. There are many other actions of Hera on record, most of which will be noticed when we speak of those who were the subjects or occasions of them. The principal temples of Hera were at Argos and Sa- 1 This legend was evidently invented to account for a ceremony whose true origin had been lost. 2 We make this assertion, because we cannot by any means satisfy ourselves of the genuineness of the passage, I. xxiv. 27. et seg. If the Judgement of Paris had been known to the poet, he would hardly have contented himself with a mere allusion to it. : HERA. ye mos’, Sparta and Mycenz were places dear to her, as was also Arcadia. Hera seems to have been a decidedly Grecian goddess: she everywhere appears the partial fa- vourer of that nation. On her altars bled ewe-lambs and sows. The dittany, the poppy, and the lily, were her favourite flowers. The lily, it is said, was once of a yellow hue; but when the infant Hercules was put to the breast of the sleeping Hera, and the goddess on waking flung the babe from her, a portion of her milk fell on the floor of heaven, and produced the Galaxy or Milky Way ; another portion reached the earth, and tinged the lilies white. The cuckoo was one of her favourite birds, but the gaudy stately peacock eclipsed all others in the estima- tion of the Olympian queen. She is said to have formed him from the blood of the many-eyed Argus, the keeper of the hapless Io. The poet Moschus thus describes® the origin of the peacock on the basket of Europa, into which she was gathering flowers when carried off by Zeus : Around beneath the curved basket’s rim Was Hermes formed, and near to him lay stretched Argus, with ever-sleepless eyes supplied ; Out of whose purple blood was rising up A bird, whose wings with many colours glowed: Spreading his tail, like a swift-sailing ship, The golden basket’s edge he covered o’er. Ovid* says that Hera planted the eyes of Argus in the tail of her favourite bird; and Nonnus’ asserts that Argus himself was turned into this bird. The peacock was unknown in the days of Homer, when, as we have already observed, the gods had not yet any fa- vourite animals. It is an Indian bird, and was according to Theophrastus, like the dove and raven, introduced into Greece from the East. Peafowl were first brought to Sa- mos, where they were kept at the temple of Hera; and era- ' The Samians asserted that Hera was born in their isle, by the river Imbrasus, under a willow, which was still shown in the temple of the’ godless in the time of Pausanias (vii. 4.), 2 Idyll. ii. 55. + Met: i 722, * Dionys. xil. 72. 78 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. dually the legend was spread that Samos was their native place, and that they were the favourite birds of Hera. The comic poet Antiphanes, a contemporary of Socrates, says ; ’Tis said the phcenixes are all born in The City of the Sun; at Athens, owls; Excellent pigeons Cyprus hath ; and Hera Of Samos owns, they say, the golden breed Of birds, the fair-formed much-admired pea-fowl. Whole flocks of them were fed in the sacred grove of the goddess. They were gradually but slowly spread through Greece. A man named Demus at Athens was possessed of some, and people used to come from Thessaly and Lacedemon to see them. They were only shown on new moons, and that for money; a pair of their chicks cost 1000 drachmas, or about £32 sterling. This was about the time of Pericles*. The later poets yoked them to the chariot of Hera: The sea-gods granted: in her easy car, By painted pea-fowl drawn, Saturnia moves Through the clear air,— says Ovid’. Those mythologists who adopt the physical hypothesis, make Zeus the upper, Hera the lower region of the air, and regard as physical mythi the various legends told of them by the poets. Thus when Hera on Mount Ida fills Zeus with love, that she may deceive him, the poet says’: He said; and in his arms Kronion seized His spouse. Beneath them bounteous earth sent up Fresh-growing grass: there dewy lotus rose, Crocus and hyacinth, both thick and soft, Which raised them from the ground. On this they lay, And o’er them spread a golden cloud and fair, And glittering drops of dew fell all around. And Virgil, who lived at a time when the physical and the historical systems were almost alone prevalent, has ex- 1 Athen. xiv. 2 Athen, ix. A®lian, Nat. Animal. v. $3 Met. ii. 531. * Hom. I. xiv. 364. ARES, 79 pressed this ideain his Georgics' completely in the physi- | cal sense of the union of AXther and Air producing vege- tation. Hera was represented by Polycletus at Argos seated on a throne, holding in one hand a pomegranate, the emblem of fecundity ; in the other a sceptre, with a cuckoo on its summit. Her air is dignified and matronly, her forehead broad, her eyes large, and her arms finely formed ; she is dressed in a tunic and mantle. By the poets Hera is styled*, 1. Ox-eyed ; 2. White- armed ; 3. Gold-seated; 4. Gold-shod; &c. “Apne *. Mars. The god of war was the son of Zeus and Hera. Accord- ing to a later legend already noticed * he was the offspring of Hera alone. His delight was in tumult and strife ; yet his wild fury was always forced to yield to the skill and prudence of Pallas Athena, guided by whom Diomedes wounds and drives him from the battle’; and in the con- flict of the gods*, Athena strikes him to the earth with a stone. To give an idea of his huge size and strength, the poet says in the former case that he roared as loud as nine or ten thousand men; and in the latter, that he co- vered seven plethra of ground, Terror and Fear (Seoc and @doc), the sons of Ares, and Strife (1c) his sister, accompany him to the field when he seeks the battle’. Another of his companions is Enyo® (Evve), the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto’, a war-goddess corresponding to the Bellona of the Romans. From her he probably derived his name Enyalieus, which is frequently given to him in the latter books of the Ilias. a ee eee 1 Geor. 11. 325. 2 1. Bowmts: 2. NeukHAevos : 38. xXpuvacbpovos: 4. ypvoorédidos. * There is no satisfactory derivation of this name. * See above, p. 75. LE VnaOos @llexxic 991 7 Tl. iv. 440. *. 11, ¥5 883. ° Hes. Theog. 273. 80 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The figurative language, which expresses origin and resemblance by terms of paternity, gave a numerous pro- geny to Ares. As a person who came by sea was figu- ratively called a son of Poseidon, so a valiant warrior was termed a son, or, as itis sometimes expressed by Homer, a branch of Ares (0Zoc "Apnoc). But the only tale of his amours is that of his intrigue with Aphrodite. It was an ingenious idea, though plainly drawn from what takes place every day among mortals, to unite the goddess of beanty to Hephestus the deformed celestial artist, but who may be perhaps regarded as one of the most wealthy of the dwellers of Olympus. It was also natural to conceive an intrigue between the lame god’s beautiful wife and the god of war, for a soldier is always acceptable to the fair. Ares, so sang Demodocus to the Pheacians’, loved Aphrodite, and often visited her in the absence of her un- sightly husband. These visits were not unobserved by Helius—for what can escape the piercing eye of the Sun- god ?—and he gave information to the injured artist. He- phestus dissembled his rage, and going to his workshop forged a net so subtile as to be invisible, so strong as to be infrangible by even the god of war. He disposed it in such a manner as to catch the lovers: then feigning a journey, set out as it were for Lemnos. Ares, who was on the watch, flew to his expecting mistress: the heedless lovers were caught in the net: the Sun-god gave notice; the husband returned ; and standing at his door, called all the gods to come and behold the captives. The dwell- ers of Olympus laughed heartily, and some jokes were passed on the occasion. Poseidon however took no part in the mirth, but drawing Hephestus aside, pressed him to accommodate the affair. The artist, doubtful of the honour of the soldier, was loath to assent, till Poseidon pledged himself to see him paid. He then yielded, and re- leased his prisoners. Ares hastened away to his favourite 1 Od. vill. 266. e¢ seq. ARES, 8] region of Thrace: Aphrodite fled to hide her shame in her beloved isle of Cyprus. This tale is an evident interpolation in the part of the Odyssey where it occurs. Its date is uncertain ; but the language, the ideas, and the state of society which it Supposes, might almost lead us to assign its origin to a period posterior to the collection of the Homeric poems by Peisistratus. Later poets say that Order (Harmonia) was the daugh- ter of Ares and Aphrodite. This has evidently all the appearance of a physical mythus. From Love and Strife, i.e. Attraction and Repulsion, it is clear, arises the order or harmony of the universe. Terror and Fear are also said to have been the offspring of Ares and Aphrodite. To the above mythus has also been appended a le- gendary origin of the cock (aXexrpuov). It is said? that Alectryon was a youth whom Ares placed to watch while he was with Aphrodite; and for neglect of his task . he was changed by the angry god into the bird of his name, The Hill of Ares ("Apetoc mayo), near Athens, is said to have derived its appellation from the following circum- Stance. Halirrhothius, the son of Poseidon, had offered violence to Alcippe, the daughter of Ares. Her father killed the offender, and was summoned by Poseidon be- fore a court of justice for the murder, The trial was held on this hill, and Ares was acquitted *. The images of Ares are not numerous. He is repre- sented as a warrior, of a severe menacing air, dressed in the heroic style, with a cuirass on, and a round Argive shield on his arm. His arms are sometimes borne by his attendant genii. The epithets of Ares were all significative of war. He * Lucian. in Alect. * Apollod. iii. 14. This is one of the legends which have been de- vised to account for a name, the memory of whose true origin was lost. The names of the two children of the gods, we may observe, are significant, G 82 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. was called', 1. Blood-stained ; 2. Shield-borer ; 3. Man- slaying ; 4. Man-destroying ; &c. "“Hdawroc’. Vulcanus, Mulciber. Hephestus, the Olympian artist, is in Homer the son of Zeus and Hera. According to Hesiod” he was the son of Hera alone, who unwilling to be outdone by Zeus had given birth to Pallas Athena. He was born lame, and his mother was so displeased at the sight of him that she flung him from Olympus. The Ocean-nymphs Thetis and Eurynome saved and concealed him in a cavern be- neath the Ocean, where during nine years he employed himself in manufacturing for them various ornaments and trinkets*. We are not informed how his return to Olym- pus was brought about, but we find him in the Ilias firmly fixed there ; and all the houses, furniture, ornaments, and arms of the Olympians were the work of his hands. It would be an almost endless task to enumerate all the articles formed by Hephestus ; we shall however notice some of the chief of them. One thing is remarkable con- cerning them, that they were all made of the various me- tals; no wood, or stone, or any other substance, enter- ing into their composition: they were moreover frequently endowed with automatism. All the habitations of the gods on Olympus were made by Hephestus, and were all composed of metal; as also were their chariots and arms. The golden soles (wédtAa) which the gods put on when about to take a journey, and which enabled them to tread earth, sea, and air with such velocity, were also furnished from the workshop of the lame god. The epithet Brass-footed (yaAxorodec) 1 4. prarpdvos: 2. pwordpos: 3. avéperpdvrns: 4. Bporodoryds. 2 Hephzstus’ name appears to be related to the verb aarw to light, and in the Ilias (xxi. 73. and 331. e¢ seg.) he is represented as the Fire-god, a character which he does not bear in any other part of the poem. 3 Theog. 927. * JL. xviii, 394. et seq. HEPHAESTUS. 83 applied to the celestial steeds, would lead to the suppo- sition that their power of galloping through the air and along the waves was derived from their being shod with brass by Hephestus. The brass-footed bulls of /Eetes king of Colchis were the gift of Hephestus to Metes’ father Helius ; and he made for Alcinoiis, king of the Pheacians, the gold and silver dogs which guarded his house. For himself he formed the golden maidens, who waited on him, and whom he endowed with reason and speech. He gave to Minos the brazen man Talus, who each day com- passed his island three times, to guard it from the invasion of strangers. This Talus had but one vein in his body, which ran from his neck to his heels, and was filled with ichor: a brass pin was fastened in this vein. When the Argonauts approached the shores of Crete, Talus pelted them with stones, and would not suffer them to land; but Medeia, it is said, promising to make him immortal, persuaded him to let her pull out the pin, which when she had done, the ichor all ran out, and he died’. It is also said that Talus was a gift of Zeus to Europa, and that his mode of destroying people was to make himself burning hot in the fire and then embrace them. Finally, the brazen cup in which the Sun-god and his horses and chariot are carried round the earth every night was made by Hephestus. The only instances we meet of Hephestus working in any other substance than metal is in Hesiod*, where at the command of Zeus he forms Pandora of earth and water, and where he uses ivory in the formation of the shield which he makes for Hercules. That framed by him for Achilles is all of metal. In the Ilias* the wife of Hephestus is named Charis ; in Hesiod*, Aglaia, the youngest of the Charites ; in the _ °°: gee ee ' Apollod. i. 9. * Works and Days, 60. Shield of Hercules, 141. 3 Il. xviii. 382. * Theog. 945, ew 84 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. interpolated tale in the Odyssey, Apbeadiee the goddess of beauty. He is said to have asked Pallas Athena in marriage of Zeus, who gave him permission to win her if he could. Hephzstus was a rough wooer, and at- tempted to offer violence to the goddess. An Athenian legend refers the birth of Erichthonius, one of the mythic kings of Attica, to this circumstance *. The favourite haunt of Hephestus on earth was the isle of Lemnos. It was here he fell when flung from heaven by Zeus for attempting to aid his mother Hera, when Zeus had suspended her in the air with anvils fastened to her feet. As knowledge of the earth advanced, Aitna, Lipari, and all other places where there was subterranean fire, were regarded as the forges of Hephestus; and the Cyclopes were associated with him as his assistants. In Homer, when Thetis wants Hephestian armour for her son, she seeks Olympus, and the armour is fashioned by the artist- god with his own hand. In the Augustan age, Venus prevails on her husband, the master-smith, to furnish her son /AAneas with arms; and he goes down from Heaven to Lipari, and directs his men the Cyclopes to execute the order*. It is thus that mythology changes with modes of life. Hephestus is usually represented as of ripe age, with a serious countenance and muscular form: his hair hangs. in curls on his shoulders. He generally appears with hammer and tongs at his anvil, in a short tunic, and his right arm bare, sometimes with a pointed cap on his head. The Cyclopes are occasionally placed with him. The epithets of Hephestus were derived either from his lameness or from his skill. He was called’, 1. Both-feet- lame; 2. Lame-foot or Bow-legged; 3. Feeble; 4. Re- nowned Artist; &c. 1 See below, Legends of Attica. 2 Mneis, viii. 3 1. dugeyuhes: 2. kvAdAoTOdiwy: 8. Hredavos: 4. KAuTOTéexYNS, kAuroepyos. HEBE. 85 "HBn. Juventas. Youth. This goddess, whose office in Homer ' is to hand round the nectar at the banquets of the gods, is in a doubtful passage’ said to be the daughter of Zeus and Hera. He- siod * also assigns her this parentage, and all probability is in favour of it. She was given in marriage to Hercules, when he was admitted to join the dwellers of Olympus*. Hebe is called Fair-ankled*,—the only epithet except the usual one of Honoured (ota) bestowed on her. aac EE OFS, 4 HH, iv: 2. 2 Od. xi. 604. 3 Theog, 922, * Od. ut supra. ° kadNiogupos. 86 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHaprer VIII. LETO,—PHCBUS APOLLO, ARTEMIS. Anrw'’. Latona. Lrro was a Titaness, and daughter of Coeus and Pheebe. In Homer” she appears as one of the wives of Zeus, and there occur no traces of enmity between her and Hera. Posterior poets fable much of the persecution she under- went from that goddess. Her children by Zeus were Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis. While wandering from place to place with her children, Leto, says a legend most prettily told by Ovid*, arrived in Lycia. The sun was shining fiercely, and the goddess was parched with thirst. She saw a pool, and knelt down at it to drink. Some clowns, who were there cutting sedge and rushes, refused to allow her to slake her thirst. In vain the goddess entreated, representing that water was common to all, and appealing to their compassion for her babes. The brutes were insensible : they not only mocked at her distress, but jumped into and muddied the water. The goddess, the most gentle of her race, was roused to indignation: she raised her hands to heaven and cried, “‘ May you live for ever in that pool!” Her wish was instantly performed, and the churls were turned into frogs. Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion, proud of her numerous offspring, ventured to set herself before Leto: the offended goddess called upon her children Apollo and Artemis, and soon Niobe was by the arrows EN 1 The most probable derivation of the name Leto is that which, taking this goddess to have originally signified Night, makes it one of the same family with 4407, and the Latin lateo and Latona. 2 I]. xxi. 499. $ Met. vi. 313. SY) NY) ») HARES LETO. PHG@BUS APOLLO. 87 ¢ of these deities made a childless mother, and stiffened into stone with grief’. Tityus, the son of Earth or of Zeus and Elara, happened to see Leto one time as she was going to Pytho. Inflamed with love he attempted to offer her violence: the goddess called to her children for aid, and he soon lay slain by their arrows. His punishment did not cease with life: vultures preyed on his liver in Erebus ®, Leto was called*, 1. Fair-ankled; 2. Dark-robed. DoiBoc ArddXwv. Apollo. Pheebus Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto. In Homer he is the god of archery, prophecy, and music. His arrows were not merely directed against the enemies of the gods, such as Otus and Ephialtes *: all sudden deaths of men were ascribed to his darts ; Sometimes as a reward, at other times as a punishment. He was by his shafts the sender of pestilence, and he removed it when duly propi- tiated. At the banquets of the gods on Olympus, Apollo played on his phorminr or lyre, while the Muses sang’. Thus they the whole day long till set of sun Feasted ; nor wanted any one his part Of the equal feast, or of the phorminx fair Which Pheebus held, or of the Muses’ lay, Who sang responding with melodious voice. Eminent bards, as Demodocus‘, were held to have derived their skill from the teaching of Apollo or the Muses. Prophets in like manner were taught by him. At Pytho he himself revealed the future’. According to the Homeridian hymn to the Delian Apollo, the birth of the god took place in this manner. Leto, persecuted by Hera, besought all the islands of the /Egean to afford her a place of rest; but all feared too Bree eee ert ey ot) ote | iin die} ' See below, Partii. ch.4. 2 Od. xi. 576. et seg. Apollod. i. 4. ° 1. cadXiogupos: 2. kvavdmeros. * Od. xi. 318. Sali. 601, ° Od. viii. 488. 7 Od. viil, 79, 88 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. much the potent queen of heaven to assist her rival. Delos alone consented to become the birth-place of the future god, provided Leto would pledge herself that he would not contemn her humble isle, and would erect there the temple vowed by his mother. Leto assented with an oath, and the friendly isle received her. For nine days and nights the pains of labour continued. All the goddesses, save Hera and Eileithyia, (whom the art of Hera kept in ignorance of this great event,) were assembled in the floating isle. Moved with compassion for the suf- ferings of Leto, they dispatched. Iris to Olympus, who brought Hileithyia secretly to Delos. Leto then grasped a palm-tree in the soft mead, Earth smiled around, Apollo sprang to light, and all the goddesses shouted aloud to celebrate his birth. They washed and swathed the infant deity, and Themis gave him nectar and ambrosia. As soon as he had tasted the divine food, his bands and swad- dling-clothes no longer retained him: he sprang up and called to the goddesses to give him a lyre and a bow, adding that he would thenceforth declare to men the will of Zeus. He then, to the amazement of the assembled goddesses, walked firmly on the ground; and Delos, ex- ulting with joy, became covered with golden flowers. Callimachus relates the birth of Apollo somewhat dif- ferently. According to him, Hera, knowing that the son of Leto would be dearer to Zeus than her own son Ares, was resolved if possible to prevent his birth. Determined therefore that no place should receive the travailing god- dess, she took her own station in the sky : she placed her son Ares upon the Thracian mountain Hemus, and her messenger Iris on Mount Mimas, to watch the islands. All the lands, hills, and rivers of Hellas, refused to hearken to the prayers of the goddess. Moved with wrath, the unborn Apollo menaced Thebes for her discourteous re- fusal, and foretold the future fate of the children of Niobe. The river Peneius alone valued justice and humanity more than the wrath of Hera: he checked his stream to give a shelter to the goddess ; but instantly Ares arose, clashed PH@BUS APOLLO. §9 his arms, that the mountains and all Thessaly trembled at the sound, and was about to fling the peaks of Pangeeus on the generous stream, who undauntedly awaited the issue ; when Leto passed further on, entreating him not to expose himself to danger on her account. She now turned to the islands, but none would receive her; and the god called out to her that a floating island was to be his birth- place. At length she met Delos, then called Asteria, which floated among the Cyclades. Delos generously invited the wearied goddess to enter her, expressing her willing- ness to encounter the anger of Hera. This last god- dess, when informed by her messenger, remits her anger ; Apollo is born; a choir of swans comes from the Mzo- nian Pactdlus, and flies seven times round the isle to celebrate his birth ; the Delian nymphs receive and sing the sacred verses of Eileithyia; the sky gives back the joyful cry, and Delos, as before, becomes invested in gold. In the Homeridian hymn to the Pythian Apollo, the manner of his first getting possession of Pytho is thus related. When Apollo resolved to choose the site of his first temple, he came down from Olympus into Pieria: he sought throughout all Thessaly ; thence went to Eu- bea, Attica, and Beeotia, but could find no place to his mind. The situation of Tilphussa, near Lake Copais, in _ Beotia, pleased him; and he was about to lay the founda- tions of his temple there, when the nymph of the stream, afraid of having her own fame eclipsed by the vicinity of the oracle of Apollo, dissuaded him, by representing how much his oracle would be disturbed by the noise of the horses and mules coming to water at her stream. She recommends to him Crissa beneath Mount Parnassus as a quiet sequestered spot, where no unseemly sounds would disturb the holy silence demanded by an oracle. Arrived at Crissa, the solitude and sublimity of the scene charms the god. He forthwith sets about erecting a temple, which the hands of numerous workmen speedily raise, under the direction of the brothers Trophonius and Agamedes. 90 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Meanwhile Apollo slays with his arrows the monstrous | serpent which abode there and destroyed the people and cattle of the vicinity. As she lay expiring, the exulting victor cried, ‘‘ Now rot (w0@ev) there on the man-feeding earth ;” and hence the place and oracle received the ap- pellation of Pytho. The fane was now erected, but priests were wanting. The god, as he stood on the lofty area of the temple, cast his eyes over the sea, and beheld far south of Peloponnesus a Cretan ship sailing for Pylos. He plunged into the sea, and in the form of a dolphin sprang on board the ship. The crew sat in terror and amazement: a south-wind carried the vessel rapidly along : in vain they sought to land at Tenarus: she would not obey the helm. When they came to the bay of Crissa a west-wind sprang up, and speedily brought the ship into port; and the god in the form of a blazing star left the vessel, and descended into his temple. Then quick as thought he came as a handsome youth with long locks waving on his shoulders, and accosted the strangers, inquiring who they were and whence they came. To their question in return, of what that place was to which they were come, he replies by in- forming them who he is, and what his purpose was in bringing them thither. He invites them to land, and says, that as he had met them in the form of a dolphin (SeAdiv) they should worship him as Apollo Delphinius, whence the place should also derive its name. They now disembark: the god playing on his lyre precedes them, and leads them to his temple, where they become his priests and ministers ’. A god so handsome and accomplished as Phebus Apollo, could not well be supposed to be without his love-adventures ; yet it is observable that he was not re- markably happy in his love, either meeting with a repulse, or having his amour attended with a fatal termination. 1 These explanations of the origin of the names Pytho and Delphi are clear instances of the principle stated in p.6, of names giving occasion to legends. PHGBUS APOLLO. 9g} “The first love of Phoebus,” says Ovid, “was Daphne, the daughter of the river Peneius.” Apollo, proud of his victory over the Python, beholding the little Eros (Love) bending his bow, mocked at the efforts of the puny archer. Eros incensed flew, and taking his stand on Parnassus shot his golden arrow of love into the heart of the son of Leto, and discharged his leaden one of aversion into the bosom of the nymph of Peneius. Daphne loved the chase, and it alone, indifferent to all other love. Phoebus beheld her, and burned with passion. She flies, he pursues ; in vain he exhausts his eloquence, magnifying his rank, his power, his possessions; the nymph but urges her speed the more. Fear gave wings to the nymph, love to the god. Exhausted and nearly overtaken, Daphne on the banks of her father’s stream stretched forth her hands, calling on Peneius for protection and change of form. The river-god heard ; bark and leaves covered his daughter, and Daphne became a bay-tree (Sadvn, laurus). The god embraced its trunk, and declared that it should be ever afterwards his fa- vourite tree’. The mention of the winged archer Eros or Cupido proves the late age of this legend. It is one of the many tales devised to give marvel to the origin of natural pro- ductions, and its object is to account for the bay-tree being sacred to Apollo. Apollo thought himself happy in the love and fidelity of Coronis, a maiden of Larissa. His ignorance was his bliss, for the nymph was faithless. The raven, the favourite bird of the god, and then white as his swans, saw the maiden in the arms of a Hemonian youth, and bore the tidings to his master, who immediately discharged one of his inevitable arrows into the bosom of his mistress. Dying, she deplores the fate, not of herself, but of her unborn babe. The god repents when too late ; he tries in vain his healing art, and, dropping celestial tears, places her on the funereal pyre : extracting the babe, he gave him to be reared by Cheiron, ' Ovid, Met. i. 452. et seq. 92 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the centaur. To punish the raven, he changed his hue from white to black’. Marpessa, the daughter of Evenus, was beloved by Apollo, whose suit was favoured by her father. Idas, another lover, having obtained a winged chariot from Po- seidon, carried off the apparently not reluctant maid. Her father pursued the fugitives, but coming to the river Lycormas, and finding his progress stopped by it, he slew his horses and cast himself into the stream, which from him derived its name Evenus. Meantime Apollo met and took the fair prize from Idas. The matter being referred to Zeus, he allowed the maiden to choose for herself ; and fearing that when she grew old Apollo would desert her, she wisely chose to match with her equal, and gave her hand to Idas’. Cassandra, daughter of Priam king of Troy, also at- tracted the love of this god: the price she set on her favours was the gift of prophecy. The gift was freely given, but the royal maid refused the promised return, and the indignant deity, unable to recall what he had bestowed, made it useless by depriving her predictions of credit’. Cyrene, a daughter of the river Peneius, was another of the loves of Phoebus, and bore him Aristeeus, whose ad- ventures are so beautifully narrated by Virgil in the last book of his Georgics. It was fabled by some that Apollo carried this nymph to Libya, where she gave name to the town of the same appellation’. The only celestial amour recorded of Apollo is that with the muse Calliope, of which the fruit was Orpheus. No parents more suitable could be assigned to the poet, whose strains could move the woods and rocks, than the god of poetry and the muse Fazr-voice. ' Ovid, Met 11.596. Hesiod, Frag. xxix., says that the tidings brought |v the raven were of the marriage of Coronis with Ischus the son of Kilatus. 2 A pOLlOd. 1.8 Gy 5 Apollod. ili, 12. ‘ Pindar, Pyth.ix. See below, Part 11, chap. 4. PHG@BUS APOLLO. 93 Cyparissus and Hyacinthus were two beautiful youths, favourites of Apollo; but that favour availed not to avert misfortune. The former, having by accident killed a fa- vourite stag, pined away with grief, and was changed into the treé which bears his name’. The latter, a youth of Sparta, was playing one day at discus-throwing with the god. Apollo made agreat cast, and Hyacinthus running too eagerly to take up the discus, it rebounded and struck him im the face. The god unable to save his life, changed him into the flower which was named from him, and on whose petals Grecian fancy saw the notes of grief, at, al, traced*. Other versions of the legend say that Zephyrus ( West- wind), enraged at Hyacinthus’ having preferred Apollo to him, blew the discus, when flung by Apollo, against the head of the youth, and so killed him. A festival called the Hyacinthia was celebrated for three days in each year at Sparta, in honour of the god and his unhappy favourite. The babe saved from the pyre of Coronis was Asclepius, who became so famous for his healing powers. Extending them so far as to restore the dead to life, he drew on him- self the enmity of Hades, on whose complaint Zeus with his thunder deprived him of life. Apollo incensed slew the Cyclopes who had forged the thunderbolts, and was for this deed exiled from heaven. Coming down to earth he took service as a herdsman with Admetus king of Phere in Thessaly, and pastured his flocks on the banks of the Amphrysus. Won by the kind treatment of his master, when Pelias the father of Alcestis required of Ad- metus, then a suitor to his daughter, a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild boar, the herdsman-god yoked these animals to his car and thus enabled him to obtain the maid. He further prevailed upon the Fates to grant, that when the period set to the life of Admetus should arrive, it might be prolonged by one of his family dying in his stead*. The fidelity and devotion of Alcestis, who surren- 1 Ovid, Met. x. 106. et seq. 2 Ib, x. 162. et sea. Anvoll. i. 3. iii. 10. 3 Apoll. 1. 9, ili. 10. 94 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. dered herself to Death for her husband, but was delivered from him by Hercules, is most exquisitely described by Euripides in his drama named from her. This beautiful tale is not perhaps as old as the time of Homer, who says’ that the swift mares of Eumelus the son of Admetus were reared in Pieria by Phoebus Apollo; and in the hymn to Hermes, shortly to be quoted, Apollo is described as keeping the herds of the gods in Pieria. It may also be observed, that when he and Poseidon were in the ser- vice of Laomedon king of Troy, while Poseidon built the walls of that town, Apollo tended the herds of the king*. In this mythic tale of Apollo serving Admetus, Miiller® sees matter of deeper import. According to the Delphian tradition, it was for slaying the Python that he was con- demned to servitude. Every eighth year the combat with the Python was the subject of amimic representation at Del- phi. A boy who personated Apollo, having in mimic show slain the Python, fled and took his way along the Sacred Road to the vale of Tempe in the north of Thessaly, to be purified as it were from the guilt of the bloodshed ; and having there plucked a branch of bay, he returned to Del- phi at the head of a theorta. According to Plutarch’, this mimic flight also represented the servitude of the god, which the legend placed at Phere in Thessaly. Muller, who views in the whole transaction a deep moral sense, and a design to impress upon the minds of men a vivid idea of the guilt of bloodshed, by representing the pure god Apollo as being punished for slaying the Python, a being of demon-origin, deems the original legend to have been a bolder stretch of fancy, and that it was to the god of the under-world, to Hades himself, that Apollo was obliged to become a servant. To this hypothesis he has been led by the names in the legend: Admetus is an epithet of Hades ; Clymena, the name of Admetus’ mother, is one of Perse- phone; and Phere was a town sacred to the gods of the lower-world. ETE C66, 2 Tl. xxi. 448. 5 Prolegomena, 300, et seq. * De Defect, Orac. 15. PHEBUS APOLLO. 95 Apollo, it is said’, was taught divination by Pan, the son of Zeus and the nymph Thymbris. For his musical instrument he was indebted to the invention of his half- brother Hermes. Pan, the god of shepherds, venturing to set his reed-music in opposition to the lyre of Apollo, was pronounced overcome by Mount Tmolus, who had been chosen judge, and all present approved the decision ex- cept king Midas, whose ears were, for their obtuseness, lengthened by the victor to those of an ass*. The satyr Marsyas having found the pipe which Athena for fear of injuring her beauty had flung away, contended with Apollo, and was by him flayed for his temerity. The tears of the nymphs and rural gods for the fate of their com- panion, gave origin to the stream which bore his name. Marsyas was a river-god of Phrygia, the country in which the music of wind-instruments was employed in the service of the gods; the lyre was used by the Greeks in that of Apollo. Hence, to express the superiority of the latter, a contest was feigned between Apollo and Mar- syas. At the cavern in the town of Celene in Phrygia, whence the stream Marsyas issues, was hung, for some reason which is not very clear, a leathern bag’, and hence it was fabled that Apollo flayed his vanquished rival*. The Homeric Apollo is a personage totally distinct from Helius, though probably, as will shortly appear, originally the same. When mysteries and secret doctrines were _ introduced into Greece, these deities were united, or per- haps we might say re-united. Apollo at the same period also usurped the place of Peon, and became the god of the healing art. This god was a favourite object of Grecian worship, and his temples were numerous. Of these the most celebrated were that of Delphi in Phocis,—his acquisition of which we have above related, and where, as the mythus of Python would seem to intimate, a conflict took place between the ee a NS ee a ae ' Apollod. i. 4. 2 Ovid, Met. x1. 142. e¢ seg. > Herod. vii. 26. Xen. Anab. i. 2.8. * Muller, ut supra, p. 113. 96 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. religion of Apollo, proceeding southwards from Pieria, or westwards from Delos, and the ancient religion of the place, the worship of Gea or Themis’ ;—of Delos, of Pa- tara in Lycia, Claros in Ionia, Grynion in AXolis, Didyma at Miletus; in all of which his oracles revealed the future. A very able mythologist of the present day* maintains that the worship of Apollo was originally peculiar to the Dorian race, who were at all times his most zealous vota- ries. As the Homeric poems prove the worship of this deity to have been common to the Achzan race, and well known on the coasts of Asia long before the Dorian mi- gration, the critic is forced to have recourse to the not very probable supposition of a Dorian colony having left the mountains of Thessaly many years before the Trojan war, and carried the Apollo-religion to Crete, whence it was spread to the coast of Asia. We cannot assent to this theory. Apollo seems to have been one of the original gods of the Grecian race; and he was worshiped by one people more than another, on the same principle as in India Vishnoo is in some places more worshiped than Seeva; Thor was most honoured by the ancient Norwe- gians, and Odin by the Swedes; St. Jago is more fre- quently invoked in Spain, and St. Anthony in Italy,— without the existence and the rights of the others being denied °. Apollo was supposed to visit his various favourite abodes at different seasons of the year: Such as, when wintry Lycia and the streams Of Xanthos fair Apollo leaves, and looks On his maternal Delos, and renews The dances ; while around his altars shout Cretans, Dryopians, and the painted race Of Agathyrsians; he along the tops Of Cynthus walking, with soft foliage binds His flowing hair, and fastens it in gold ; His arrows on his shoulders sound?. iM IL 1 See Asch. Eumen. 1. e¢ seq. 2 Muller, Dorians, vol. i. 3 See Hock, Kreta, vol. ii. * Virg. Aneis, iv, 143. PH@BUS APOLLO. 97 One of the most beautiful descriptions of the progresses of Apollo was given by the lyric poet Alczeus. The poem has unfortunately perished, but the following analysis of it is given by the sophist Himerius. “When Apollo was born, Zeus adorned him with a golden headband and lyre, and gave him moreover a team to drive (the team were swans). He then sent him to Del- phi and the streams of Castalia, thence to declare, prophe- tically, right and justice to the Hellenes. He ascended the car, and desired the swans to fly also to the Hyperboreans. The Delphians, when they perceived this, arranged a Pean and song, and setting choirs of youths around the tripod, called on the god to come from the Hyperboreans. Having given laws for a whole year among those men, when the time was come which he had appointed for the Delphic tri- pods also to resound, he directed his swans to fly back from the Hyperboreans. It was then summer, and the very middle of it, when Alczeus leads Apollo back from the Hy- perboreans; for when summer shines and Apollo Journeys, the lyre itself whispers in a summer-tone of the god. The nightingales sing to him, as the birds should sing in Al- ceus; the swallows and cicadas also sing, not narrating their own fate when among men, but tuning all their me- lodies to the god. Castalia too flows with poetic silver streams, and Cephissus swells high and bright with his waves, emulating the Enipeus of Homer. For, like Homer, Alceus ventures to make the very water capable of per- ceiving the access of the god.” The favourite animals of Apollo were the hawk , the raven, the swan, the cicada. His tree was the bay-tree. Apollo was represented in the perfection of united manly strength and beauty. His long curling hair hangs loose, and bound with the strophium behind; his brows are wreathed with bay; in his hands he bears his bow or lyre. The wonderful Apollo Belvidere shows at the same time the conception which the ancients had of this benign deity, and the high degree of perfection to which they had attained in sculpture. H 98 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The name Pheebus Apollo is generally regarded as of Grecian origin. The former part critics are unanimous in deriving from paw, to shine; of which the advocates for the original identity of this deity with Helius see at once the appropriateness: the maintainers of the contrary sy- stem, interpret Phcebus pure, unstained, making it equiva- lent to the ayvdc Oedc, as he is sometimes called’. Apollo is by some derived from 6Aw, to destroy ; by others from an old verb aréAAw, akin to the Latin pello, to drive away; by others again from aéduoe, the sun, with the digamma F between the two first vowels. The strangest etymon of all is that of Buttmann, who, taking the Cretan form ’A3éAtoc to be the original one, deduces it, according to his system of tracing the Greek religion from the East, from Jabal and Jubal, the first musician and herdsman according to Scripture’. Few deities had more appellations than the son of Leto. He was called Delian, Delphian, Patareean, Clarian, &c. from the places of his worship ; and Smynthian from a Phrygian word signifying mouse, of which animal a legend said he had been the destroyer in Troas. He was also styled*, 1. Crooked, probably from the nature of oracular responses; 2. Herding, as keeping the flocks and herds of the gods, or those of Admetus; 3. Stlver-bowed ; 4. Far- shooter; 5. Light-producer ; 6. Well-haired, and Gold- haired; 7. Gold-sworded; &c. "Apreuc.. Diana. A’rtemis was daughter of Zeus and Leto, and sister to Apollo. She was the goddess of the chase; she also pre- sided over health. The sudden deaths of women were ascribed to her darts, as those of men were to the arrows 1 Muller, Dorians, i. 301. 2 Mythologus, i. 167—169. $ 1. Noklas: 2. vdpuos: 3. dpyupdrogos: 4. €xaros, éxarnBer€érns ? 5. AuKnyevijs: 6. evyairns, xpucoxairys : 7..xpvodopos, Xpvotawp. 4 Artemis probably comes from d&orvos, and signifies pure. ARTEMIS. 99 of her brother. Artemis was a spotless virgin; her chief joy was to speed like a Dorian maid overthe hills, followed by a train of nymphs in pursuit of the flying game: As arrow-joying Artemis along A mountain moves, either Taygetus high, Or Erymanthus, in the chase rejoiced Of boars and nimble deer; and with her sport The country-haunting nymphs, the daughters fair Of /Egis-holding Zeus, while Leto joys; O’er all she high her head and forehead holds, Easy to know, though beautiful are all }. No spot on earth is assigned as the birth-place of Ar- temis by Homer, in whose time that practice had not yet commenced ; but as he mentions the island Ortygia as that in which she shot Orion, succeeding poets fabled that she was born there. Gradually the tale was spread abroad that Ortygia was the same with Delos, in which the birth of Apollo (who in Homer has no natal spot,) was placed. The island Ortygia was described by Homer as lying in the western sea, the scene of all wonders, and was probably as imaginary as Ogygia, that of Calypso ; but when at a later period the Greeks grew more familiar with those distant regions, zeal for the honour of the poet who had sung so well the wanderings of Odysseus, and the love of definiteness, led them to affix the names which he employs to various places really to be found, and the islet at the mouth of the port of Syracuse was determined to be the Ortygia of the Odyssey’. _ The adventures of Artemis were not numerous. She turned, as we shall relate below, Acton into a stag, for having unconsciously beheld her when bathing. Callisto was changed by her into a bear, for breach of chastity. With her brother she destroyed the twelve children of Niobe, who had presumed to prefer herself to Leto’; and in a fable later than Homer she is said to have detained the Grecian fleet at Aulis, in consequence of Agamemnon a renee eee 1 Od. vi. 102. * See below, chap. xix. 5 Tl. xxiv. 602. H 2 100 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. having killed a hind which was sacred to her, and to have required the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigeneia. The Aloides, Otus and Ephialtes, sought in marriage Hera and Artemis: the latter goddess, changing her form into that of a hind, sprang out between the two brothers, who aiming their darts at the supposed beast, by her art pierced each other and died’. The Cretan nymph Britomartis, the daughter of Zeus and Charme, was a favourite companion of Artemis. Minos falling in love with her, pursued her for the space of nine months, the nymph at times concealing herself from him amidst the trees, at times among the reeds and sedge of the marshes. At length, being nearly overtaken by him, she sprang from a cliff into the sea, where she was saved in the nets (dicrva) of some fishermen. The Cretans af- terwards worshiped her as a goddess under the name of Dictynna from the above circumstance, which also was assigned as the reason of the cliff from which she threw herself being called Dictgon. At the rites sacred to her, wreaths of pine or lentisk were used instead of myrtle, as a branch of the latter had caught her garments and im- peded her flight *. Leaving Crete, Britomartis sailed for ffigina in a boat: the boatman attempted to offer her vio- lence, but she got to shore and took refuge in a grove on that island, where she became invisible (adavnc) : hence she was worshiped in AZgina under the name of Aphza’. This legend we may easily perceive to be one of the many instances of a companion of a deity being made from some attribute, epithet, or form of that divinity. Britomartis in the Cretan dialect signified Sweet Maid, and was the name of a goddess who like Artemis presided over the chase. Hence the two were united, and after- wards, as we see, disunited. The Aphea of the Aiginetans was a similar deity, and we perceive how she was intro- duced into the legend. 1 Apollod. i. 7. 2 Cailim. Hymn iii. 189. 8 Pausanias, vii. 19. ARTEMIS. 101 The Homerides have sung the huntress-goddess: one of them in his hymn to her thus describes her occupations : Along the shady hills and breezy peaks, Rejoicing in the chase, her golden bow She bends, her deadly arrows sending forth. Then tremble of the lofty hills the tops; The shady wood rebelloweth aloud Unto the bowstring’s twang ; the earth itself And fishy sea then shudder: but she stil] A brave heart bearing goeth all around, Slaughtering the race of salvage beasts. But when Beast-marking, arrow-loving Artemis Would cheer her soul, relaxing her curved bow She to her brother Phoebus Apollo’s house Ample repaireth, to the fertile land Of Delphi, to arrange the lovely dance Of Muses and of Graces; there hangs up Her springy bow and arrows, and begins To lead the dance ; her body all arrayed In raiment fair. They, pouring forth their voice Divine, sing Leto lovely-ankled, how She brought forth children, ’mid the Deathless far The best in counsel and in numerous deeds. The poet Callimachus thus relates the early history of the goddess. Artemis while yet a child, as she sat on her father’s knee, besought him to grant her permission to lead a life of perpetual virginity, to get a bow and arrows formed by the Cyclopes, and to devote herself to the chase. She further asked for sixty Ocean-nymphs as her companions, and twenty Amnisian nymphs as her attendants. Of towns and cities she required not more than one, satisfied with the mountains, which she never would leave but to aid women in the pains of child-birth. Her indulgent sire assented with a smile, and gave her not one but thirty towns. She speeds to Crete, and thence to Ocean, and selects all her nymphs. On her return she calls at Lipari on Hephestus and the Cyclopes, who immediately lay aside all their work to execute her orders. She now proceeds to Arcadia, where Pan, the chief god of that country, supplies her with dogs of an excellent breed. Mount Parrhasius then witnessed the first exploit of the huntress-goddess. Five deer larger 102 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. than bulls, with horns of gold, fed on the banks of the ‘ dark-pebbled” Anaurus at the foot of that hill: of these the goddess unaided by her dogs caught four, which she reserved to draw her chariot: the fifth, destined by Hera for the last labour of Hercules, bounded across the Kela- don and escaped. According to the same poet, the chariot of Artemis and the harness of her deer are all of gold. When she drives to the house of Zeus, the gods come forth to meet her. Hermes takes her bow and arrows, and Apollo used to carry in her game, till Hercules was received into Olym- pus, when for his strength that office devolved on him. He carries in the bull, or boar, or whatever else she may have brought, exhorting the goddess to let the hares and small game alone, and attach herself to the boars and oxen; for Hercules, the poet observes, though deified, still retains his appetite. The Amnisiades then unyoke her stags, and lead them to Hera’s mead where the horses of Zeus graze, and fill their golden troughs with water. The god- dess herself enters the house of her father, and sits beside her brother Apollo. Various causes led to a confounding of Artemis with other goddesses. Thus the attributes of the Eileithyiz were ascribed to her, and she was rather strangely regarded as the aider of women in labour. She was also identified with Hecate, the powerful night-goddess who presided over magic ; and wag further regarded as one with Perse- phone, and also with Selena. Hence she came to be called the three-formed goddess,—ruling on earth as Artemis, in the sky as Selena, and in the under-world as Per- sephone. Artemis was also confounded with the goddess wor- shiped on the Tauric Chersonesus, whose altars were _ stained with the blood of such unhappy strangers as were cast on that inhospitable shore. She was identified too with the goddess of nature adored at Ephesus, whose sym- bolical figure, by its multitude of breasts and heads of animals hung round it, denoted the fecundity of nature. ARTEMIS. 103 Artemis is generally represented as a healthy, strong, active maiden,—handsome, but with no gentleness of ex- pression. She wears the Cretan hunting-shoes (évépo- juidec), and has her garment tucked up for speed. On her back she bears a quiver, and in her hand a bow or a hunt- ing-spear. She is usually attended by a dog. The chief titles of Artemis were’, 1. Arrow-joying ; 2. Gold-bridled ; 3. Gold-shafted ; 4. Deer-slayer; 5. Beast-marking ; &c. The mythus of Leto, Apollo, and Artemis, is difficult, and has caused a good deal of disagreement among my- thologists. It is agreed on all hands, that in Homer the two latter are totally distinct personages from Helius and Selena; whereas at a later period they were notoriously confounded with them. Voss, who is supported by Mul- ler, Lobeck, and some of the most distinguished mytho- logists, ascribes this to the mystics and allegorising philosophers ; and he maintains Prophecy and the Chase to have been the original conceptions of these two deities. Creutzer allows that Voss is right as respects the Apollo and Artemis of Homer, but maintains that the allegorists only revived the original ideas which had nearly fallen into oblivion’. The latter opinion seems to be the truth, and it is ably explained and defended by Buttmann®. He shows from his view of the original deities of Greece, that leaving out Apollo and Artemis, there are two places vacant in the list of deities necessarily to be found with a people in the 1 1. ioxéaipa: 2. xpvofvios: 3. ypvondakaros : 4. éhadnGdros : 5. Onpockor7os. 2 The same appears to have been the case with Hlephestus, who in Homer is viewed only as an artist, except in a place which occurs in one of the books which Wolf regards as later in date than the remain- der of the poom. See above, p. 82, note. 3 Mythologus. Welcker also considers the Sun-god and Apollo to have been originally identical. 104 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. state of culture in which the early Greeks were (for He- lius and Selena he regards as deities of a later age); that the attributes of Apollo, his golden sword ', arrows, flowing locks, and the epithets given to him,—all apply to thesun, as do those of Artemis to the moon ; that they are brother and sister, and the children of Leto, i.e. Night; the attri- butes of prophecy and archery, he says, would naturally be given to the sun-god, whose eye surveys every thing and whose beams penetrate everywhere; and no more suitable patroness could be chosen by the hunter who lay at night among the mountains, than the moon-goddess, whose mild radiance guided him through the woods and lawns. The supposition of Artemis having been originally the moon-goddess will account for most of the identifications of her with the other deities mentioned above. It is not a little remarkable, that at the present day a superstitious dread of the moon-beams, as being prejudicial] to health, prevails in Spain, where females will fearlessly expose themselves to the rays of the sun, but cover themselves up against those of the moon. SS ee 1 Freyr, the Sun-god of the Scandinavian mythology, bears a short sword. DIONE. 105 Cuarprer [X. DIONE,—APHRODITE, EROS. Aton. Dione. DIONE is, in the Theogony of Hesiod, one of the Ocean- nymphs; by Apollodorus she is said to be the daughter of Nereus and Doris, and consequently one of the Nere- ides. In Homer’ she appears as one of the wives of Zeus, and mother of Aphrodite. This goddess was worshiped at Dodona, where she shared in the oracle and temple of Zeus*. Her name is probably derived from his (Atoc), as from his name in the Doric dialect, Zan (Zav), came Zano (Zavw), that of his queen ; and from the Latin Jovis, Juno. Dione was regarded by the Epirotes in the same light as Hera was throughout Greece,—as the wife and queen of Zeus. All nations seem to have agreed to give a queen to the god whom they placed as king at the head of their other deities. Their names were different, as were their offices, according to the objects which each people chose to associate with their sovran of the gods. Thus one tribe gave their king of Heaven the goddess of the earth, De- meter, for his spouse: another, by a less physical concep- tion, united him to Prudence (Metis); another, to Night (Leto), and so on. The union of all these different systems gave origin to the present confusion’®. ‘Adposirn. Venus. If a foreign origin can be assigned to any of the Olym- pians, it is to this goddess. The prevailing opinion is, that F{]. v..370. * Demosth. De Fals. Leg.,adv, Mid., et Epist. * See Buttmann, Mythologus, vol, i. 106 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. she is the Astarte' of the Phcenicians, and that her wor- ship was first introduced by that people into the island of Cyprus, and thence carried with them to Greece. This must however have been long before the time of Homer, who gives her epithets derived from the name Cyprus. It has also been very well observed * that she seems to have obtained an office—that of presiding over love and mar riage—which originally belonged to Hera, and a portion of which that goddess always retained, being at all times regarded as the patroness of marriage. The name Aphro- dite may possibly be connected with Astarte ; and could the mythus of Adonis be proved to be as old as the time of Homer, it would go a great way towards deciding the question. In the Ilias, Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione, and by later poets she is sometimes called by the same name as her mother. Hesiod’ gives a legend of her origin from the foam of the sea, into which the mutilated part of Uranus had been thrown by his son Kronus ;—one of the many mythi devised from similitudes of words, adpoc ( foam), being nearly the same as the first syllables of Aphrodite. According to this poet she first approached the land at the island of Cythera, and thence proceeded to Cyprus, where grass grew beneath her feet, and Love and Desire attended her. One of the Homerides sings, that the moist-blowing west-wind wafted her in soft foam along the waves of the sea, and that the gold-filleted Seasons received her on the shore of Cyprus, clothed in her immortal garments, placed a golden wreath on her head, rings of orichaleum and gold in her pierced ears, and golden chains about her neck, and then led her to the assembly of the Immortals, every one of whom admired, saluted, and loved her, and each god desired her for his wife. 1 Astarte was the goddess of the moon. In the Scandinavian my- thology, Freya is the goddess of the moon and of love. 2 Buttmann, Mythologus, i. 7. 3 Theog. 188. e¢ seq. APHRODITE. 107 The husband assigned to this charming goddess is usually the lame artist Hephestus. Her amour with Ares we have already narrated ; and Hermes, Dionysus, and Po- seidon, it is said, could also boast of her favours. Among mortals, Anchises and Adonis are those whose amours with her are the most famous. The tale of her love-ad- venture with the former is most pleasingly told by a Homeride, and the following is a slight analysis of his hymn. Aphrodite had long exercised uncontrolled dominion over the dwellers of Olympus, uniting “in cruel sport ” both males and females with mortals. But Zeus resolved that she should no longer be exempt from the common lot. Accordingly he infused into her mind the desire of a union of love with mortal man. The object selected was Anchises, a beautiful youth of the royal house of Troy, who was at that time with the herdsmen feeding oxen among the hills and valleys of Ida. The moment Aphrodite beheld him she was seized with love. She immediately hasted to her temple in Cyprus, where the Graces dressed and adorned her, and then in the full consciousness of beauty she proceeded through the air. When she came to Ida, she advanced towards the stalls, and was accompanied on her way by all the wild beasts of the mountains, whose breasts the exulting god- dess filled with love and desire. Anchises happened to be alone in the cotes at this time, and was amusing his leisure by playing on the lyre. When he beheld the goddess, who had divested herself of the usual marks of divinity, he was amazed at her beauty and the splendour of her attire. He could not avoid re- garding her as something more than human; he accosts her as one of the Immortals, vows an altar to her, and beseeches her to grant him a long and a happy life. But Aphrodite denies her heavenly origin, and feigns that she is a mortal maid and daughter to Otreus king of Phrygia, adding, that while she was dancing, in honour of Artemis, with the nymphs and other maidens, and an immense 108 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. crowd standing around, Hermes had snatched her away, and carried her through the air over hills and dales and plains, till he had brought herto Ida, where he informed her that she was to be the wife of Anchises ; and then, having instructed her in what she was to do had departed, leaving her alone in the mountains. She earnestly entreats the Trojan youth to conduct her unsullied to his family, and to dispatch a messenger to her father to treat of the mar- riage and the dower. But while thus speaking, the artful goddess filled the heart of the youth with love. Believing her now to be mor- tal, all his veneration vanishes, and he declares that not even Apollo should prevent his taking advantage of the favourable moment. He seized the hand of the goddess, and ‘‘led her blushing like the morn” into the rustic shed. When evening approached, and the arrival of the herds- men with the sheep and oxen was at hand, the goddess poured a profound sleep over Anchises. She arose from the skin-strewn couch, and prepared to depart. Resu- ming the marks of divinity, the brilliant eyes and rosy neck, she stood at the door and called to her slumbering lover to awake and observe the change. Filled with awe, he conceals his face in the clothes and sues for mercy ; but the goddess reassures him, and informs him that she will bear a son, whom she will commit to the mountain-nymphs to rear, and will bring to him when in his fifth year. He is then to feign that the child is the offspring of one of the nymphs ; but the secret of the goddess is to remain invio- lable, under pain of his being struck with lightning by Zeus. So saying, unto breezy Heaven she sped. Hail goddess, who o’er well-dwelt Cyprus rulest! But I will pass from thee to another hymn,— concludes the poet, according to the regular practice of his brethren. Adonis was according to Hesiod! the son of Phenix i ' Apud Apollod. APHRODITE. 109 and Alphesibeea ; Panyasis said he was the son of Theias king of the Assyrians; the more common legend’ makes him to be the son of Cinyras by his daughter Myrrha. This luckless maiden having offended Aphrodite, was by her inspired with a passion for her own father. After a long struggle against it, she gratified it by the aid of her nurse, unknown to its object. When Cinyras found what he had unwittingly done, he pursued his daughter with his drawn sword, to efface her crime in her blood. He had nearly overtaken her, when she prayed to the gods to make her invisible, and they in pity changed her into a myrrh-tree. In ten months afterwards the tree opened, and the young Adonis came to light. Aphrodite, delighted with his beauty, put him into a coffer, unknown to all the gods, and gave him to Persephone to keep. But assoonas she beheld him, the goddess of the under-world refused to part with him ; and the matter being referred to Zeus, he decreed that Adonis should have one-third of the year to himself, be another third with Aphrodite, and the remain- ing third with Persephone. Adonis gave his own portion to Aphrodite, and lived happily with her; till having of- fended Artemis, he was torn by a wild boar and died’. The ground where his blood fell was sprinkled with nec- tar by the mourning goddess, and the flower called the anemone or wind-flower sprang up from it, which by its caducity expresses the brief period of the life of the beau- tiful son of Myrrha. The grief of the goddess is most exquisitely described by the pastoral poet Bion in one of his Idylls. The tale of Adonis is apparently an Eastern mythus. His very name is Semitic (Heb. pas Adon. i.e. Lord): and those of his parents also refer to that part of the world. He appears to be the same with the Thammuz mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel, and to be a Pheenician personi- fication of the sun, who during a part of the year is ab- sent, or as the legend expresses it, with the goddess of the 1 Apollod. ili. 14. * Apollod. iil. 14. Ovid. Met. x. 298.e¢ seq. 110 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE, under-world ; during the remainder with Astarte, the re- gent of heaven. A festival in honour of Adonis was annually celebrated at Byblus by the Phoenician women during two days; the first of which was spent in grief and lamentation, the second in joy and triumph. In Greece, whither these rites were transplanted, the festival was prolonged to eight days. It is uncertain when the Adonia were first celebrated in that country ; but we find Plato alluding to the Gardens of Adonis, as boxes of flowers used in them were called, and the ill fortune of the Athenian expedition to Sicily was in part ascribed to the circumstance of the fleet having sailed during that festival. The Idyll of Theocritus called the Adoniazuse describes in admirable dramatic style the magnificence with which the feast of Adonis was celebrated in the Greco-‘Keyptic city of Alexandria. This notion of the mourning for Adonis being a testi- mony of grief for the absence of the sun during the winter is not, however, to be too readily acquiesced in. Lobeck’ for example asks, with some appearance of reason, why those nations whose heaven was mildest, and their win- ter shortest, should so bitterly bewail the regular changes of the seasons, as to feign that the gods themselves were carried off or slain; and he shrewdly observes, that in that case the mournful and the joyful parts of the festival should have been held at different times of the year, and not joined together as they were. He further inquires, whether the ancient nations, who esteemed their gods to be so little superior to men, may not have believed them to have been really and not metaphorically put to death. And in truth it is not easy to give a satisfactory answer to these questions. Aphrodite, when offended, was as quick to punish as any other of the Olympians. The fair Atalanta, terrified by a response of the oracle, frequented the woods and declined matrimony; but her beauty attracted numerous suitors, 1 Aglaophamus, p. 691. APHRODITE. 111 and to keep them away she proposed that they should con- tend in the race with her,—the victor to obtain her hand, the vanquished to lose his life. Many had paid the fatal forfeit of their boldness, when Hippomenes, a son of Po- seidon, being spectator of one of these races, was smitten with the charms of the beautiful and cruel victor. He offers himself to contend: the virgin feels a secret affection steal- ing over her, and warns him to abandon his rash design : but he persists, and offers up his prayers to Aphrodite, who gives him three golden apples gathered in her con- secrated land im Cyprus. These he throws as he runs: the maiden caught by their lustre goes out of the course to pick them up, and Hippomenes first reaches the goal. Joy at success drove gratitude to his benefactress out of his mind, and he forgot to sacrifice to Aphrodite. The goddess incensed at his neglect, inspired him with sudden and violent passion as he and his bride were passing a cavern sacred to Cybele. They enteredit; and the mother of the gods, for their profanation, changed the unhappy lovers into lions’. According to Homer® Aphrodite had an embroidered girdle (keoro¢ wdc), which had the gift of inspiring love and desire for the person who wore it. Hera, when about to lull Zeus to sleep by filling him with these affections, borrowed the magic girdle from Aphrodite. The animals sacred to Aphrodite were swans, doves, and sparrews. Horace describes her in a chariot drawn by doves, and Sappho in one whose team were sparrows. In one of the odes of Anacreon a dove announces herself as a present from the goddess to the bard. The bird called Iynx or Fritillus, of which so much use was made in amatory magic, was also sacred to this goddess; as was likewise the swallow. Her favourite plants were the rose and the myrtle. She was chiefly worshiped at Cy- 1 Ovid, Met. x. The earlier legend in Apollodorus attributes the change to Zeus. @ Il, xiv. 214. 112 | MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. thera and Cyprus; in which latter isle her favourite places were Paphos, Golgos, Idalium, and Amathus; and | also at Cnidus, Miletus, Cos, Athens, Sparta, &c. In the more ancient temples of this goddess in Cyprus she was represented under the form of a rude conical stone. But the Grecian sculptors and painters, particularly Prax- iteles and Apelles, vied with each other in forming her image the zdeal of female beauty and attraction. She appears sometimes rising out of the sea and wringing her locks; sometimes drawn in a conch by Tritons, or riding on some marine animal. She is usually naked, or but slightly clad. The Venus de’ Medici remains to us a noble specimen of ancient art and perception of the beautiful. The most usual epithets of Aphrodite were’, 1. Smile- loving ; 2. Well-garlanded; 3. Golden; 4. Quick-wink- ang ; 5. Well-tressed ; 6. Care-dissolving ; 7. Artful; &c. "Epwc. Amor, Cupido. Love. The fancy of the poets and artists gave birth to Eros, the son and companion of Aphrodite; though in the The- ogony of Hesiod® Eros is one of the first of beings, and the offspring of Chaos. The number of Loves was speedily augmented, and they had each his peculiar task to per- form in affairs of the heart. Eros is usually represented as a roguish boy, plump- cheeked and naked, with light hair floating on his shoul- ders: he is always winged, and armed with a bow and quiver. In works of art he appears in various situations, and in company with different deities. An opponent to Eros, named Anteros (avr épwc), was afterwards devised. Anteros was originally the deity who avenged slighted love ; but poets taking advantage of the 11. didopperdys : 2. evorépavos : 3. xpucén: 4: EAtKoPAEPapos, eAkwmis : 5. evmdKapos: 6, Avommedijs : 7. Coddpnris. 2 Hes. heag, v, 120. EROS. La double meaning of the preposition avri, made him the god of reciprocal affection, and invented the following pretty legend. Aphrodite complaining to Themis that her son Eros continued always a child, was told by her, that the cause was his being solitary, and that if he had a brother he would grow apace. Anteros was soon afterwards born, and Eros immediately found his wings enlarge, and his person and strength greatly increase. But this was only when Anteros was near; for if he was at a distance, Eros found himself shrink to his original dimensions.— The meaning of this mythus is so apparent that it needs not explication. At the time when it was become the mode to exalt the characters of philosophers by ascribing to them all kinds of wonderful works, the sophist Eunapius told the fol- lowing pretty legend in his life of Jamblichus, the author of as marvellous a life of Pythagoras. Jamblichus and his companions having gone to the warm baths of Ga- dara in Lycia, and bathed in them, a conversation arose among them on the nature of the baths. The philosopher smiled, and said, ‘‘ Though it is not strictly right in me to do so, yet I will show you something new.” He then desired them to inquire of the inhabitants, what were the traditional names of two of the smaller but handsomer of the warm springs. They replied, that one of them was called Eros and the other Anteros, but that they knew not the cause of their being so styled. Jamblichus, who was just then standing at the brink of the fount, touched the water, and murmured a few words over it. Imme- diately there rose from the bottom a little boy of a fair complexion and moderate size: his hair of a rich golden hue hung down his back, which was bright and clean as that of a person who had just bathed. All present were in amazement ; and the philosopher leading them to the other spring did as he had done before; and instantly another Love, similar to the first, except that his hair was of a bright dark hue, rose to light. The two embraced, and I 114 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. clung round the philosopher as if he had been their father ; and after caressing them for some time, he restored them to their native element. His companions, who had been previously disposed to regard him as an impostor, con- vinced by this wonder, henceforth received his words as those of a divinity. The adventures of Eros are not numerous. Some pretty little trifles respecting him will be found in the Bucolic poets, and his adventure with Apollo has been already noticed. The most celebrated is that contained in the charming allegory of his love for Psyche (duyn, the soul), preserved by Apuleius in his Metamorphoses, and which he may possibly have learned in the mysteries of Isis, and have then adorned with philosophic ornaments ; but more probably the beautiful mythus was first made known in the schools of the philosophers. There were one time a king and a queen who had three daughters, of whom the youngest named Psyche was one of the loveliest creatures earth ever beheld. People crowded from all parts to gaze upon her charms, altars were erected to her, and she was worshiped as a second Venus. The queen of beauty was irritated on seeing her own altars neglected, and her adorers diminishing. She summoned her son ; and conducting him to the city where Psyche dwelt, showed him the lovely maid, and ordered him to inspire her with a passion for some vile and abject wretch. The goddess departed, leaving her son to exe- cute her mandate. Meantime Psyche, though adored by all, was sought as a wife by none. Her sisters, who were far inferior to her in charms, were married, and she re- mained single, hating that beauty which all admired. Her father consulted the oracle of Apollo, and was or- dered to expose her on a rock, whence she would be car- ried away by a monster, the terror of heaven, earth, and hell. The oracle was obeyed, and Psyche amidst the tears of the people placed on a lofty rock. Here while she sat weeping, a zephyr sent for the purpose gently raised and — EROS. 115 carried her to a charming valley. Overcome by grief she falls asleep, and on awaking beholds a grove with a foun- tain in the midst of it, and near it a stately palace ot most splendid structure. She ventures to enter this pa- lace, goes over it lost in admiration at its magnificence, —when suddenly she hears a voice, telling her that all there is hers, and all her commands will be obeyed. She bathes, sits down to a rich repast, and is regaled with music by invisible performers. At night she retires to bed,—an unseen youth addresses her in the softest accents, and she becomes his wife. Her sisters had meanwhile come to console their pa- rents for the loss of Psyche, whose invisible spouse in- forms her of this event, and warns her of the danger likely to arise from it. Moved by the tears of his bride, he however consents that her sisters should come to the palace. The obedient zephyr conveys them thither. They grow envious of Psyche’s happiness, and try to persuade her that her invisible lord is a serpent, who will finally devour her. By their advice she provides herself with a lamp and a razor to destroy the monster. When her husband was asleep she arose, took her lamp from its place of concealment, and approached the couch; but there she beheld, instead of a dragon, Love himself. Filled with amazement at his beauty, she leaned in rapture over his charms: a drop of oil fell from the lamp on the shoulder of the god: he awoke, and flew away. Psyche caught his leg as he rose, and was raised into the air, but fell; and as she lay, the god reproached her from a cypress for her breach of faith. The abandoned Psyche attempted to drown herself in the neighbouring stream ; but fearing the god it cast her upon a bank of flowers, where she was found and con- soled by the god Pan. She now goes through the world in search of Cupid: she arrives at the kingdom of her sisters; and by a false tale of Cupid’s love for them, causes them to cast themselves from the rock on which She had been exposed, and through their credulity they 12 116 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. perish. She still roams on, persecuted and subjected to numerous trials by Venus. Pitied but unaided by the higher goddesses Ceres and Juno, the plants and the animals, the reed, the owl, and the eagle, give her their advice and assistance. Venus, bent on her destruction, dispatches her to Proserpina with a box to request some of her beauty. Psyche, dismayed at the peril of the journey to the lower regions, ascends a tower, determined to cast herself from it and end her woes; but the tower pities her, and instructs her how to proceed. She accom- plishes her mission in safety. As she is returning she thinks she may venture to open the box and take a por- tion for herself, that she may be the more pleasing to her husband. She opens the box, when instead of beauty there issues from it a dense black exhalation, and the imprudent Psyche falls to the ground in a deep slumber from its effects. In this state she is found by Cupid, who had escaped by the window of the chamber where he had been confined by his mother: he awakes her with the point of one of his arrows, reproaches her with her cu- riosity, and then proceeds to the palace of Jupiter to in- terest him in her favour. Jupiter takes pity on her, and endows her with immortality: Venus is reconciled, and her marriage with Cupid takest place. The Hours shed roses through the sky, the Graces sprinkle the halls of Heaven with fragrant odours, Apollo plays on his lyre, the Ar- cadian god on his reeds, the Muses sing in chorus, while Venus dances with grace and elegance to celebrate the nuptials of her son. Thus Cupid was at length reunited to his beloved Psyche, and their loves were speedily crowned by the birth ofa child, whom his parents named Pleasure. This beautiful fiction is evidently a philosophic alle- gory. It seems to have been intended by its inventor for a representation of the mystic union between the divine love and the human soul, and of the trials and purifications which the latter must undergo, in order to be perfectly EROS. Piz fitted for an enduring union with the divinity. It is thus explained bythe Christian mythologist Fulgentius’. ‘“‘The city in which Psyche dwells is the world; the king and queen are God and matter ; Psyche is the soul ; her sisters are the flesh and the free-will: she is the youngest, be- cause the body is before the mind ; and she is the fairest, because the soul is higher than free-will, more noble than the body. Venus, i.e. lust, envies her, and sends Cupido, i.e. desire, to destroy her; but as there is desire of good as well as of evil, Cupid falls in love with her: he per- suades her not to see his face, that is, not to learn the joys of desire,—just as Adam, though he could see, did not see that he was naked until he had eaten of the tree of desire. At the impulsion of her sisters she put the lamp from under the bushel, that is, revealed the flame of desire which was hidden in her bosom, and loved it when she saw how delightful it was; and she is said to have burned it by the dripping of the lamp, because all desire burns in proportion as it is loved, and fixes its sinful mark on the flesh. She is therefore deprived of desire and her splendid fortune, is exposed to perils, and driven out of the palace.” This fanciful exposition will probably not prove satis- factory to many readers. The following one of a modern writer” may seem to come nearer the truth. ‘‘ This fable, it is said, is a representation of the destiny of the human soul. The soul, which is of divine origin, is here below subjected to error in its prison the body. Hence trials and purifications are set before it, that it may become capable of a higher view of things, and of true desire. Two loves meet it ;—the earthly, a deceiver who draws it down to earthly things; the heavenly, who directs its view to the original, fair and divine, and who gaining the victory over his rival, leads off the soul as his bride.” According to a third expositor® the mythus is a moral ! Mythologicon, iii.6. Hirt, apud Creutzer Symbolik, iii. 573. ’ Thorlacius apud idem, 76, 118 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. one. It is intended to represent the dangers to which nuptial fidelity was exposed in such a country as dege- nerate Greece, and at the same time to present an image of a fidelity exposed to numerous temptations and vic- torious over them all. The interpretation of an allegory is always hazardous: fancy presided over its birth, and fancy has always a large share in the attempts made to develope its secret and real nature. All we should ever hope to arrive at is a view of the general sense and meaning. We must not omit to observe, that a Greek name for the moth was Psyche (vy). The fondness of this insect for approaching at night the flame of the lamp or candle, in which it so frequently finds its death, reminds a mystic philosopher of the fate of the soul destroyed by the desire of knowledge, or absorbed and losing its sepa- rate existence in the deity, who dwelt in light according to the philosophy of the East. But further, the world presents no illustration so striking or so beautiful of the immortality of the soul, as that of the moth or butterfly bursting on brilliant wings from the dull groveling cater- pillar-state in which it had previously existed, fluttering in the blaze of day, and feeding on the most fragrant and sweetest productions of the spring. Hence it was in all probability that the Greeks named the butterfly the sowd. The fable of Love and Psyche has been the original of many a pleasing fairy tale. It has been told in French prose by the nazfand charming La Fontaime. The united — powers of Corneille, Moliere, and Quinault, produced a tragédie-ballet named Psyche, for the amusement of the court of Louis XIV. In English, the amiable and accom- plished Mrs. H. Tighe has narrated the tale of Psyche and her celestial lover in elegant and harmonious Spen- serlan verse. PALLAS ATHENA. 119 CHAPTER X. PALLAS ATHENA, AND HERMES. TladAac AOnvaia, cat AOnvn, AOnva. Minerva. Patias Atue Na is in Homer called the daughter of Zeus, but the poet is silent as to the name of her mother. According to Hesiod’, the first wife of Zeus was Metis (Prudence), whom when about to become a mother he ca- joled with deceptive words, and then devoured ; for Heaven and Earth had told him that the child about to be born, “the blue-eyed maid Tritogeneia,”’ would be equal to her father in strength and counsel, and that her next child would be a son who would be king of gods and men. In consequence of this act Pallas Athena, hence called Tri- togeneia (Head-sprung), was born from the head of Zeus, opened as the later fable says by Hephestus with an axe’: though according to others Prometheus was the operator on this important occasion. Mythologists, led away by the fables of Egyptian colonies in Greece, and forgetting that Pallas Athena was worshiped long before the Greeks had any definite knowledge of Libya, and further deceived by the resem- blance of the word Trito (rpitw)* to the fabulous lake TritOn in Libya, and by the circumstance of the worship in that country of a goddess of war,—have asserted that her name and worship were brought from Libya to Greece. They therefore make a distinction between Pallas the 1 The simplest derivation of this name is that which makes it sig- nify The Athenian Maid. 2 Theog. 886. et seq. 3 Some think that the river on whose banks the goddess was born was a stream in Beotia named Triton. But it should be recollected that Homer knew nothing of birth-places of the gods on earth, though he employs the title Tritogeneia. 120 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Libyan war-goddéss, and Athena, who they say is Neith the Egyptian goddess of art and industry, brought from Sais by Cecrops, and assert that the Grecian Pallas Athena is a compound of these deities. We will however venture to assert, that if any pretended historic fact is a palpable fable, it is that of the coming of Cecrops to Athens’; and this is but one of the many instances in which the artful priests of Eeypt imposed on the credulous Greeks, by persuading them that all their deities which bore any resemblance to those of Egypt had come to them from that country, brought thither of course by Egyptian colonies; for the fact of the people of Egypt never having in those early ages navigated the Mediterranean, pre- sented no difficulty to either party. Pallas Athena is in Homer, and in the general popular system, the goddess of wisdom and skill. She is in war opposed to Ares, the wild war-god, as the patroness and teacher of just and scientific warfare. She is therefore on the side of the Greeks, and he on that of the Trojans. But on the shield of Achilles, where the people of the besieged town are represented as going forth to lie in am- bush, they are led by Ares and Athena together, possibly to denote the union of skill and courage required for that service. Hvery prudent chief was esteemed to be under the patronage of Athena, and Odysseus was therefore her especial favourite, whom she relieved from all his perils, and whose son Telemachus she also took under her pro- tection, assuming a human form to be his guide and director. In like manner Hercules, Theseus, and Perseus were, as we shall see hereafter, favoured and aided by this goddess. As the patroness of arts and industry in general, Pallas Athena was regarded as the inspirer and teacher of able artists. Thus she taught Epeius to frame the wooden horse, by means of which Troy was taken*; and she also superintended the building of the ship Argo. Athena was ' See below, Part il. chap. 5. 2 Od. viii. 493. PALLAS ATHENA. 12] also expert in female accomplishments, and wove her own robe and that of Hera; which last she is said to have embroidered very richly. She taught this art to mortal females, who like the daughters of Pandaretis' had won her affection. When Pandora was formed for the ruin of man, she was attired by Pallas Athena’. Homer® thus describes Pallas Athena, arraying herself in the arms of Zeus, when preparing to accompany Hera to the plain where the Greeks and Trojans were engaged in conflict. But Athenza, child of Zeus supreme, The egis-holder, on her father’s floor Let fall her peplus various, which she Herself had wrought, and laboured with her hands. The tunic then of cloud-collecting Zeus She on her put, and clad herself in arms For tearful war; and round her shoulders cast The fringed zgis dire, which all about Was compassed with fear. In it was Strife, In it was Strength, and in it chill Pursuit; In it the Gorgon head, the portent dire,— Dire and terrific, the great prodigy Of egis-holding Zeus. Upon her head She placed the four-coned helmet formed of gold, Fitting the foot-men of a hundred towns. The flaming car she mounted, seized the spear, Great, heavy, solid, wherewith the strong-sired Maiden the ranks of heroes vanquisheth, With whom she is wrath. The contest of Athena with Poseidon for the possession of Athens has been already noticed. She also contended with the same god for Troezene, and it was decided by Zeus that they should enjoy the dominion in common‘. A Meonian maid named Arachne, proud of her skill in weaving and embroidery, in which arts the goddess had instructed her, ventured to deny her obligation, and challenged her patroness to a trial of skill. Athena assu- ming the form of an old woman warned her to desist from 1 Oda xx: 72. PLiaVeat OS. 2 Hesiod, Theog, 573. * Pausan. 11. 30. 122 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. her boasting, and when she found her admonitions were vain, she resumed her proper form and accepted the chal- lenge. The skill of Arachne was such, and the subjects she chose (the love-transformations of the gods) so offen- sive to Athena, that she struck her several times in the forehead with the shuttle. The high-spirited maid unable to endure this affront hung herself, and the goddess re- lenting changed her into a spider (apayvn)’. Chariclo, the mother of Teiresias, was greatly beloved by Athena. The goddess was loth ever to part from her, and whenever she went to Cheronea, Haliartus, or any of the other towns of Beeotia, she usually made her sit in her chariot as her companion. One sultry day ‘when mid-day quiet possessed the mountain,” the god- dess stopped her horses at the fair-flowing fount of Helicon, and she and Chariclo stripped and went into the stream to bathe. Unhappily Teiresias, then a lad, was roving with his dogs on the hill, and feeling thirst drew near to the fount to drink. He here suddenly became the spectator of what it was not permitted to mortal eye to behold. The goddess cried out to reproach him, and ‘“night struck his eyes.” His mother upbraided the goddess with her cruelty, and wept over the hard fate of her boy: but Athena sought to console her by showing that the blame lay not with her, it being one of the laws of Kronus, that whatever mortal should unpermitted be- hold a god, should never see another object. All in her power she will do to alleviate his suffering ; a never-failing gift of prophecy, a staff that will safely guide his steps, an extended age, and the retention of all his mental powers and the favour of Hades in the next world, shall be his. The goddess thus atoned for her involuntary cruelty*. — The owl among birds, the olive among trees, were sacred to this goddess. 1 Ovid, Met. vi. 1. e¢ seg.,—the name as usual giving origin to the fable. 2 Callimachus, in Lavacra Palladis. PALLAS ATHENA. . 123 When Perseus, says the scholiast to Pindar’, had slain Medusa, her two remaining sisters bitterly lamented her death. The snakes which formed their ringlets mourned in concert with them, and Athena hearing the sound was pleased with it, and resolved to imitate it: she in conse- quence invented the pipes, whose music was named many- headed (roXvKédbadoc), on account of the number of the serpents whose lugubrious hissing had given origin to it. Others* say the goddess formed the pipe from the bone of a stag, and bringing it with her to the banquet of the gods began to play on it. Being laughed at by Hera and Aphrodite, on account of her green eyes and her swoln cheeks, she went to a fountain on Mount Ida, and played before the liquid mirror. Satisfied that the goddesses had had reason for their mirth, she threw her pipe away: Marsyas unfortunately found it, and learning to play on it, ventured to become the rival of Apollo. His fate has been already related. The worship of Athena prevailed over all Greece, but she was most honoured in Athens, the city to which she gave name, where the splendid festival of the Panathe- nea were celebrated in her honour. This goddess is represented with a serious thoughtful countenance, her eyes are large and steady, her hair hangs in ringlets on her shoulders, a helmet covers her head, she wears a long tunic and mantle, she bears the eos on her breast or on her arm, and the head of the Gorgon is on its centre. She often has bracelets and earrings, but her general air is that of a young man in female attire. Pallas Athena was called*, 1. Blue- or rather Green- eyed ; 2. Town-destroying ; 3. Town-protecting ; 4. Plun- dering ; 5. Unwearied or Invincible ; &c. RoR Vin RE Lak ® Hyginus, Fab. 165. ® 1. yAavkwres : 2. toda dpGos : 3. roALovXos, épvalmroNs: 4. dye- Aeta: 5. arpurwyn. 124 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ‘Eppeiac, “Epunc’. Mercurius. There is hardly any one of the Grecian deities whose original office it is so difficult to ascertain as that of this god. If however we are to suppose the Arcadians, the most unmixed and perhaps we might say the most ancient portion of the people of Greece, to have retained the cor- rect idea of Hermes, he was by the Pelasgians regarded as a god who presided over flocks and herds, and per- haps profit and good-fortune in general. In the undoubtedly genuine parts of the Homeric poems the name of this deity is so generally Hermeias, that we might perhaps venture to assert, that wherever in these poems the other form occurs the place is to be re- garded as spurious. Assuming the first eighteen books of the Ilias to be the most ancient portion of these poems, we find in them but little notice of this god. Dione, when comforting her wounded daughter®, reminds her how others of the Celestials had suffered similar calamities at the hands of mortals. Ares, she says, had been im- prisoned in a brazen dungeon by Otus and Ephialtes ; where he lay till their step-mother informed Hermeias, who contrived to steal him out of it. In another place* the poet speaks of ‘‘ Phorbas (Ieeder), rich in sheep, whom Hermeias loved most of the Trojans, and gave him wealth (krijow).” Finally*, a hero named Eudorus (Munificent) is said to have been the son of the kind (axaxnra) Her- meias by Polymela (Sheep-abounding) the daughter of Phylas (Productive). Thus far the Homeric Hermeias cor- responds pretty closely with the god of the Arcadians: in 1 No satisfactory derivation of the name Hermes has been given : éppnvevy is derived from it, and not the reverse. 2 I]. v. 390. This place has no reference to rural pursuits, and the character of the god in it corresponds with that in the very suspicious 24th book. The employment of ‘Eppéq instead of ‘Eppeig would also tend to throw some doubt on the genuineness of the passage. Payne Knight rejects from v. 384 to 405, as the insertion of the rhapsodists. 8 J], xiv. 490. : 4 J] xiv. 480, THE (iBRARY OF THE HERMES. 125 the remaining six books of the Ilias we find his character somewhat different. He is opposed in the battle of the gods to Leto, but declines the combat on the plea of the impolicy of making an enemy of one of the consorts of Zeus ; at the same time courtier-like telling her, that if she pleases she may boast of having vanquished him by main strength. When the corse of Hector was exposed by Achilles, the gods, pitying the fate of the hero, urged Hermeias to steal it away. On king Priam setting forth to ransom the body of his son, Zeus desires Hermeias to accompany him, reminding him of his fondness for asso- ‘ciating with mankind’. The god obeys his sire, puts on his “immortal golden sandals, which bear him over the water and the extensive earth like the blasts of the wind,”’ and takes ‘‘ his rod with which he lays asleep the eyes of what men he will, and wakes again the sleepers.” He accompanies the aged monarch in the form of a Gre- cian youth, telling him that he is the son of a wealthy man named Polyctor (Much-possessing). In the Odyssey Hermeias takes the place of Iris, who does not appear at all in this poem, and becomes the messenger of Zeus. He still retains his character of a friend to man, and comes unsent to point out to Odysseus the herb Moly, which will enable him to escape the en- chantments of Circe*. Eumzus the swine-herd makes an offering to Hermes and the nymphs*. At the com- mencement of the spurious twenty-fourth book, Hermeias appears in his character of conveyer of souls to the realms of Hades. ; This god is called by Homer the son of Zeus, but he mentions not the name of his mother. The poet styles him*, 1. Argus-slayer; 2. Beneficent ; 3. Kind; 4. Strong; 5. Performer; 6. Gold-rodded. 1 Tl. xxiv. 333. 2 Od. x. 277. et seq. $ Od. xiv. 435. This verse however is manifestly spurious. * 1. dpyecddvrns: 2. éprovvios: 3. dkakhra: 4. awKos: 5 dvaKro- pos: 6. xpuvadppamis. ‘The first of these epithets, which occurs fre- 126 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Hesiod says ', that the Atlantis Maia bore to Zeus the ‘“‘ lustrious Hermes, the herald of the immortals.” In another place* he speaks, of him very explicitly as the deity presiding over flocks and herds, saying that the herdsmen prayed to him and Hecate. This poet also ascribes to him the only act injurious to man with which he is charged, namely, a share in the formation of the fatal Pandora, to whom he gave her “‘ currish disposition and filching propensity *.” In after times Hermes became the god of commerce, of wrestling and all the exercises of the palestra, of elo- quence, even of thieving, which some think is so closely allied with trade ; in short, of every thing relating to gain or requiring art and ingenuity. A certain good-humoured roguery was at all times a trait in his character. In the pleasing tale of Ares and Aphrodite already noticed, the gallant reply of Hermes to the question of Phoebus Apollo called forth the laughter of the Olympians. One of the last of the Homerides thus sang the story of the birth and the first exploits of this sly deity. Hermes, says he, was born of the mountain-nymph Maia, in a cavern of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. He had scarcely been laid in his cradle, when he got up and set off for Pieria to steal cows from Apollo. As he was going out he met a tortoise, which he caught up and carried back into the cave ; where quick as thought he killed the animal, took out tie flesh, adapted edad and strings to the shell, and formed fos it the phorminx or lyre, on which he immediately played with perfect skill. He then laid it up in his cradle, and resumed his journey. He arrived by sunset in Pieria, where the oxen of the gods fed under the care of Apollo. He forthwith sepa- quently in both poems, appears to refer to the legend of Io. May it not be Ground(dpyos)-slayer, and have been an original epithet of the god of husbandry? The eyes of Argos may have been the flowers with which the meads are bespread: the instrument with which the god slew him was the dpm, fale. 1 Theog. 938. 2 Theog, 444. 5 Works and Days, 67. HERMES. we rated fifty cows from the herd and drove them away, con- triving to make them go backwards ; and throwing away his sandals, bound branches of myrtle and tamarisk un- der his feet, that the herdsman-god might have no clue by which to trace his cattle. As he passed by Onchestus he saw an old man engaged in fencing his vineyard, whom he straitly charged not to tell-what he had seen. He then pursued his way by ‘‘shady hills, resounding vales, and flowery plains,” and as the moon was rising arrived with his booty on the banks of the Alpheius in the Pelopon- nesus. He here fed and stalled the oxen, made a fire, killed, cut up, and dressed two of them, and even made black-puddings of their blood, and spread their skins to dry onarock. He then burned the heads and feet, and put out the fire, effacing all signs of it, and flung his twig-sandals into the river. With day-break he slunk home and stole into his cradle, not unobserved by his mother, who reproached him with his deeds; but he replied, that he was resolved by his actions to procure admission for himself and her to the assembly of the gods. In the morning Apollo missed his kine: he set out in search of them, met the old man, who informed him of his having seen a child driving cows along: he comes to Pylos, where he sees the traces of his cattle, but is amazed at the strange footprints of their driver. He proceeds to the fragrant cave of the nymph, and Hermes on seeing him gathers himself up under the clothes, afraid of the god. Apollo takes the key, opens and searches the three closets where the nymph kept her clothes, ornaments, and food, but to no purpose. He then threatens the child that he will fling him into Tartarus unless he tells him where the cows are: but Hermes stoutly denies all knowledge of them, and even very innocently asks what cows are. Apollo pulls him out of his cradle, and they agree to go and argue the matter before Zeus. Arrived in Olympus, Apollo relates the theft, and tells what reasons he had for suspecting the baby of being the thief. All this is, to the 128 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. great amusement of the Celestials, manfully denied and its absurdity shown by the little fellow, who still has his cradle-clothes about him. Zeus however gives it against him, and the two brothers are sent in quest of the missing kine. They come to Pylos, and Hermes drives the cattle out of the cave: Apollo misses two of them ; to his amaze- ment he sees their skins upon the rock, and is still more surprised, when on going to drive the others on he finds that the art of Hermes had rooted their feet to the ground. Hermes then begins to play on his lyre, the tones of which so ravish Apollo that he offers him the cows for it. The young god gives him the lyre, and receives the cattle. The divine herdsman also bestows on him his whip, and in- structs him in the management of the herds. They now proceed together to Olympus, where Apollo still suspicious exacts an oath from Hermes that he will never steal his lyre or bow; and this being complied with, he presents him with ‘‘a golden, three-leafed, innocuous rod,” the giver of wealth and riches. According to Lucian’ however, the future patron of ‘pickers and stealers”’ exercised his talents on a much more extensive scale, and stole on all sides, the day he was introduced into the assembly of the gods. Hardly any- thing escaped him but the thunderbolts of Zeus, which were rather too hot for his tender hands. The stealing of the oxen of Apollo is also somewhat differently related by other writers. According to them’, Apollo, delighted with the society of Hymenzus son of Magnes, a Thessalian youth, neglected the care of his oxen, which pastured along with those of Admetus. Hermes, who in this version of the legend is not a babe, thought the opportunity favourable for stealing a few of the heedless herdsman’s cattle. He first cast the dogs into a deep slumber, and then drove off twelve heifers, a hundred unyoked cows, and a bull. He took the pre- 1 Dialogues of the Gods. 2 Antoninus Liberalis, cap. xxili. Ovid, Met. ii. HERMES. 129 caution of tying a bundle of twigs to the tail of each to efface their footprints, and brought his prize safely through the Pelasgi, Phiotic Achais, Locris, Boeotia, Me- garis, Corinth, Larissa, to Tegea, thence along by Mount Lyceum and Menalus, and the place called the Look-out of Battus, who dwelt on the summit of that height. Hearing the lowing of the kine, Battus ran out to look, and immediately knew them to be stolen, but agreed for a certain reward not to give information to any one re- specting them. Hermes having arranged this matter drove on, and concealed his stolen kine in a cave at Prion, He then resolved to make trial of the fidelity of Battus, and changing his form, came and inquired if he had seen any one driving stolen cattle by, offering a cloak as a reward for intelligence. The covetous Battus took the cloak, and turned informer: the god incensed at his du- plicity, struck him with his rod and changed him into a rock, “which the cold or the heat never leaves.” In Ovid’s narration, he is changed into the Index or Touch- stone. A god with so many agreeable qualities as Hermes was not very likely to fail of success with the fair sex, both among gods and mankind. Homer, as we have observed above, says that Eudorus, one of Achilles’ captains, was the son of Hermes by Polymela the daughter of Phylas. The god having seen her singing in the choir of Artemis had fallen in love with her. She bore him pri- vately a son, who was reared by her father, herself having married Echecles. By Chione the daughter of Deda- lion, Hermes was the father of Autolycus the notorious thief. The name of his grandfather and the office of his father both suit his character. Several other persons, such as Echion, Eurytus, Myrtillus, Cephalus, were the children of Hermes by different mothers. Catreus, son of Minos, had been told by the oracle that he would be slain by one of his children: Althemenes, his only son, fearing that the guilt might fall on him, left K 130 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Crete, and accompanied by his sister Apemosyne went to Rhodes; but he was fated to guilt. Hermes having fallen in love with Apemosyne pursued her: the maiden fled, and her fleetness was such that the god could not overtake her. He had therefore recourse to art: he got fresh-stripped ox-hides’, and laid them in her way as she was coming from Crete: she slipt, and fell into the power of the god. She immediately told her brother what had happened ; but he thinking it was merely a pretext to conceal her frailty, in his rage kicked her till she died. Thus flight from _ crime only involved Althemenes the more deeply in it; for Catreus growing old, and wishing to give his kingdom to his son, went to Rhodes. Happening to land in an unfrequented place, he and his companions were attacked by the herdsmen, who took them for pirates. Catreus cried out who he was, but the barking of the dogs prevented his being heard ; and Althemenes coming up to aid his men, slew his father with his dart. At his prayer the earth afterwards opened and swallowed him’*. As Hermes was one day flying over the city of Athens, he beheld the three daughters of Cecrops, Aglauros, Pan- drosos, and Herse, carrying the sacred baskets to the temple of Pallas Athena. Smit with the charms of the last, he entered the royal abode, where the three sisters occupied three separate chambers. That of Herse was in the middle, that of Aglauros on the left. The latter first saw the god, and inquired of him who he was and why he came. Hermes immediately informed her of his rank, and his love for her sister, entreating her good offices in his suit. These she promises on the condition of receiving a large quantity of gold, and drives him out of the house till he should have given it. Pallas Athena incensed at her unhallowed cupidity, and provoked with her also for other causes, sent Envy to fill her bosom with that baleful 1 We may observe some allusion to cattle in most adventures of thisgod. > 2 Apollod. il. 2. HERMES. to passion. Unable then to endure the idea of the felicity of her sister, she sat down at the door, determined not to permit the god to enter. Hermes exerted his eloquence and his blandishments on her in vain; at length provoked by her obstinacy he turned her into a black stone, Herse became the mother of Cephalus'. The only amour of Hermes with any of the dwellers of Olympus was that with Aphrodite, of which the offspring was a son named Hermaphroditus, from the names of his parents, and whose adventure with the Naias Salmacis is narrated by Ovid in his Metamorphoses*. Hermes is in some legends said to be the father of the Arcadian god Pan, and he is even charged with being the sire of the unseemly god of Lampsacus. Both, we must recollect, were rural deities. Hermes was worshiped at Tanagra in Beeotia under the names of Ram-bearer (kpodépoc) and Defender (apopa- xoc): the former was given him for having delivered the citizens from a pestilence, by carrying a ram round the walls; and on the festival of Hermes, the most. beautiful of the Tanagrian youths carried a ram on his shoulders round the walls in honour of the god. The latter title was given to him because when the Eretrians attacked the Tanagrians, Hermes as a young man, and armed with a currycomb, led the latter to victory’. Hermes is usually represented with a chlamys or cloak neatly arranged on his person, with his petasus or winged hat, and the ¢alaria or wings at his heels. It is scarcely necessary now to mention, that in Homer like the other gods he is not winged; the same is the case in the more ancient statues of him. In his hand he bearshis caduceus or staff, with two serpents twined about it, and which some- times has wings at its extremity. This rod denotes his office as the herald of the gods, and it has gradually arisen from the golden wand which he bears in Homer. The statues of Hermes were originally, it would appear, ' Ovid, Met. ii. 703. 2 Met. iv. 285. > Pausan. ix. 22. m2 132 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. square pillars’, with a rudely carved head on them. They were placed in the Gymnasia or places of exercise, and also :n other situations. Plato informs us that Hipparchus the son of Peisistratus placed along the roads Herme, with useful moral sentences inscribed upon them. The head of another god was sometimes united with that of Hermes, or placed alone on the pillar. Such were called Hermeracles, Hermathena, Hermares, according to the name of the god whose head was used. It is not unlikely that it was one of these compounds which gave rise to the legend of Her- maphroditus just alluded to. It is by some supposed that Hermes was Cadmilus, a Pheenician god, and adopted into their mythology by the Greeks. This supposition we hold to be groundless: for neither his name nor any of the legends related of him suggest the idea of his being a stranger-god. It seems to have arisen from the circumstance of Cadmilus being as we are told a name of Hermes in Beotia’, joined with the fable of Cadmus having been a Pheenician. See ee ene Ie STE na Ve ETE Se ee aw Noa cee SN Os 1 May not the name Hermes be connected with éppa a pillar? 2 Tzetz. Lyc. 162, 219. DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. 133 CuaprTreER XI. DEMETER,—PERSEPHONE. Anpntup, Anw. Ceres. Ilepoedovera, Lepcedbom. Proserpina. Deme TER and her daughter Perséphone are so closely connected, that it would be extremely difficult or rather impossible to treat of the one without the other: we there- fore combine the two deities. Demeter a daughter of Kronus and Rhea, and by Zeus mother of Persephone, was evidently the goddess of the earth, Mother-Earth(-yn wnrnp), whom someancient system married to Zeus, the god of the heavens. In Homer she is but slightly mentioned ’, and she does not appear among the gods on Olympus. She seems to have been early dis- tinguished from the goddess called Earth*, and to have been regarded as the protectress of the growing corn and of agriculture in general. This goddess was in general chaste. The violence of- fered to her by Poseidon has been already noticed. Iasion enjoyed her love, but was killed in consequence with a thunderbolt by Zeus. The most celebrated event in the history of Demeter is the carrying off of her daughter Persephone by Hades, and the search of her mother after her through the world. A Homeridian hymn in her honour contains perhaps the earliest narrative of this event, which though apparently unknown to Homer, became a favourite theme with suc- ' Tl. v. 500. “ blond Demeter” is represented as presiding over the winnowing of corn. In Od. v. 125, her amour with Iasion is re- lated. ® Gaia, or Ghe, is joined with Zeus and Helius asa person. I]. ii. 104, 278, 134 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ceeding poets’, after whom Ovid has related it in his Meta- morphoses, and Claudian has sung it in a peculiar poem, of which unfortunately a part is lost. Persephone, sang the Homeride, was in a mead with the Ocean-nymphs’® gathering flowers. She plucked the rose, the violet, the crocus, the hyacinth, when she be- held a narcissus of surprising size and beauty, an object of amazement to ‘all immortal gods and mortal men,” for one hundred flowers grew from one root ; And with its fragrant smell wide heaven above And all earth laughed, and the sea’s briny flood. Unconscious of danger the maiden stretched forth her hand to seize the wondrous flower, when suddenly the wide earth gaped, and Aidoneus in his golden chariot rose and catching the terrified goddess placed her in it shriek- ing to her father for aid, unheard by gods or mortals, save only Hecate the daughter of Perseeus, who heard her as she sat in her cave, and king Helius, whose eye nothing on earth escapes. So long as the goddess beheld the earth and starry heaven, the fishy sea, and beams of the sun, so long she hoped to see her mother, and the tribes of the gods; and the tops of the mountains, and the depths of the sea re- sounded with her divine voice. At length her mother heard ; she tore her head-attire with grief, cast a dark robe around her, and like a bird hurried ‘‘over moist and dry.” Of all she inquired tidings of her lost daughter, but neither men nor gods nor birds could give her intelligence. Nine days she wandered over the earth, with flaming torches in her hands, she tasted not of nectar or ambrosia, 1 Hesiod (Works and Days, 463,) directs the husbandmen to pray, when beginning to plough, to “ subterranean Zeus and holy (ayy) Demeter, to make perfectly ripe the sacred corn of Demeter.” This intimates the knowledge of some connexion between Demeter and Hades. 2 Consequently the original scene of the legend was the western verge of the earth on the bank of Ocean, the usual scene of marvellous adventures. DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. 135 and never once entered the bath. On the tenth morning Hecate met her, but she could not tell her whoit was had carried away Persephone. Together they proceed to He- lius; they stand at the head of his horses, and Demeter entreats that he will say who the ravisher is. The god of the sun gives the required information, telling her that it was Aidoneus, who by the permission of her sire had car- ried her away to be his queen; and he exhorts the goddess to patience, by dwelling on the rank and dignity of the ravisher. Helius whipt on his steeds; the goddess, incensed at the conduct of Zeus, abandoned the society of the gods, and came down among men. But she now was heedless of her person, and no one recognised her. Under the guise of an old woman, ‘‘ such as,” says the poet, ‘‘ are the nurses of law-dispensing kings’ children, and housekeepers in re- sounding houses,” she came to Eleusis, and sat down by a well, beneath the shade of an olive. The three beau- tiful daughters of Keleus, a prince of that place, coming to the well to draw water, and seeing the goddess, inquired who she was and why she did not go into the town. De- meter told them her name was Dos, and that she had been carried off by pirates from Crete, but that when they got on shore at Thoricus,she had contrived to make her escape, and had wandered thither. She entreats them to tell her where she is; and wishing them young husbands and as many children as they may desire, begs that they will en- deavour to procure her a service in a respectable family. The princess Callidice tells the goddess the names of the five princes, who with her father governed Eleusis, each of whose wives would, she was sure, be most happy to receive into her family a person who looked so god-like: but she prays her not to be precipitate, but to wait till she had consulted her mother Metaneira, who had a young son in the cradle, of whom if the goddess could get the nursing her fortune would be made. The goddess bowed her thanks, and the princesses hoisted their pitchers and went home. As soon as they 136 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. had related their adventure to their mother, she agreed to. hire the nurse at ‘‘ immense wages :” And they, as fawns or heifers in spring-time Bound on the mead well satisfied with food ; So they, the folds fast holding of their robes Lovely, along the hollow cart-way ran ; Their locks upon their shoulders flying wide, Like unto yellow flowers. The goddess rose and accompanied them home, where she sat in silence thinking of her ‘‘ deep-bosomed ” daughter, till Iambe by her tricks contrived to make her smile, and even laugh, But she declined the cup of wine which Metaneira offered her, and would only drink the kukeon, or mixture of flour and water. She undertook the rearing of the babe, who was named Demophoon, and be- neath her care ‘‘ he throve like a god.” He ate no food, but Demeter breathed on him as he lay in her bosom, and anointed him with ambrosia, and every night she hid him *“ like a torch within the strength of fire,” unknown to his parents who marvelled at his growth. It was the design of Demeter to make him immortal, but the curiosity and folly of Metaneira deprived him of the intended gift. She watched one night, and seeing what the nurse was about shrieked with affright and horror. The goddess threw the infant on the ground, declaring what he had lost by the inconsiderateness of his mother, but announcing that he would be great and honoured, since he had “ sat in her lap and slept in her arms.” She tells who she is, and directs that the people of Eleusis should raise an altar and temple to her without the town on the hill Callichoros. Thus having said the goddess changed her size And form, old-age off-flinging, and around Beauty respired; from her fragrant robes A lovely smell was scattered, and afar Shone light emitted from her skin divine: And yellow locks upon her shoulders waved; While, as from lightning, all the house was filled With splendour. She left the house, and the maidens awakening at the DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. Veer noise found their infant-brother lying on the ground. They took him up, and kindling a fire prepared to wash him ; but he cried bitterly, finding himself in the hands of such unskilful nurses. In the morning the wonders of the night were narrated to Keleus, who laid the matter before the people, and the temple was speedily raised. The mourning goddess took up her abode in it, but a dismal year came upon mankind ; the earth yielded no produce, in vain the oxen drew the curved ploughs in the fields, in vain was the seed of barley cast into the ground; ‘‘ well-garlanded Demeter” would suffer no increase. The whole race of man ran risk of perishing, the dwellers of Olympus of losing gifts and sacrifices, had not Zeus discerned the danger and thought on a remedy. He dispatched “ gold-winged Iris” to Eleusis to invite Demeter back to Olympus, but the disconsolate goddess would not comply with the call. All the other gods are sent on the same errand, and to as little purpose. Gifts and honours are proffered in vain,—she will not ascend to Olympus, or suffer the earth to bring forth, till she shall have seen her daughter. Seeing that there was no other remedy, Zeus sends “ cold-rodded Argus-slayer”’ to Erebus, to endeavour to prevail on Hades to suffer Persephone to return to the light. Hermes did not disobey: he quickly reached the “ secret places of earth,” and found the king at home seated on a couch with his wife, who was mourning for her mother. On making known to Aidoneus the wish of Zeus, “the king of the Subterraneans smiled with his brows ” and yielded compliance. He kindly addressed Persephone, granting her permission to return to her mother. The goddess instantly sprang up with joy, and heedlessly swal- lowed a grain of pomegranate which he presented to her. Then many-ruling Aidoneus yoked His steeds immortal to the golden car: She mounts the chariot, and beside her sits Strong Argus-slayer, holding in his hands 138 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The reins and whip: forth from the house he rushed, And not unwillingly the coursers flew : Quickly the long road they have gone, not sea Nor streams of water, nor the grassy dales, Nor hills retard the immortal coursers’ speed, But o’er them going they cut the air profound. Hermes conducted his fair charge safe to Eleusis: De- meter on seeing her “‘ rushed to her like a Meenas on the wood-shaded hill,” and Persephone sprang from the ear *‘ like a bird,” and kissed her mother’s hands and head. When their joy had a little subsided, Demeter anxiously inquired if her daughter had tasted anything while below ; for if she had not, she would be free to spend her whole time with her father and mother; whereas if but one morsel had passed her lips, nothing could save her from spending one-third of the year with her husband, and the other two with her and the gods : And when in spring-time, with sweet-smelling flowers Of various kinds the earth doth bloom, thou’lt come From gloomy darkness back,—a mighty joy To gods and mortal men. Persephone ingenuously confesses the swallowing of the grain of pomegranate, and then relates to her mother the whole story of her abduction. They pass the day in de- lightful converse : And joy they mutually received and gave. ‘* Bright-veiled Hecate” arrives to congratulate Perse- phone, and henceforward becomes her attendant. Zeus sends Rhea to invite them back to heaven. Demeter now complies, And instant from the deep-soiled corn-fields fruit Sent up: with leaves and flowers the whole wide earth Was laden: : and she taught “ Triptolemus, horse-lashing Diocles, the strength of Eumolpus, and Keleus the leader of the people,” the mode of performing her sacred rites. The of =< 6 Soe = . oO ooo ce PO0 5 eo wae ® Blk S ig Goi g saa DRS NS ) Boor gson0000 08 Fyg0 ° 00 0 oooeoco fP OP 5 Mes, ae Pty ta DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. 139 goddesses then returned to Olympus. “‘ But come,” cries the Homeride, But come, thou goddess who dost keep the land Of odorous Eleusis, and round-flowed Paros, and rocky Anthron, Deo queen, Mistress, bright giver, season-bringer, come : Thyself and child, Persephoneia fair, Grant freely, for my song, the means of life. But I will think of thee and uther songs. Such is what is probably the oldest account of this celebrated event. In progress of time it underwent various alterations ; the scene was as usual changed, and circum- stances added or modified. In the beautiful versions of it given by the above-mentioned Latin poets, the scene is transferred to the grove and lake in the neighbourhood of Henna in Sicily, the nymph Arethusa gives intelligence of the ravisher, and Ascalaphus (who for his mischief- making is turned into an owl) tells of Persephone having plucked a pomegranate in the garden of Hades and put seven of the seeds into her mouth. In this, as in other legends, the fancy of poets and vanity of the mhabitants of different places have taken abundance of liberties with the ancient tale. There are, as we have already observed, no traces in Homer of this legend, which is probably of a later age. Demeter is only incidentally mentioned by him; and he does not give the parentage of Persephone, who appears merely as the queen of Hades. There can be little doubt we think of its being an allegory. Persephone signifies the seed-corn, which when cast into the ground. lies there concealed,—that is, she is carried off by the god of the under-world: itreappears,—that is, Persephone is restored to her mother, and she abides with her two-thirds of the year. As however the seed-corn is not a third part of the year in the ground, it is probable that by the space of time which Persephone was to spend with the god in the invisi- ble state, was intended to be expressed the period between the sowing of the seed and the appearance of the ear, 140 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. during which the corn is away; and which space of time in most species of grain, barley for instance, is about four months. The vanity of the people of the hungry soil of Attica made them pretend that corn was first known and agri- culture first practised in their country. They fabled that the goddess gave to Triptolemus (T. hrice-plough), who oc- cupies the place of Demophoon in the foregoing legend, her chariot drawn by dragons, in which he flew through the air, distributing corn to the different regions of the earth. This last circumstance betrays the late age of the fiction ; for, as we have already observed, in the time of Homer celestial horses were the only draught-cattle of the gods. Homer gives no intimation of any connexion between Demeter and Persephone ; but Hesiod! says expressly that the latter was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and notices her abduction by Hades. It is however not im- possible, that in the original theology of the Greeks Per- sephone was only regarded as the consort of the monarch of Erebus, and that her name may have signified Light- destroyer. The first syllable of it is evidently the same with the appellation given to so many light-deities, and which is probably akin to wip and fire. Demeter, though of a gentle character in general, par- took of the usual revengeful disposition of the gods. The origin of the Stellio, or spotted lizard, is referred to her having thrown in the face of a boy, who mocked at her as she was drinking some gruel, what was remaining of it in the vessel’. She more justly punished with ever-craving hunger Erisichthon, who impiously cut down an oak-tree sacred to the goddess, and thus terminated the existence of its resident Dryad. This infliction gave occasion for the exercise of the filial piety and power of self-trans- formation of the daughter of Erisichthon, who by her assuming various forms enabled her father to sell her over aT S ARK ERSE mma ee ' Theog. 902. * Ovid, Met. v. 251. DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. 14] and over again, and thus obtain the means of living after all his property was gone *. By Iasius (the Homeric Iasion), Demeter was the mother of Plutus (wAovroc), the god of wealth*,—a very apparent allegory. No children of hers but Plutus and Persephone are mentioned. , The Orphicans, those great corruptors of the Greek re- ligion and mythology, fabled that Persephone was by her own father the mother of Zagreus, or the first Dionysus. All the gods sought her in marriage. Demeter, to con- ceal her from their arts and importunities, placed her in a cavern in Sicily under the care of dragons. Zeus as- suming the form of a serpent deceived the guardian dragons, and violated the modesty of his daughter’. It is said*, that when Pindar was grown old Perse- phone appeared to him in a dream; and observing that she alone of the deities was not celebrated in his hymns, told him, that when he came to her he would make a hymn in her praise. Ten days afterwards the poet died. There was at Thebes an old woman related to Pindar, who used to sing his verses : in a dream she saw the poet, and heard him sing a hymn to Persephone, which on awaking she committed to writing. The form of Demeter is copied from that of Hera. She has the same majestic stature and matronly air, but of a milder character. Her usual symbol are poppies, which sometimes compose a garland for her head, sometimes are held in her hand. She is frequently represented with a torch in her hand,—significant of her search after Per- sephone. At times she appears in her chariot drawn by dragons. Persephone is represented seated on a throne with Hades. Demeter is called*, 1. Law-giving (agriculture being 1 Callim. Hymn to Demeter. Ovid, Met. vili. 738. e¢ seg. 2 Hes. Theog. 969. % Nonnus, vi. 123. * Pausanias, ix. 23. * 1. Oespodpdpos : 2. kovporpdgos: 3. EavOh: 4. kadAurAdKapos : 5. evorépavos : 6. ayNadKapmos. 142 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the chief source of civil regulations) ; 2. Youth-rearing ; 3. Blond-or Yellow-haired ; 4. Fair-tressed; 5. Well-gar- landed; 6. Bright-fruited ; &c. : Persephone was styled’, 1. Terrible; 2. Illustrious ; 3. Holy ; 4. White-horsed; 5. Black-robed; &c. We cannot take our leave of Demeter and the Kora’, without saying a few words on the subject of the so cele- brated mysteries of Eleusis, in which they were the great objects of adoration. But instead of going into all the mysticism which has been written respecting them, both in ancient and modern times, we shall content ourselves with giving some of the results of the inquiries of the learned and judicious Lobeck, referring those anxious for fuller information to his valuable work entitled Aglao- phamus. Inthe very early ages of Greece and Italy, and probably of most countries, the inhabitants of the various indepen- dent districts into which they were divided had very little communication with each other, and a stranger was re- garded as little better than an enemy. Each state had its own favourite deities, under whose especial protection it was held to be, and these deities were propitiated by sa- crifices and ceremonies, which were different in different places. Itis further to be recollected, that the Greeks believed their gods to be very little superior in moral qualities to themselves, and they feared that if promises of more splendid and abundant sacrifices and offerings were made to them, their virtue might not be adequate to resisting the temptation. As the best mode of escaping the calamity of being deserted by their patrons, they adopted the expedient of concealing their names, and of excluding strangers from their worship. Private families in like manner excluded their fellow-citizens from their fa- 1 1. €rauh : 2.ayauh: 3. &yvth: 4. NevKurros : 5. wehapremAos. * Kopn, the maiden, an Attic name for Persephone. DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. 148 mily-sacrifices ; and in those states where ancient statues, acrolites, and such like were preserved as national palla- dia, the sight of them was restricted to the magistrates _ and principal persons in the state. Weare to recollect that Eleusis and Athens were in- dependent of each other till towards the time of Solon. The worship of Demeter and the Kora was the national and secret religion of the Eleusinians, from which the Athe- nians were of course excluded as well as all other Greeks. But when Eleusis was conquered, and the two states coa- lesced, the Athenians become participators in the worship of these deities; which however remained so long con- fined to them as to have given origin to a proverb ( Ar- tikoi Ta E-evoivia) applied to those who met together in secret for the performance of any matter. Gradually, with the advance of knowledge and the decline of superstition and national illiberality, admission to witness the solemn rites celebrated each year at Eleusis was extended to all Greeks of either sex and of every rank, provided they came at the proper time, had committed no inexpiable offence, had performed the requisite previous ceremonies, and were introduced by an Athenian citizen. These mysteries, as they were termed, were performed with a considerable degree of splendour, at the charge of the state and under the superintendence of the magi- strates; whence it follows as a necessary consequence, that the rites could have contained nothing that was grossly immoral or indecent. There does not appear to be any valid reason for supposing, as many do, that any public discourse on the origin of things and that of the gods, and other high and important matters, was delivered by the Hierophant, or person who bore the highest office in the mysteries; whose name would rather seem to be de- rived from his exhibiting the sacred things, —ancient statues ; probably of the goddesses,—which were kept carefully covered up, and only shown on these solemn occasions. The delivering of a public discourse would in fact have been quite repugnant to the usages of the Grecks in their 144 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. worship of the gods, and the evidence offered in support of this supposition is extremely feeble. But the singing of sacred hymns in honour of the goddesses always formed a part of the service. The ancient writers are full of the praises of the Eleu- sinian mysteries, of the advantages of being znitiated, 1.e. admitted to participate in them, and of the favour of the gods in life, and the cheerful hopes in death, which were the consequence of it. Hence occasion has been taken to assert, that a system of religion little inferior to pure Christianity was taught in them. But these hopes, and this tranquillity of mind and favour of Heaven, are easy to be accounted for without having recourse to so absurd a supposition. Every act performed in obedience to the will of Heaven is believed to draw down its favour on the performer. The Mussulman makes his pilgrimage to the Kaaba at Mecca, the Catholic to Loretto, Compostella, or elsewhere ; and each is persuaded, that by having done so he has secured the divine favour. So the Greek who was initiated at Eleusis,;—whose mysteries, owing to the fame in which Athens stood, the able writers who so loudly ex- tolled her and everything belonging to her, the splendour and magnificence with which they were performed, eclipsed all others,—retained ever after a lively sense of the happi- ness which he had enjoyed when admitted to view the inte- rior of the illuminated temple, and the sacred things which it contained, when to his excited imagination the very gods themselves had seemed visibly to descend from their Olympian abodes, amidst the solemn hymns of the offici- ating priests. Hence there naturally arose a persuasion, that the benign regards of the gods were bent upon him through after-life ; and as man can never divest himself of the belief of his continued existence after death, a vivid hope of enjoying bliss in the next life. - 1 See Mortimer’s description of the effect of the solemn service in St. Peter’s at Rome on his mind, in Schiller’s Marie Stuart, act i. sc. 6. See also Shakspeare’s Winter’s Tale, act ill. sc. 1. DEMETER. PERSEPHONE. 145 It was evidently the principle already stated, of seeking to discover the causes of remarkable appearances, which gave origin to most of the ideas respecting the recon- dite sense of the actions and ceremonies which took place im the Eleusinian mysteries. The stranger, dazzled and awed by his own conception of the sacredness and impor- tance of all that he beheld, conceived that nothing there could be without some mysterious meaning. What this might be, he inquired of the officiating ministers, who, as various passages in Herodotus and Pausanias show, were seldom without a tale, a tepoc¢ Ad-yoe (Sacred Account), as it was called, to explain the dress or ceremony, which owed perhaps its true origin to the caprice or sportive humour of a ruder period. Or if the initiated person was himself endowed with inventive power, he explained the appearances according in general to the system of philo- sophy which he had embraced. It was thus that Porphyry conceived the Hierophant to represent the Platonic Demiureus or creator of the world ; the Torch-bearer (Da- duchus), the sun; the Altar-man (Epibomius), the moon ; the Herald (Hierokeryx), Hermes ; and the other ministers, the lesser stars. These fancies of priests and philosophers have been by modern writers formed into a complete sy- stem, and S‘¢ Croix in particular describes the Eleusinian mysteries with as much minuteness as if he had been actually himself initiated’. It is to be observed, in conclusion, with respect to the charges of impiety and immorality brought against the Eleusinian mysteries by some Fathers of the Church, that this arose entirely from their confounding them with the Bacchic, Isiac, Mithraic, and other private mysteries, mostly imported from Asia, which were undoubtedly liable to that imputation. It must always be remembered, that those of Eleusis were public, and celebrated by the state. 1 See Warburton, Divine Legation. S** Croix, Recherches sur les Mystéres, &c. Creutzer, Symbolik. 146 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CuaptTer XII. SISTER-GODDESSES,—MUSES, SEASONS, GRACES, FATES, EILEITHYLE, KERES, FURIES. We class under this head of Sister-Goddesses the deities above enumerated, most of whom are children of Zeus and dwellers of Olympus. Weconceive thatthe present arrange- ment possesses some advantages over that of mingling them with the other children of the Olympian king. Movoa. Camene. Muses. In the early ages of the world, when the principle of assigning a celestial cause to every extraordinary effect was in full operation, the powers of song and memory were supposed to be excited by certain goddesses who were denominated Muses, a name perhaps derived from paw to invent. In Homer they are called the daughters of Zeus, and described as exhilarating the banquets of the gods by their lovely voices, attuned to the lyre of Apollo. When about to give the catalogue of the ships of the Achzans, the poet invokes the Muses, the daughters of Zeus, to prompt his memory. , No definite number of the Muses is given by Homer, for we cannot regard as his the verse’ in which they are said to be nine. Perhaps originally, as in the case of the Erinnyes and so many other deities, there was no definite number. Pausanias* gives an old tradition, according to which they were three,—-Mélete (Practice), Mneme (Me- mory), and Acede (Song). Cicero says they were four, and that their names were, Thelxinoe (Mind-soother), Acede, Melete, and Arche ( Beginning). The more received 1 Od. xxiv. 60. 2 Paus. ix. 29. MUSE. 147 opinion, with Hesiod, makes them nine, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). The names of the Muses were’, Calliope, Clio, Melpé- mene, Euterpe, Erato, Tarpatchors; Urania, Thalia, and Poly’mnia. Later ages assigned a particular department to each of the Muses, and represented them in various postures and with various attributes. Calliope presided over Epic Poetry; she was repre- sented holding a close-rolled parchment, and sometimes a trumpet. Clio presided over History ; and was represented holding a half-opened roll. Melpomene, over Tragedy ; she was veiled, and was leaning on a club, and holding a tragic mask in her left hand. Euterpe, over Music ; she held two flutes. Krato, the muse of Erotic Poetry, played on a nine- stringed instrument. Terpsichore, the muse of Dancing, appeared in a dancing posture, and holding a seven-stringed lyre. Urania, the muse of Astronomy, held in one hand a globe, in the other a rod with which she was employed in tracing out some figure. Thalia, the patroness of Comedy, held a comic mask in one hand, and in the other a crooked staff. Polymnia, the muse of Eloquence and the Mimic art, had the forefinger of her right hand on her mouth, or car- ried a roll. Pieria in Macedonia is said by Hesiod * to have been the birth-place of the Muses ; and every thing relating to them proves the antiquity of the tradition of the knowledge and worship of these goddesses having come from the North into Hellas, Thus almost all the niountains, grots, ' Kadd\torn, KAew, Medrouévn, Evréprn, Epara, Tepexépn, Ovpavia, Oarera, TloAvpvia. ® Theog. 53. tee 148 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. and wells from which they have derived their appellations are in Macedonia, Thessaly, or Boeotia (Aonia). Such are Pimpla, Pindus, Helicon, Hippocréne, Aganippe, Leibe- thron, Parnassus, Castalia, and the Corycian cave. The Muses, says Homer’, met the Thracian Thamyras in Dorium (in the Peloponnesus), as he was returning from CEchalia. He had boasted that he could excel them in singing; and enraged at his presumption they struck him blind, and deprived him of his knowledge of music. The nine daughters of Pierus and Euippe, proud of. their number, came to the abode of the Muses and chal- lenged them to sing. The Muses, though loth to contend with such inferior singers, did not decline the contest. The Nymphs were chosen as judges. One of the Pierides sang the war of the Gods and Giants, and studiously exalted the Giants and depressed the Gods. Calliope was chosen by her sister's to respond ; and she sang the carrying off of Persephone, and the search of Demeter after her through all the world. The Nymphs decided in favour of the Muses; and when their adversaries, dissa- tisfied at the award, vented their rage in abusive lan- guage, the goddesses exerted their divine power, and turned them into magpies *. 3 Pyreneus, a Thracian who had seized on Daulia and Phocis, saw the Muses going to their temple on Par- nassus. Feigning great respect, he invited them to take shelter beneath his roof from an approaching storm. T he Muses accepted the apparently kind invitation; and when the tempest was over they were about to depart ; but their discourteous host closed his doors, and prepared to offer them violence. The goddesses taking wing flew off, and Pyreneus attempting to follow them through the air was dashed to pieces on the ground’. The Muses did not escape the darts of Love. Calliope was by CZagrus, or Apollo, the mother of Linus *, who was Sine ee AMT IMRN I VT]. i, 594. 2 Ovid, Met. v. 294. 3 Ovid, Met. v. 276. + According to Hesiod (Frag. i.) Urania was the mother of Linus. MUSE. 149 killed by his pupil Hercules. She also bore to the same sire Orpheus, whose skill on the lyre was such as to move the very trees and rocks, and the beasts of the forest assembled round him as he struck its chords. He was married to Eurydice, whom he tenderly loved; but a snake biting her as she ran through the grass, she died. Her disconsolate husband determined to descend to the under-world, to endeavour to mollify its sovran, and obtain permission for her to return to the realms of light. Hades listened to his prayer: she was allowed to return, on condition of his not looking on her till they were ‘ar- rived in the upper-world. Fearing that she might not be following him, the anxious husband looked back, and there- by lost her. He nowavoided human society ; and despising the rites of Bacchus, was torn to pieces by the Me- nades'. The Muses collected the fragments of his body, and buried them, and at their prayer Zeus placed his lyre in the skies *. Clio, having drawn on herself the anger of Aphrodite by taunting her with her passion for Adonis, was inspired by her with love for Pierus the son of Magnes. She bore him a son named Hyacinthus. This youth was loved by Thamyras, the son of Philammon and the nymph Argiope. He was afterwards killed by Apollo with a discus ’°. Euterpe, or according to some Calliope, bore Rhesus to the god of the river Strymon; Melpomene was by Achelotis the mother of the Sirens; and Thalia bore to 1 Apollod. i. 3. Ovid, Met. xi. Virg. Geor, iv. No mention of Orpheus occurs in Homer or Hesiod. Pindar reckons him among the Argonauts. It were idle to notice the fancies of Creutzer and others respecting the mysteries introduced by him into Greece long before the time of Homer. According to these mystics he was a priest of the Light-religion,—that of Apollo or Vishnoo,—and vainly resisted the raving orgies of the Dionysus- or Seeva-worship when it reached Greece. See Lobeck’s Aglaophamus for all that the most extensive learning, joined with sense and sane philosophy, has been able to do towards elucidating the real nature and character of the poems and institutions ascribed to Orpheus. 2 Apollod. i. 3. 5 Apollod. zbed. 150 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Apollo the Corybantes, who attended on the mother of the gods’. Buttmann, in his dissertation on the Mythological Idea* of the Muses, is of opinion that they were originally a class of the Nymphs,—the latter word being the genus, the former the species. His chief reason for this suppo- sition is, that, as was observed by Hermann and Creutzer, the Nymphs were called Muses by the Lydians. He re- gards the Muses as having been water-nymphs ; and traces a correspondence between them and the musical Nixes of the popular Teutonic mythology’. Besides the usual epithets common to all goddesses, and derived from beauty and dress, the Muses were styled *, 1. Sweet-speaking ; 2. Perfect-speaking ; 3. Loud-voiced ; 4. Honey-breathing. "Qea. Hore. Seasons or Hours. When Hera and Athena’ drive out of Olympus in the chariot of the former goddess, to share in the conflict of the Acheans and the Trojans, the gates of heaven, which the Hore keep, whose charge is to open and close the dense cloud, creak spontaneously to let them pass. On the return of these goddesses, at the mandate of Zeus, the Hore unyoke their steeds, fasten them in their stalls, and lay up the chariot. As goddesses of the seasons, they are mentioned by Poseidon® as bringing round the period at which he and Apollo were to be paid their wages by Laomedon. : Hesiod says’, that the Seasons were the daughters of Zeus and Themis, and names them Eundmia(Good-order), Dike (Justice), and Hiréne ( Peace), who watch over (wpev- ovot) the works of mortal men. In another place* he says, Apollod. 1. 3. 2 Mythologus, i. 273. e¢ seq. For the Nixes, see Fairy Mythology, vol. ii. p. 70. : 1. fdveweis: 2. dprrémerar: 3. AcyvpOoyyor: 4. wedtrvoot. Il. viii. 393. 6 Tl, xxi. 450.) 4% 7 Theog. 903. Works and Days, 254. sn» o +& DO = HORE. CHARITES. 151 that Dike is a virgin revered by the gods of Olympus ; and that when any one acts unjustly, she sits by her father Zeus, and complains of the iniquity of man’s mind, ‘that the people may suffer for the transgressions of their kings.” The Hore seem to have been originally regarded as the presidents of the three seasons into which the ancient Greeks divided the year. As the day was similarly di- vided, they came to be regarded as presiding over its parts also ; and when it was further subdivided into hours, these minor parts were placed under their charge and named from them. Order and regularity being their prevailing attributes, the transition was easy from the natural to the moral world ; and the guardian goddesses of the seasons were regarded as presiding over law, justice, and peace, the great producers of order and harmony among men. It is possible however, but not agreeable to analogy, that the reverse was the case, and that the transition was from moral to physical ideas. Homer calls the Hore’, 1. Gold-filleted. Their epi- thets in the Orphic hymns are chiefly derived from the flowers which they produce; such as, 2. Flower-full; 3. Odour-full* ; &e. Xapirec. Gratie. Graces. The Chirites, like the Muses and other sister-goddesses, are spoken of by Homer in the plural, and their number is indefinite. They are the bestowers of all grace and beauty both to persons and things. They wove the pe- plus of Aphrodite*; the beauty of the two attendants of ee 1 1. xpuvodpruKes: 2. rodvavOepor: 3. TONVOO [OL 2 The Greek xoAvs and the Germanic voll, full, are plainly the same word, and used alike in composition. The former is placed at the beginning, the latter at the end of the compound. 3 Tl. v. 338. 152 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE, Nausicaa ' was given them by the Charites; and the ringlets of the beautiful Euphorbus are compared” to those of these lovely goddesses. Aphrodite ® joins in the dance of the Charites; and in the song of Demodocus’*, they wash and anoint her, when filled with shame she flies to Paphos. Yet though they seem to have been particularly attached to the goddess of love, the queen of heaven had authority over them”; and she promises Pa- sithea, one of the youngest of them, for a wife to Sleep, in return for his aid in deceiving Zeus. The Homeridian hymn to Artemis describes that god- dess as going to the ‘‘ great house” of her brother at Delphi, and regulating the dance of the Muses and the Charites. ; Zeus, says Hesiod’, was by Eurynome, the daughter of Ocean, the father of the ‘‘ three fair-cheeked Graces” Aglaia (Splendour), Euphrésyne (Joy), and lovely Thalia (Pleasure). ‘‘ From their eyes,’’ continues the poet, ‘as they gazed, distilled care-dispelling love ; and they looked lovely from beneath their brows.” According to Anti- machus’, the Graces were the daughters of Helius and Higle (Splendour) ; and Hermesianax made Peitho (Per- suasion) one of their number. Eteocles of Orchomenus is said to have been the first who established the worship of the three Graces in Greece. The Lacedemonians worshiped originally but two, whom they named Cletha and Phaénna (Sound and Brightness), and regarded as the bestowers of military fame. The Athenians adored the same number, under the names of Hegémone (Leader) and Auxo (Increaser)* :—a proof, as it were, of the different characters of these two nations. The Graces were the goddesses presiding over social enjoyments, the banquet, the dance, and all that tended to inspire gaiety and cheerfulness. They are represented 1 Od. vi. 18. 2 Il. xvil 51. 3 ‘Od. xviii 194.7 " #Odswii7s64: > Tl. xiv. 267. 5 Theog. 907. 7 Pausanias, ix. 35. ® The Spartans and Athenians also had only two Hore. MCR AS. 153 as three beautiful sisters dancing together : sometimes they are naked, sometimes clad. The Charites had the epithets common to goddesses. Motpa. Parce. Fates. In the Ilias, with the exception of one passage’, the Meera is spoken of in the singular number and as a per- son, almost exactly as we use the word Fate. But in the Odyssey this word is used as a common substantive, fol- lowed by a genitive of the person, and signifying Decree. The Theogony of Hesiod in one place * limits the Fates, like so many other goddesses, to three, and makes them daughters of Night: another passage” gives them Zeus and Themis for their parents. It is quite impossible that both can have been written by the same poet; but it is extremely difficult to say which is genuine. Their names in both are Clotho (Spinster), Lachesis (Allotter), and A’tropos (Unchangeable) ; but Hesiod does not speak of their spinning the destinies of men. This office of theirs is however noticed both in the Ilias and the Odyssey. In the former it is said* by Hera of Achilles, that the gods will protect him that day, but that hereafter he will suffer ‘what Aisa [a name synonymous with Meera] span with her thread for him when his mother brought him forth ;” and in the latter’, Alcinotis says of Odysseus, that he will hereafter suffer ‘‘ what Aisa and the heavy Cataclothes span with the thread for him when his mother brought him forth,” The Aisa of Homer is represented as that all-ruling Destiny, somewhat like the Predestination of modern the- ology, whose decrees neither gods nor men can escape. Even Zeus is incapable of altering her decisions. The Cata- clothes (Spinners-down) occur only in the passage just quoted from the Odyssey. DO LES KS. 403 2 Theog. 217. 5 Theog. 904. SO}? 1X: 127: > Od. vii. 197. 154 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Meera probably comes from peipw, and Aisa from daiw, both signifying to divide. It is a very extraordinary coin- cidence, that the Norner, the Destinies of Scandinavian theology, should also be spinsters. The poets styled the Fates’, 1. Unerring ; 2. Severe- minded; &c. EivctOuvrat. Tlithyie. The Eileithyiz, whose office it was to preside over the births of mankind, are in the Ilias* called the daughters of Hera. In the Odyssey ° and in Hesiod * their number is reduced toone. We also meet with but one Eileithyia in Pindar’, and the subsequent poets in general. Like the Graces, Seasons, and Fates, the Hileithyiz are some- times said to be three in number. Eileithyia is fre- quently joined with the Fates. There was a cave at the river Amnisus, near Gortyna in Crete, sacred to Eileithyia, who according to the tra- dition of the country was born there”. It is not by any means an improbable supposition, that Eileithyia was originally a moon-goddess, and that the name signifies Light-wanderer’. Hence, if Artemis was also originally a moon-goddess, the identification of them was easy. The moon was believed by the ancients to have great influence over growth in general; and asa woman’s time was reckoned by moons, it was natural to conceive that the moon-goddess presided over the birth of children. | Eileithyia was called*, 1. Labour-aiding ; 2. Gentle- minded; &c. 1 1. dwdavées: 2. Bapvdpores. 2 Tl. xi. 270. In II. xvi. 187. Eileithyia occurs in the singular. 3 Od. xix. 188. *T heog. 922. 5 Ol. vi. 72. Nem. vii. 1. & Od. ut supra. Paus. 1. 44. 7 From éAy light, and*Ovw to move rapidly. See Welcker, Ueber eine Kretische Kolonie, &c. pp. 11. 19. ® 1. woyoordKos : 2. mpavpnris. aA KERES. ERINNYES. 155 Knpec. Keres. The Kéres are personifications of violent deaths. The word Kér (xnp) is used by Homer in the singular and in the plural number, and both as a proper and as a common noun, but much more frequently as the former. When a common noun, it seems to be equivalent to fate. Achilles says, that his mother gave him the choice of two keres ;— one, to die early at Troy ; the other, to die after a long life at home’. On the shield of Achilles * Ker appears in a blood- stained robe, with Strife and Tumult, engaged in the field of battle; and on that of Hercules*® the Keres are de- scribed as raging in the fight, and ‘glutting themselves with the blood of the wounded. Hesiod makes them daughters of Night and sisters of the Mcere *, whoalso appear on the shield of Hercules, and with whom they must not be confounded. They bear a resemblance to the Valkyries (Choosers of the Slain) of Northern mythology. The Keres were styled’, 1. Implacable; 2. Stern- looking ; &c. "Epwviec. Furie. Furies. The Erinnyes would appear, according to the Odys- sey’, to have dwelt near the Harpies, and therefore, we might suppose, on the shore of Ocean. Though we place them here for the sake of convenience, they were evi- dently not of the dwellers of Olympus. They are spoken of by Homer in the plural and singular numbers ; and their office was chiefly that of punishing gods and men for transgressions against those whom they were bound to 1 J]. ix. 410. 2 Il. xviil. 535. 3 Hesiod, Shield of Hercules, 249. 4 Theog. 217. 5 4. dpetAryou: 2. derywrol. 6 Od. xx. 77. 156 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. esteem and reverence. When Pheenix relates his own history to Achilles, he tells him’, that when at the desire of his mother he had done a deed which provoked the anger of his father, the latter called on the “ hateful Erinnyes,” and prayed that his son might be childless ; and that ‘‘ subterrane Zeus and awful Persephoneia” ac- complished his prayers. Again *, he says, that when Al- thea cursed her son Meleager, she struck repeatedly the ground, calling on “‘ Aides and awful Persephoneia’”’, and that the “‘ gloom-roaming Erinnys, with implacable heart, heard her from Erebus.” In the purgative.oath of Aga- memnon’, he calls on Zeus, Earth, Sun, and the Erinnyes, ‘‘who punish under the earth the men who have sworn falsely.” These passages would perhaps lead to the opinion, that even in Homer’s time the Erimnyes were inhabitants of the under-world. Finally *, when Iris is advising Poseidon to yield to Zeus, she reminds him that ““the Erinnyes always follow the elder.” It is also said’, that the Erinnyes deprived Xanthus, the horse of Achilles, of the power of speech which Hera had given him. Homer assigns no parentage to the Erinnyes ; but He- siod® makes them to have sprung with the Giants and the Melian nymphs from the blood which dropped from Ura- nus when he was mutilated by his son Kronus. In the Orphic Hymns they are the daughters of Hades and Per- sephone. Tlieir number was indefinite even in the time of AXschylus ; but later poets reduced them to three,— Alecto, Megera, and Tisiphone ; and plagues, murder, war, and madness were ascribed to their agency. Numerous temples and groves were consecrated to these terrible goddesses. ‘There was one of their temples in Achea, which if any one polluted with crime dared to 1 YT]. ix. 454. 2 TL aixeoGee 3 J]. xix. 258. This whole speech is regarded, we think justly, by Knight as an interpolation. * Il. xv. 204. 5 T]. xix ate. 6 Theog. 185. It was natural that the first violation of filial duty should have given origin to these goddesses. ERINNYES. 157 enter he instantly lost his reason. The Gidipus at Co- lonos of Sophocles has eternised the memory of their erove at that place, where they were worshiped under the mild and placatory title of The Gracious (Evpevidcec). The drama of Aischylus, called from them The Eumenides, appallingly displays the power and terrors of these guilt- avenging goddesses. The name Erinnys may be perhaps derived from epuvevur, to avenge, though it is more probable that the reverse is the truth. They were evidently personifications of the stings of conscience, or of that sure and inscrutable punishment which so frequently dvertakes secret guilt. The epithets of these deities were, 1. Hateful; 2. Gloom-roaming ; 3. Dark-skinned ; &c. 1 Paus. vil. 25. 2 1. orvyepal : 2. jepopoiries: 3. Kuavdxpwrot. 158 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuapter XIII. THEMIS, IRIS, PAXEON, SLEEP, DEATH, MOMUS, PERSO- NIFICATIONS. Béuc. Themis. Law. Tuts goddess appears once in the Ilias" among the inhabi- tants of Olympus, but nothing is said respecting her rank or her origin. By Hesiod®* she is said to be a Titaness, one of the daughters of Heaven and Earth, and to have borne to Zeus, Peace, Order, Justice, the Fates, and the Seasons,—the natural progeny of Law (Oéutc¢), and all deities beneficial to mankind. Themis is said® to have succeeded her mother Earth in the possession of the Pythian oracle, and to have volun- tarily resigned it to her sister Phoebe, who gave it as a christening-gift* to Phoebus Apollo. "Tptc. Tris. The office of Iris, in the Ilias, is to act as the messenger of the king and queen of Olympus, a duty which is per- formed by Hermes in the Odyssey, in which poem there is not any mention made of Iris. Homer gives not the slightest hint of who her parents were ; but analogy might lead to the supposition of Zeus being her sire, by some mother who is unknown. Hesiod’ says that swift Iris and the Harpies, who fly “like the blasts of the winds or the birds,” were the children of Thaumas ( Wonder) by Electra re Gs Assy 2 Theog. 135. 3 /Eschylus, Eumenides, 1. e¢ seg. Ovid, Met. i. 321. + yevéOAtov ddotv. We know not how else to express it. It was the gift bestowed on the child the day it was named, which was usually the eighth day after the birth. See Terence, Phormio, i. 1, 12. > Theog. 265. IRIS. | 159. (Brightness) the daughter of Oceanus. It is difficult to as- certain whether the poet in this place understands by Iris the celestial messenger, or the personification of the rain- bow, which the Greeks named Iris. Perhaps the name of the goddess was given to this phenomenon, it being as it were a sign or message sent by Zeus to man’. By the Latin poets Iris is invariably confounded with the rain- bow ; and we find Virgil® assigning her on one occasion the task of freeing from the body the souls of those who had given themselves voluntary death. In Callimachus, who lived at the court of the Ptolemies, Iris performs all the duties of lady’s-maid to Hera, to whose service she became appropriated after Hermes had taken her office of messenger. Homer in one place styles Iris Gold-winged °, and ac- cording to Aristophanes he likens her to a trembling dove. In the Birds of that poet, Epops says But how shall men esteem us gods, and not Jackdaws, since we have wings and fly about? To which Peisthetzrus replies, Nonsense! Egad, Hermes, who is a god, Wears wings and flies, and many other gods Do just the same. Thus Victory for you flies With golden wings ; and so, egad, does Love: And like a trembling dove, old Homer saith, Was Iris. Iris is called*, 1. Storm-footed ; 2. Wind-footed ; 3. Swift- footed; 4. Swift ; 5. Gold-winged ; &e. ' Tris was probably derived from e%pw to speak or say. 2 /Eneis, iv. 691. 5 Il. vill. 398. This is the only line in Homer which makes against Voss’s theory, of none of Homer’s gods being winged. Itis remarkable that P. Knight, who seems to have known nothing of that theory, rejects the whole episode 350—484. * 1. dedNdrovs : 2. Todtvepos : 3. édas wKéa: 4. TaxEta: 5. ypu- oOTTEpOS. 160 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. : Tlamwyv, Tatdv, Madv. Paeon, Peon. Peéon was the family physician of Olympus. Nothing is said about his extraction. All we are told is, that he cured Areswhen wounded by Diomedes’, and Hades of the wound in his shoulder given him by Hercules’, and that physicians were of his race’. His attributes were after- wards transferred to Apollo and his son Asclepius, occa- sioned perhaps by the resemblance between his name and the Pean or solemn hymn to Apollo*. : “Varvoc kat Odvaroc. Somnus et Mors. Sleep and Death. These two deities are called by Hesiod” the children of Night. By Homer they are, for a very natural and ob- vious reason, said to be twins. When, in the Ilias*®, Sarpe- don the heroic and noble-minded son of Zeus falls by the hands of Patroclus, Apollo at the command of his father washes his body in the waters of the stream, anoints it with ambrosia, and clothing it in ambrosial garments com- mits it to the twin brothers Sleep and Death to convey to Lycia, there to be interred by his relatives and friends. When Hera’ resolves by her arts and beauty to melt the soul of Zeus in love, and lay him asleep on Mount Gargarus, that Poseidon may meanwhile give victory to the Achzans, she takes her way thither from Olympus over Lemnos, where she meets Sleep. She accosts him as the king of all gods and men, and prays him to aid her in her project, promising as his reward a seat and footstool, the workmanship of Hephestus. Sleep reminds the god- dess of the imminent danger which he formerly ran, for having at her desire sealed the eyes of Zeus in slumber when Hercules was on his return from Troy, during which she raised a storm which drove the hero to Cos, and Zeus er 1 Tl. v. 899. 2 Il. v. 401. 3 Od. iv. 232., a suspicious line. 4 J). i. 4738. > Theog. 212. 6 Tl. xvi. 676, et seq. 7 Tl. xiv. 230. e¢ seg. MOMUS. PERSONIFICATIONS. 161 awaking in a rage, knocked the gods about the house, searching for Sleep, who only escaped by seeking the pro- tection of Night, whom Zeus revered too much to offend. Hera, by urging that the affection of Zeus for the Trojans could not be supposed equal to that for his own son, and finally by offering and swearing to give him one of the younger Graces for his spouse, overcomes the fears of Sleep, who accompanies her to Ida, where taking, the shape of a bird he sits in a tree till she has-beguiled her Jord. Sleep, having accomplished his task, speeds to the battle-field to inform Poseidon of what he had done. The Latin poet Ovid’, probably, as was usually the case, after some Grecian predecessor, gives a beautiful descrip- tion of the cave of Sleep near the land of the Kimmerians, and of the cortége which there attended on him, as Mor- pheus, Icelus or Phobeter, and Phantasos; the first of whom takes the form of man to appear in dreams, the second of animals, the third of inanimate objects. Death was brought on the stage by Euripides in his beautiful drama of Alcestis. He is deaf to the entreaties of Apollo to spare the Thessalian queen, but vanquished by Hercules is forced to resign his victim. Mopoc. Momus. This god of raillery and ridicule does not appear to have been known to Homer. By Hesiod* he is classed among the children of Night. He very rarely appears in the more ancient literature ; but, as was to be expected, makes some figure in the dialogues of the witty Lucian. Personifications. The practice of personification, or representing moral qualities as persons, appears to have been almost coeval with Grecian poetry and religion. Not that this habit a i a 1 Met. xi. 592. 2 Theog. 214. M 162 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. was peculiar to the Greeks, for it 1s to be found in almost all nations; but Grecian mythology presents a more Co~ pious array of such personages than is to be met in the polytheism or poetry of any nation which did not derive the custom from that people. In Homer, to whom as the original fountain we conti- nually revert, we meet a number of these moral qualities appearing as persons. Terror and Fear, the children of Ares and Stvife his sister, rouze with him the Trojans to battle’. Strife is said to be small at first, but at last to raise her head to the heaven. She is sent forth ® amidst the Achzans by Zeus, bearing the signal of war; and standing on the ship of Odysseus in the centre of the fleet, shouts so as to be heard at either extremity. When Ares® hears of the death of his son Ascalaphus, Terror and Fear are commanded to yoke the steeds to his car for the war. Prayers (Aurat), says the poet*, are the daughters of great Zeus, lame and wrinkled, with squinting eyes. They follow Mischief (arn), and tend those she has injured : but Ate is strong and firm-footed, and gets far before them, afflicting men whom they afterwards heal. Elsewhere’ he relates that Ate is the daughter of Zeus, who wyures (ara) all; that her feet are tender, and that she therefore does not walk on the ground, but on the heads of men. Having conspired with Hera to deceive her father, he took her by the hair and flung her to earth, with an oath that she should never return to Olympus. | The Theogony of Hesiod is full of these personified beings; and in the poetry and religion of later times they are too numerous to be summed up. The Metamorphoses of Ovid also offer abundant instances. i 1 Tl. iv. 440. 3 Tl]. xv. 120. 5 Tl, xix. 91. e¢ seg. 2J); xii 3. 4 TI, ix. 502, DIONYSUS. 163 CHAPTER XIV. DIONYSUS. Atwwvucoc, Atovucoc, Baxyoc. Liber Pater. Bacchus. No deity of Grecian mythology has given occasion to greater mysticism than Diony sus the god of wine. Creut- zer’, for example, that prince of mystics, deduces his wor- ship from India, and makes him identical with the Seeva of that country. According to him, the Vishnoo-religion had, at a period far beyond that of history, spread itself over the West, and in Greece was known as that of Apollo, the god of the sun and light. The wild religion of Seeva, which had overcome the milder one of Vishnoo on their natal soil, followed it in its progress to the West, proceeded as the religion of Dionysus through Egypt and anterior Asia, mingling itself with the systems of these countries, and entered Greeée, where after a long struggle with the Apollo-system the two religions finally coalesced, the Dionysiac casting away some of its wildest and most extravagant practices. This theory is founded on no stable evidence; and it has been, as appears to us, fully refuted and exposed by the sober and sagacious Voss”, who, rejecting all air-built theory, bases his system on fact and testimony alone. We shall here attempt, chiefly under his guidance, to illus- trate the changes which it is probable the mythology of this god gradually underwent. It has been very justly observed by Lobeck’, that al- most all the passages in Homer in which there is any mention of or allusion to this god have been suspected by the ancient critics, either on account of some circumstances in themselves, or because they occur in places justly liable ! Symbolik, 2 Anti-Symbolik. ’ Aglaophamus, p. 285. M 2 164 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. to suspicion. The first of these passages is that, in the sixth book of the Ilias’, where Diomedes and Glaucus encounter in the field of battle. Here the former hero, who had just wounded no less than two deities, asks the latter if he is a god, adding, “I would not fight with the celestial gods; for the stout Lycurgus, son of Dryas, who contended with the celestial gods was not long-lived, who once chased the nurses of raging Dionysus through the holy Nyseium, but they all flung their sacred uten- sils (0éc0Aa) to the ground, when beaten by the ox-goad of the man-slaying Lycurgus; and Dionysus in affright plunged into the waves of the sea, and Thetis received him in her bosom terrified,—for great fear possessed him from the shouting of the man. The gods, who live at ease, then hated him, and the son of Kronus made him blind ; nor was he long-lived, since he was odious to all the im- mortal gods.” Language more unsuitable surely could not be put into the mouth of Diomedes; and we may observe that there is a kind of instinct of propriety, as we may term it, which always guides those poets who sing from inspiration and not from art, leading them to ascribe to the characters which they introduce no ideas and no language but what accurately correspond to their situation and character. This consideration when well weighed may suffice to render the above passage extremely suspicious. — The passage in the 14th book’®, in which Zeus so inde- corously recounts his various amours to Hera, was rejected by Aristarchus and several of the best critics of antiquity. In this Zeus says that “‘ Semele bore him Dionysus, a joy to mortals.” The passage in which Andromache is com- pared toa Meenas’, besides that it occurs in one of the latter books, is regarded as an interpolation. These are the only passages in the Ilias in which there is any allusion to Dionysus. In the Odyssey’ it is said, that Artemis slew Ariadne in the isle of Dia, ‘‘ on the 1 Ti, wi. 180. 3 J]. xxil. 460. 2 Tl. xiv. 325. 4 Od. x1, 325, DIONYSUS. 165 testimony (uaprupiyow) of Dionysus”; but the circum- stance of the o in the second syllable of his name being short in this place satisfied the grammarian Herodian, and ought to satisfy any one, that the line in question is spu- rious. In the last book of this poem’ Thetis is said to have brought an urn (au@iopia), the gift of Dionysus, to re- ceive the ashes of Achilles; but the spuriousness of that part of the poem is well known. It was further observed by the ancient critics, that Maron who gave the wine to Odysseus was the priest of Apollo, not of Dionysus. Hesiod®* says, that Cadmean Semele bore to Zeus “ the joy-full Dionysus, a mortal an immortal, but now they both are gods.” Again®, ‘‘ gold-tressed Dionysus made blond Ariadne the daughter of Minos his blooming spouse, and Kronion made her ageless and immortal.” Far perhaps inferior in point of antiquity to Hesiod, is the Homeridian hymn to Dionysus which contains the following adventure of the god; a tale which Ovid* has narrated somewhat differently. Dionysus once let himself be seen as a handsome youth on the shore of a desert island. Some Tyrsenian pirates were sailing by, who when they espied him jumped on shore and made him captive, thinking him to be of royal birth. They bound him with cords; but theseinstantly fell off him, and the god sat smiling in silence. The pilot perceiving these apparent signs of divinity, called to the crew that he was a god, and exhorted them to set him on shore, lest he should cause a tempest to come on. But the captain rebuked him sharply, desired him to mind his own business, and declared that they would take their captive to Egypt or elsewhere and sell him for a slave. They then set sail,—the wind blew fresh, and they were proceeding merrily along; when behold! streams of fra- grant wine began to flow along the ship; vines with clustering grapes spread over the sail; and ivy, laden l Od: xxiv. 74. 5 Theog. 947, 2 Theog. 940. + Met. ill, 532. et seg. 166 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. with berries, ran up the mast and sides of the vessel. His shipmatesin affright now called aloud to the pilot tomake for the land; but the god assuming the form of a grim lion seized the captain, and the terrified crew to escape him leaped into the sea and became dolphins. The pilot alone remained on board; the god then declared to him who he was, and took him under his protection. Another of these hymns relates, that the Nymphs received Dionysus from his father, and reared him in a fragrant cavern of the valleys of Nysa. He was counted among the Immortals; and when he grew up he went through the woody vales crowned with bay and ivy: the Nymphs followed him, and the wood was filled with their joyous clamour. In these poems the mention of the ivy, and the epithet noisy (€ptPpopoc), testify, as we shall see, their late age. Pindar also calls Dionysus Ivy-bearing (kuscoopoc) and noisy (Bpdpi0c). Herodotus and the tragedians describe what we consider to be the mixed religion of Dionysus. The idea of mere mortals, or the offspring of gods and mortals, being raised to divine rank and power, does not occur in the Ilias. Ganymedes and Tithonus, who were mortal by both father and mother, were carried off, the former by the gods to be the cup-bearer of Zeus ', the latter by Eos; and it is to be presumed, though Homer does not expressly say so, that they were endowed with immortality. But all the half-caste, as we may call them, Hercules, Achilles, Sarpedon, Aineas, have no advantage over their fellow-mortals, except greater strength and more frequent aid from the gods. But in the Odyssey we find the system of deification commenced. The sea-goddess Ino Leucothea, who gives Odysseus her veil to save him from being drowned, was, we are told, a daughter of Cadmus (a name which does not occur in the Ilias), ‘‘ who had before been a speaking mortal, but was now allotted the honour of the gods in lJ), xx; 234: DIONYSUS. 167 the depths of the sea.” And again; Odysseus beholds in the realms of Hades the image (eidwAov) of Hercules, pursuing his usual occupations when on earth ; but him- self we are told ‘ enjoys banquets among the immortal gods, and possesses fair-ankled Hebe.” It is not how- ever said that he had obtained the power of a vod". Supposing therefore Dionysus, as his name might ap- pear tg indicate, to have been one of the original Grecian deities, (and it is difficult to think that the vine and its produce, with which the ‘‘ sons of the Achwans” were so familiar, could have been without a presiding god,) he may have been regarded as a son of Zeus by a goddess named Semele, who may have been the daughter of a god Cad- mus. In after times, in pursuance of a practice hereafter to be explained, both father and daughter may have been degraded to the rank of a hero and a heroine, and Dio- nysus have consequently become the son of Zeus by a mortal mother. The vintage is in wine-countries at the present day, like hay-making and harvest-home in En- gland, a time of merry-making and festivity; and the festival of the deity presiding over it may have been a very joyous one, and celebrated with abundance of noise and mirth. Such we say may have been (for we venture not to assert it) the original Dionysiac religion of Greece ; and when we recollect the very incidental manner in which Demeter, undoubtedly one of the most ancient deities, is noticed in the Ilias, it should not excite any great sur- prise to find the poet totally omitting all mention of the wine-god. To pass from conjecture to certainty, it appears quite clear that the part of Thrace lying along the northern coast of the Aigean was in the earliest times a chief seat of the Dionysiac religion ; where the worship of the god of wine was celebrated with great noise and tumult by the ' Od. v. 333. xi. 601. The last of these passages we are persuaded is spurious (see above p. 70.), and the first is perhaps not altogether free from suspicion. 168 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. people of that country ; and, supposing the passage in the sixth book of the Ilias to be genuine, some accountof it had possibly reached the ears of Homer. The Thracian wor- ship of Dionysus, it is not improbable, was not introduced into Greece till after the time when the A®olians colonised the coast of Asia about the Hellespont’. Here they be- came acquainted with the enthusiastic orgies of the Great Mother, and of the god Sabazius; who, as it would appear, was the same with Dionysus, and an object of veneration both to Phrygians and Thracians, and who was worshiped under the form of an ox, as being the patron of agriculture. As polytheism is not jealous, and readily permits of the introduction of new deities into the system, particularly if their attributes or festivals have a resem- blance to any of the old ones*, the worship of this new god was adopted by the Grecian colonists, and diffused over the isles and continent of Greece: not, however, without considerable opposition from the sober common-sense of several individuals of eminence, as appears by the mythic tales of Pentheus and Perseus, which are apparently real occurrences thrown back into the mythic age*. The original Grecian festivals, though of a joyous cheerful character, were so widely different from the raving orgies and wild licentiousness of this Dionysiac religion, that it is quite evident the latter could not have been known in Greece during the Achean period. There can be no doubt of the Dionysiac religion with its nocturnal orgies and indecent extravagance having been very prevalent among the Greeks at the time when the Io- nians were permitted to settle in Egypt. It isin nosmallde- 1 Not till a century or two after the time of Homer in the opinion of Lobeck. (Aglaophamus, p. 672.) — 2 It was thus that there was a great resemblance observed between the Dionysia of Athens and the Saturnalia of Rome. 3 Had the consul Posthumus (Livy, xxxix. 8.) lived before history was written at Rome, and had the Bacchic orgies obtained a footing in that city, he would probably have figured as a Pentheus in the mythic annals of Rome. DIONYSUS, 169 gree surprising with what facility the Grecian and Egyptian systems coalesced, with what open-mouthed credulity the Grecian settlers and travellers swallowed all the fictions of the cunning priesthood of that country, and with what barefaced assurance the latter palmed on their unsuspect- ing auditors the most incrediblelies. Inreading the Euterpe of Herodotus, one might fancy one’s self beholding Captain Wilford listening with devout belief to his artful Pundit}; so little suspicion does the Father of History betray of his having been played upon by the grave linen-clad person- ages who did him the honour to initiate him in their mysteries, The theory boldly advanced by the Egyptian priesthood was, that all the religion of Greece had been imported into that country by colonies of Egyptians,—a people, by the way, without ships, and who held the sea in abhorrence ;— who civilised the mast-eating savages that roamed its un- cultivated wilds, and instructed them in the nature and worship of the gods. The deities of Greece were there- fore to find their prototypes in Egypt; and Dionysus was honoured by being identified with Osiris, the great god of the land of Nile. Herodotus informs us how Melampus, who introduced his worship into Greece, had learned it from Cadmus the Pheenician, who had derived his know- ledge of course from Egypt. As the reali of Osiris did not abound in vines*, the ivy with its clustering berries which grew there was appropriated to the god; and it now became one of the favourite plants of Dionysus, as appears by the Homeridian hymn above cited. The Egyptians had fabled that their god Osiris had made a progress through the world, to instruct mankind in agriculture and planting. The Greeks caught up the idea, and represented the son of Semele—for the popular faith did not give up the old legend of his Theban birth— as roaming through the greater part of the earth. In the 0 RAR Si Ek A SOL. ONE: 5 Og a | See the Asiatic Researches. 2 Herodotus says there were no vines in Egypt. Egyptian vines are mentioned in Genesis, xl. 9. 170 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Bacche of Euripides the god describes himself as having gone through Lydia, Phrygia, Persia, Bactria, Media, Ara- bia, and the coast of Asia, inhabited by mingled Greeks and barbarians, throughout all which he had established his dances and his religious rites. When Alexander and his army had penetrated to the modern Caubul, they found ivy and wild vines on the sides of Mount Merus and on the banks of the Hydaspes ; they also met processions, accompanied by the sound of drums and party-coloured dresses, hike those worn in the Bacchic orgies of Greece and Lesser Asia. The flatterers of the conqueror took thence occasion to fable, that Dionysus had, like Hercules and their own great king, marched as a conqueror throughout the East ; had planted there the ivy and the vine; had built the city Nysa; and named the mountain Merus, from the circumstance of his birth from the thigh (unpoc) of Zeus. At length, during the time of the Greco-Bactric kingdom, some Greek writers, on whom it is probable the Bramins imposed, as they have since done on the English, gave out that Dionysus was a native Indian, who having taught the art of wine-making in that country, made a conquering ex- pedition through the world, to instruct mankind in the culture of the vine and other useful arts. And thus the culture of the vine came to Greece, from a land which does not produce that plant’. This last is the absurd hypothesis which we have seen renewed in our own days, and supported by all the efforts of ingenious etymology. | The adventures of this god furnished a rich fund of ma- terials for the poets of Greece,—particularly those who 1 A, W. Schlegel, though in general inclined to what we call the mystic theory, expressly denies in his Indian Library that the Greeks had previous to theconquests of Alexander any idea of an ex- pedition of Bacchus to or from India. We ask the advocates of the Indian origin of the Bacchic religion for their proofs, and get nothing in reply but confident assertion or slight resemblances of names and ceremonies. DIONYSUS. tive devoted themselves to the drama, of which he was the patron. The plays whose subjects were taken from his history were numerous, and one fine specimen of them, the Bacche of Euripides, has come down to us. The Frogs of Aristophanes will show what use the comic poets made of the person of the god of wine and the drama. The dithyrambic poets also celebrated him, and the historians gave his actions a place in their works. From all these various works, at present for the far greater part lost, Nonnus, a native of Panopolis in Egypt, composed in the fifth century of the Christian era his poem called the Dionysiacs, which may be regarded as a vast repertory of Bacchic fable, con- taining almost all the adventures which have been in- vented for this god, and which on that account we will here analyse with as much brevity as is consistent with clearness. The poet, negligent of the Horatian precept, does not hurry his reader into the midst of affairs, but begins methodically at the beginning ; narrating the setting forth of Cadmus in search of his sister Europa, whom Zeus had carried off. He comes to the cave of Typhoéus, who had stolen the thunderbolts of Zeus while that god was keeping an amorous engagement with Ploto the mother of Tantalus. At this place Zeus meets him, and engages him to attempt the recovery of his thunder; and Cad- mus, putting on the dress of a shepherd, goes to the cavern of the giant, who entreats him to play on the pipes, agreeing to give him the thunder in return. Cad- mus complied; and when he had gotten the thunder, fled and delivered it to Zeus. Typhoéus, about to renew the war against the gods, feeling the want of his thunder, rages in such a manner as to terrify all the gods and god- desses, till Victory encourages Zeus by promising him her aid. ‘Typhoéus however puts the gods to flight, and me- naces them with slavery. He rouses the giants to arms: Zeus marshals the Celestials. Mountains are piled on mountains by Typhoeus: all the elements but the earth r 172 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. are against him: and at length he falls down vanquished. Zeus insults over him, and, as a reward to Cadmus for his services, promises him that he shall be the son-in-law of Ares and Aphrodite. Cadmus, accordingly, accompanied by Persuasion sails to Thrace, the domain of the god of war, in search of Harmonia his promised bride. He comes to the splendid gardens of Electra, who was bringing up Harmonia along with her own son. Zeus sends Hermes to persuade her to give the maiden to the brother of Europa. The great difficulty, however, is on the part of Harmonia herself, who considers a mere stranger unworthy of so high an honour, But Aphrodite takes the form of Peisinoés. (Mind-per- suader), and uses such strong arguments with her daugh- ter, that she not only feels disposed to compliance, but even conceives a violent passion for Cadmus. Accompanied by Harmonia, Cadmus now proceeds to Greece ; and consulting the Delphic oracle, he is told to build a city in the place where the bull who was to be his guide should lie down. It was near the fountain of Dirce, in the future Boeotia, that the bull lay on the ground ; and the companions of Cadmus are here devoured by a serpent of huge magnitude sacred to Ares. In his own conflict with the monster, Cadmus aided by Pallas Athena slays him; and sowing his teeth, by the direction of the goddess, a crop of giants springs up, who however fall again by mutual wounds. The city of Thebes is built, and Amphion surrounds it with walls: the gates are consecrated to the gods ; and Cadmus now espouses Harmonia. The deities honour the nuptial feast with their presence, and bestow their gifts on the bride and bridegroom. The produce of their union are Autonoe, Ino, Agave, and Semele the most beautiful of all, and one son named Polydorus. The three elder sisters are married ; but for Semele a higher fate is re- served: she is to be the mother of a new Bacchus ; for Zagreus, the son of Zeus and Persephone, had been the first of the name. DIONYSUS. jars: The story of Zagreus was this ‘, The hand of Perse- phone had been sought by all the gods; but Demeter had concealed her; for on consulting a soothsayer she had learned what was to betide. Zeus meantime, care- fully as Persephone was hidden, had discovered and enjoyed her in the form of a serpent. The fruit of their loves was Zagreus, who was at the instigation of Hera torn to pieces by the Titans, and underwent a variety of changes of form. Zeus in his rage at this deed set the earth on fire; but moved by the prayers of Oceanus he quenched it with a deluge, which destroyed all animal life, and whose waters mounted up to heaven. Poseidon, striking the earth with his trident, opened a chasm which swallowed up the inundation, and the earth was again adapted for the habitation of men ; but Deucalion alone was living. It was however soon replenished with the human race, but their life was miserable ; and Kon (Age) besought Zeus on their behalf, who promised that they should once more have joyous wine and Bacchus its in- ventor. Eros (Love) now aims at the breast of Zeus one of the twelve arrows which he had destined for him; and that god beholding Semele, who having offered a sacrifice in con- sequence of an ominous dream had been sprinkled with the blood and had gone to bathe herself, becomes enamoured. In the night Zeus approached her, and assuming the forms of divers animals accomplished his wishes. Semele when about to become a mother behaves herself like a future Bac- chante. Envy taking the form of Ares, goes to Hera and Pallas, and declares that she will quit heaven if henceforth the children of men are to be received into it. Hera now asks Deceit for her girdle which gives the power of transmu- 1 See above, p. 141. It is the opinion of Lobeck (Aglaophamus, |. ii. p. 2. c. 8.) that this tale of Zagreus was the invention of Onoma- critus, and a transference of the Egyptian legend of Osiris slain and torn to pieces by Typhon to the Grecian mythology, the names of the ac- tors being altered so as to accord with the deities of the latter system. 174 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ting the form ; and assuming that of the nurse of Semele, goes to her, and persuades her to ask of Zeus to come armed with his thunder as a proof of his divinity. Semele wearies the god with her entreaties : he vehemently ex- horts her to refrain, but to no purpose. At length, to gratify her, he comes surrounded by thunder and light- ning, and Semele expires in the flames. Zeus sews up in his thigh the embryo-Bacchus, and assigns Semele a place in heaven. When the due period had elapsed Dionysus saw the light, and Zeus gave him in charge to Hermes to con- vey to the daughters of Lamus to be reared by them. But Hera on this coming to her knowledge inspired them with madness, and Hermes delivered his charge to Ino. Scarcely however had she received him, when Hera discovered this retreat also; and Hermes finally com- mitted the babe to Rhea. The child here grows up in great vigour, and Semele beholding him is filled with pride. Ino, driven mad by Hera for her kindness to the infant Dionysus, roves over various regions, and at length is restored to her senses by Apollo. Her husband Atha- mas had meantime, thinking her to be lost, espoused Themisto ; who, driven also to madness, slays all her children. Athamas nowruns mad also, kills his son Lear- chus, and casts his other son Melicerta into a caldron ; and Ino returns just in time to save him, and plunges with him into the sea, where she becomes a goddess under the name of Leucothea, and Melicerta is also made a god of the sea. Zeus points out the event to Semele, who ungenerously triumphs over her sister. Dionysus, meanwhile, is reared in Lydia by Rhea- Cybele. His playmates are the Satyrs, and especially the youth Ampelus (Vine). His affection for this youth increases every day: he enjoys his society alone, plays and wrestles with him, makes races among the Satyrs, and causes Ampelus to gain the prize. Dionysus engages in a contest of swimming with Ampelus, and lets him gain \ a ae Y= a (=e 5 SS = THE 1.85 att! > OF THE UNNERSITY OF ILLINOIS DIONYSUS. 175 the victory there also. Ampelus grown bolder now plays with the wild beasts; and Dionysus prescient of his fate warns him, but in vain. Ate (Mischief) persuades Am- pelus to mount a bull; and when he has done so he mocks at the horned Moon, who incensed sends a gad-fly to sting the bull, and Ampelus is thrown, and his neck broken. Dionysus sets no bounds to his grief, menaces all the beasts, and demands back from the gods the life of Ampelus. Love consoles him by relating the history of Calamus and Carpus (Haim and Fruit), who loved as he and Ampelus had done, and of whom the former slew himself when the latter had been drowned. The Seasons seek the palace of the Sun, and Autumn asks him to grant her power to bestow a gift on the earth. The radiant deity shows them the tables of fate, in the third of which the vine was promised to the earth. Au- tumn on beholding this rejoices and departs. Dionysus, still mourning, moves the Parce to pity; and Atropos promises him the restoration to life of Ampelus under another form. A vine (dumedoc) shoots up laden with grapes: Dionysus, exulting with joy, makes wine and drinks it. The Satyrs also play the part of vintagers,— drink, dance, and get drunk. Zeus sends Iris to excite Bacchus to undertake an expedition against the Indians and their haughty king Deriades. The celestial envoy becomes mute with awe on entering the cavern of Rhea; but the Corybantes at the command of their mistress give the daunted goddess some wine to drink, and she forthwith delivers her mes- sage. Pyrrhichius assembles the army, which is com- manded by Acteon, Hymenzus, Erechtheus, Aristeus (the inventor of mead, whose liquor however the gods had pronounced inferior to the wine of Dionysus), Ogy- rus, and Priasus. A long catalogue of nations and towns which contributed to swell the host is here given by the poet ; and Rhea marshals the troops in Lydia and Phrygia. There were the Cabiri, the Corybantes, the Telchines, Cy- clopes, Pans, Satyrs, Hyades (whom Hera had turned 176 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. into Centaurs, because they had educated Dionysus in a female form among them), Centaurs, Nymphs, and Bassa- rides. Armed with a thyrsus and a horn, instead of a crater, Dionysus himself precedes this mingled rout. The army marches; the Indians and their leaders arm; the Bassarides furiously fall on them, changing themselves into various forms. Dionysus turns a river that was running blood into wine, and the Indus expresses its amazement at the deed: but the Indians drink unwittingly of the trans- muted stream, become mad-drunk, fall asleep, and talk in their slumbers. Dionysus and his host fall on them as they lie incapable of resistance, and take a number of captives. At length Dionysus comes to where he meets a beautiful nymph named Nicea, a huntress, and the rival of Artemis in chastity, who being loved by a shepherd named Hymunus, and loved in vain, had slain him with an arrow when he entreated death at her hands. Love had threatened her with vengeance for the cruel deed; and all, even Adrastia (Nemesis) and Artemis, had mourned for the unhappy lover. Dionysus having seen Nicea bathing, becomes ena- moured and seeks her love, making the most lavish offers and promises; but the nymph treats his proffers with disdain, and adds menaces to her refusal. He retires, charging his dog to follow carefully the steps of the nymph. An old Ash (ueAia) advises Bacchus to do as Zeus had done before him in the case of Danae and Se- mele, and attack the nymph when asleep. Nicza, mean- time, as she flies from the god comes to the river which now ran wine, and being thirsty drinks of it. The conse- quences may easily be conceived: she awakes in rage and despair, resolves on death, and vows vengeance on her betrayer. She brings forth a daughter, who is named Telete (reAetn, Initiation), and Dionysus raises in her honour a city named from her. Preparing for war again on the Indians, Dionysus plants vines, and he is hospitably entertained by one Bronchus, DIONYSUS. 177 whom he instructs in the management of wine. Astraéis meantime discovers to Orontes, the son-in-law of Deriades, the trick of Dionysus about the river of wine, and he challenges the invader to single combat. A general en- gagement commences; Orontes fiercely falls on the army of Dionysus, and attacks their leader himself, but is un- able to wound him; while Dionysus with his thyrsus rends the corslet of Orontes, whose life he however magnani- mously spares. But Orontes unable to endure the in- dignity of defeat slays himself, after invoking the Sun. Dionysus insults over him, and puts his army to flight. The wounded of the Bacchic host are dressed by Aristeus, who cures them with herbs, honey, wine, and charms. The hymn of victory is sung, and Blemys an Indian king received to submission and appointed to rule over the /Ethiopians, Dionysus coming to king Staphylus (srapvAn, vine or bunch) is by him hospitably received. King Staphylus himself, his wife Methe (ué6n Drunkenness), and his son Botrys (Bdrpvc, bunch,) all drink wine, vet drunk, and dance, till fatigued with their exertions they go to rest. A strange and portentous dream comes to Dionysus as he sleeps, and shortly afterwards Staphylus dies : Dio- nysus comforts the widow Methe, who asks and obtains from him wine to drown her grief; and he further promises her that he will call the vine after the name of her hus- band, bunches of grapes from that of her son, and assures her that there will never be a merry-making without Methe, 7.e. Drunkenness. He establishes Indian funeral games in honour of Staphylus, in which the Attic Erech- theus sings to his lyre the origin of corn through Demeter and Triptolemus, but is vanquished by the Thessalian Qagrus, who chaunts the loves of Apollo and Hyacin- thus. Silenus and Maron dance; the former invoking Staphylus represents the story of Hebe and Ganymedes. Maron dances the contest of Dionysus and Aristeus in presence of the gods respecting the superiority of wine or mead. Maron is victorious, and Silenus is changed into N 178 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. a river, like that more ancient Silenus (Marsyas), when vanquished and flayed by Apollo in their musical contest. In conclusion, Dionysus takes Methe with him as his constant companion. Strife now taking the form of Rhea exhorts Bacchus to prosecute the war, and he makes preparation for action. Meanwhile one of his companions named Pithusischanged into a jar (riOoc), and he greatly rejoices at the trans- formation. Lycurgus the son of Dryas, a fierce king of Arabia, is stirred up by Iris to war against Dionysus, who at the mandate of Hera takes for that purpose the form of Ares, and then under that of Hermes persuades Dio- nysus to engage the Arabian king, unarmed. In conse- quence of this treacherous advice, the Bacche are put to flight ; Dionysus himself flies into the sea to Nereus and Thetis, and Lycurgus threatens to send for fishers to take him. Lycurgus pursues the Bacche, and takes the nymph Ambrosia, who on imploring the aid of Earth is turned into a vine, which when grasped by Lycurgus holds him fast, and the Bacche surround and insult him. Po- seidon smites Arabia with his trident ; Lycurgus rages in vain, and Zeus strikes him blind. Dionysus sends a herald to Deriades demanding sub- mission, but that monarch prepares for war. As the army of Bacchus wanders along the Hydaspes, Thureus a fierce Indian leader reviles them, and the Indians meditate an attack on their enemies when occupied at their meal. One of the Hamadryades deserts to Bacchus and discovers the plot. The Dionysic army feigns flight, draws the enemy into the plain, and routs and drives them into the Hydas- pes, where many are drowned, and the contest is continued in the waves. Some slay themselves, others invoke the aid of the Hydaspes ; Thureus alone escapes. The army of Dionysus passes the Hydaspes, who calls on his brother Kolus to aid and drown the Bacche with his storms. This, Eolus attempts in vain ; Dionysus threatens, and. at length sets fire to the Hydaspes, at which bold deed Oceanus is enraged, and the Naiades take to flight. Zeus DIONYSUS. 179 mediates ; Hydaspes implores the clemency of Dionysus, promising to allow him to take his reeds for making pipes; and Dionysus appeased extinguishes the flames. Deriades prepares again for battle: Thureus relates to him the fatal issue of the late conflict, and advises him to consult the Brachmans. Dionysus on his side holds a joyous banquet, at which Leucas the Lesbian sings how Aphrodite once went to the distaffof Pallas and span a robe which caused Love to vanish from the earth ; how Pallas in anger went to the gods, and was there derided by Hermes; and how at length Aphrodite returned to her own office. All when the feast was ended retired to rest, and dreamed of war and victory. The seventh and last year of the Indian war is at hand; and the poet, setting the deeds of Dionysus far above those of Perseus and Hercules, calls on the Muse to aid him in singing it: he then resumes his narrative. The Indians still indulge in grief for the lost battle ; Hydaspes is changed into wine, and Attis brings to Dionysus impatient of rest, armour from Rhea fashioned by the hand of He- phestus. The shield displayed the figures of the Sun, Moon, Stars, Rivers, Thebes, Amphion, Ganymedes, Da- Imasenus engaging and slaying the dragon, and Rhea handing a stone to Kronus. Pallas craftily excites Deriades to battle, who urges on his generals, and among them Tectaphus, who once when in a dungeon was fed by the milk of his daughter. He also prepares his elephants for the fight, addresses and encourages his soldiers, deriding Dionysus and his father. The Indians advance full of vigour and in various arms ; Dionysus disposes his troops in four divisions, and cheers them bya speech; Zeus convokes a council of the 2ods, and orders them all to aid his son, pronouncing heavy threats against those who refuse. The battle commences; Dexiochus and Corymbasus distinguish themselves among the Indians; the latter even when slain still stands in his rank, One of the Athenian followers of Erechtheus, after he has lost both his hands, continues to fight valiantly against N 2 180 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the foe. The Cyclopes nowadvance, and the troops of De- riades are reduced to straits; many fall, and Deriades him- self is surrounded ; but Hera inspires him with courage, and Morrheus rushes on the Satyrs. Hymeneus the favourite of Dionysus is carried away by his valour, and Dionysus unable to avert from him a deadly. wound bitterly laments his fate. The battle is again renewed; Dionysus and Deriades engage in single conflict, till night parts the combatants. Ares is warned by Rhea ina dream against yielding any further aid to Deriades, and he departs to Olympus. Bacchus again assails the Indian army ; Mor- rheus rouses Deriades by his taunts, and wounds Eury- medon, who calls on his father Hephestus for aid, and it is only by the assistance of the Hydaspes that Morrheus escapes the vengeance of the god. Tectaphus also attacks the Dionysians, but falls, and dying calls on his daughter for aid, who weeps in vain, and can only deplore his fate. Morrheus and Deriades set on by Hera assail Bacchus, who flies, till at the voice of Athena he again stands his ground. Hera still vindictive applies to Persephone to send one of the Furies against Dionysus. The charge is given to Megera, and Iris at the command of Hera seeks an op- portunity of casting Zeus into a slumber. Hera meanwhile asks Aphrodite for her girdle, that she may inspire her spouse with love, and so cause him to neglect the interests of Dionysus. The goddess of beauty accedes to the desire of the queen of heaven, and delivers the magic belt ; fur- nished with which she approaches Zeus, and the girdle justifies its reputation. Reposing in his cloud-formed chamber the god forgets the dangers of his son, whom Megera now strikes with madness; while Ares again de- scends from Olympus, and aids Deriades in his attack on the Bacchic host, who fly,—Dionysus himself, Silenus, and the Cyclopes giving the example ; AZacus alone main- tains his ground: the Hamadryades mourn over the slain Bassarides. Pasithea, one of the Graces, while gathering flowers DIONYSUS. 181 for Aphrodite, beholds the madness of Dionysus and the rout of his army, and is touched with pity at the sight. She informs Aphrodite of what she had seen; and that goddess prevails on Love to inspire Morrheus with a pas- sion for the Bacchante Chalcomede. Love obeys his mother and wounds Morrheus, who pursues the maiden with sighs and tears; but Chalcomede avoids him, till advised by Thetis at least to feign a flame. Morrheus wanders about in perplexity, and Hysacus, the slave of his wife Cheirobia the daughter of Deriades, gives him advice and consolation ; but even in his dreams the image of Chalcomede is before him. The battle is renewed : Morrheus takes eleven Hyades, and gives them to Deri- ades as his bridal gift, promising soon to put Dionysus into his hands. The prudent monarch warns him against letting himself be caught by the beauty of the Bacche, who are again routed and pent up in a town, and many of them slain. Morrheus longs to take Chalcomede, who flies from him though feigning love. Many of the Bacche perish in the town,—Deriades still cautioning his war- riors against their charms. Morrheus at length comes up with Chalcomede, who desires him if he would possess her love to lay aside his arms. He promises, and obeys. Aphrodite showing Mor- rheus to Ares entreats him to encompass the body of Chalcomede with a serpent. Ares complies, and Mor- rheus fears to approach the virgin. Hermes now takes the form of Dionysus and encourages the Bassarides. Zeus awaking, and beholding the flight of Dionysus, requires Hera to cure him with her milk. Though unwilling, she obeys. He returns to his army, and marshals it anew. Meantime discord arises among the Olympians, who take different sides. Poseidon rises against the Sun, Ares against Athena, Artemis against Hera. Artemis is wounded in the conflict and cured by Apollo, and peace is restored by Hermes. On earth Deriades renews the war: Dionysus makes the wild beasts charge the Indian army : they fall on the elephants: he himself, assuming 182 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. a great variety of forms, engages Deriades ; and while the Indian is railing at him for so doing, entangles him in vines. At his entreaty Dionysus looses him, but is again attacked by him; and he now sees plainly that nothing is to be effected by land-battles. He therefore directs _ ships to be built; and a truce for three days is made for the purpose of burying the dead ; during which time Dionysus performs the funeral rites of Opheltes, slays twelve Indian captives at his pyre, and celebrates funeral games in his honour. Numerous prodigies appear at the termination of the truce,—such as an eclipse of the sun, an eagle carrying a serpent, &c. Idmon the soothsayer, when consulted by Erechtheus, declares them to be favourable to the Bacchic host and adverse to their enemies. Hermes ex- pounds them to Dionysus, and takes this occasion of narrating to him the tale of Phaéthon the son of Helius, who would drive his father’s chariot, and found his grave in the Eridanus; but was thence translated to heaven, where he forms the constellation of the Charioteer. The river was also removed thither ; and the Heliades weeping for their brother were transformed into the trees which drop amber. The Rhadamanes bring to Dionysus the ships which they had prepared. Deriades makes ready his fleet, and exhorts his men: Dionysus does the same; and the engagement commences. The Indians are surrounded : fHacus prays to Zeus for rain, Erechtheus to Boreas for a storm agaist the Indians. Several are killed or swal- lowed by the sea-monsters: Morrheus is wounded by Dionysus, and healed by a Brachman : the rain and storm gain the victory for Dionysus: Eurymedon burns the Indian fleet: Deriades is forced to fly to land; and Athena in the form of Morrheus persuades him to con- tinue the battle: but Dionysus now comes up with and slays him. His lifeless corse falls into the Hydaspes: his wife Orsoboe and his daughter Cheirobia bitterly lament his death. DIONYSUS. 183 The Dionysiac army sing songs of victory. Dionysus leads them through Arabia, and they arrive at Tyre, whose ancient history is here inserted; and Hercules Astrochi- ton (Star-coat) entertains him, and narrates the origin and changes of the world down to the building of Tyre. Dionysus gives Star-coat a crater, and receives in return a tunic. Proceeding to Mount Libanus, Dionysus comes to Beroe ; and the poet at great length narrates the his- tory and legends of this town; its origin from the nymph Beroe, and its foundation by Aphrodite. For this goddess had required of Eros, with the promise of a reward, to wound both Poseidon and Dionysus with an arrow which would inspire them both with love for Beroe her own daughter by Adonis. Love exerts his power: Dionysus follows Beroe whithersoever she goes, addresses her with awe, and calls her a goddess. The nymph departs in pride ; and Pan advises Dionysus to appear before her in the form of a rustic. He does so, offers himself to her as her slave, and at length declares who he is. Still the nymph is not mollified. Poseidon beholding her is equally in- flamed, and proffers love; and Aphrodite declares that the suitors must contend for the hand of her daughter. The gods assemble to behold the contest. Beroe’s heart inclines to Dionysus. Great preparations are made on both sides. Dionysus incites his party : Poseidon in- veighs against him. The fight begins: the troops of Po- seidon charge those of Dionysus: the animals on both sides fight. At the prayers of Psamathea Zeus gives the victory to Poseidon, and terrifies Dionysus with his thun- derbolts. Poseidon gains Beroe, and Love consoles Dio- nysus by promising him Ariadne. é Dionysus at length arrives in Greece, where Pentheus resists him ; but his troops are routed by those of Diony- sus. Agave the mother of Pentheus, terrified by a dream of illomen, sacrifices to the gods. Her son, however, still threatens death to Dionysus, who invokes the Moon, Hecate, and Persephone. The Moon reminds him of all he had already done: Persephone sends the Eumenides 184 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. into the house of Pentheus; and Agave filled with mad- ness vociferates aloud, determines to receive the orgies of Dionysus, and accompanied by Cadmus, now far advanced in years, mingles herself with the Bacche. Pentheus derides this action, depreciates the value of wine, and extols that of the gifts of Demeter ; and the poet here narrates how Dionysus had once been taken by pirates when he was desirous of passing from the isle of Naxos to Tonia, and had turned them into dolphins,—a fish thence- forth sacred to him. At length Pentheus arms himself: Bacchus assumes the form of a slave: Pentheus takes se- veral of the Bacche, but they are miraculously released ; and Pentheus, encompassed with flames, and raging, flings reproaches at Dionysus ; who replies mildly, and so cir- cumvents him by deceit that he puts on female attire and joins the Bacche ; in which guise he appears as a lion to his mother and her sister Autonoe, and is by them torn to pieces and his head brought to Cadmus, who laments over his unhappy fate. His lamentations are increased by those of Agave, who now recognizes the head of her unfortunate son. She is comforted by Autonoe, and Cad- mus is consoled by Bacchus. Dionysus 1s received joyfully at Athens, and hospitably entertained by Icarius, on whom he bestows his gift of wine, as also on his workmen, who become intoxicated by it and kill theirmaster, thinking that he had poisoned them. Icarius appears in a dream to his daughter Erigone, and reveals to her his wretched fate: in grief and despair she ends her days by suspension, and bothare afterwardsraised by Dionysus to the skies. Dionysus comes to the isle of Naxos, where he finds Ariadne, who had been deserted by Theseus, and admires her beauty as she sleeps. While he is gazing she awakes, and filled with love he prefers his suit, and meets a favourable reception. He now directs his course to Argos, where he is opposed by Perseus, whom Hera (the Argive goddess) inflames to the highest pitch. Perseus arms himself against Dionysus; each warrior reviles the other. Unable to gain any advantage over his DIONYSUS. 185 adversary, Perseus turns Ariadne to stone, by displaying the head of Medusa; but Bacchus raises her to heaven, where she becomes the goddess Maia. Peaceis restored by Hermes, and the Argives receive the worship of Bacchus. Dionysus comes to Thrace, and Hera excites Earth against him, who arms to oppose him her sons the wild beasts and giants; but all are vanquished by Dionysus, who thence passes to Phrygia, where falling in love with Pallene, who had hitherto vanquished all her suitors in wrestling, he conquers her and makes her his own. Re- turned at last to Rhea, he beholds the huntress Aura (Azr) -and loves her. The nymph dreams of loss of virginity, and enraged at her dream proudly exalts herself against Artemis, who complains of the insult, and is promised vengeance by Nemesis. In consequence Dionysus causes a fountain of wine to spring up, at which Aura arriving drinks, and becoming intoxicated falls asleep, in which state she falls an easy victim to the conqueror of India. On awaking she raves and deplores her calamity. Arte- mis cruelly mocks her distress, but Nicea pities and con- soles the afflicted nymph. In due time Aura bears twins, one of which she devours, and is then converted into a fountain : Artemis taking the remaining babe rears it, and Dionysus having raised Ariadne to the skies, returns him- self to Olympus. Such are the contents of that wild singular medley, that Grecian Ramayuna as we may call it, the Dionysiacs of Nonnus. As a mass of mythic lore, drawn from sources which are for the greater part long since dried up, it will always be of value ; and the story of Pentheus alone, when compared with the drama of Euripides, will suffice to prove how little Nonnus ventured to depart from the steps of his authorities. With all its extravagance and absur- dity, it occasionally exhibits veins of rich and genuine poetry, and some proofs might be offered that the far greater Milton did not disdain at times to adopt the ima- gery and language of the Panopolitan poet. 186 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The worship of Dionysus prevailed in almost all parts of Greece; but it was chiefly celebrated in Athens, Thebes, Arcadia, and the islands Andros, Naxos, Samos, and Les- bos. In the feasts of Dionysus men and women joined, dressed in Asiatic robes and bonnets ; their heads wreathed with vine- and ivy-leaves, with fawn-skins (veBpidec) flung over their shoulders, and thyrst or spears twined with vine-leaves in their hands, they ran bellowing through the country Io Bacche! Lvoi! Tacche! &c., swinging their thyrsi, beating on drums, and sounding various instru- ments. Indecent emblems were carried in processions at which modest virgins assisted; and altogether, no cere- mony more immoral or debasing is celebrated in India at the present day, than polished Athens performed in the Phrygio-Grecian Dionysia, though ancient and modern mystics endeavour to extract profound and solemn my- steries from them. The women who bore a chief part in these frantic revels were called Menades, Bacche, Thyiades, Evades, Bassare ; names of which the origin is apparent. Dionysus was represented in a variety of modes and characters by the ancient artists. The Theban Dionysus appears with the delicate lineaments of a maiden rather than those of a young man; his whole air and gait are effeminate ; his long flowing hair is collected behind his head, wreathed with ivy or a fillet ; he is either naked, or wrapped in a large cloak, and the nebris is sometimes flung over his shoulders ; he carries a crook or a thyrsus, and a panther generally lies at his feet. In some monu- ments Dionysus appears bearded, in others horned (the Bacchus-Sabazius), whence in the mysteries he was iden- tified with Osiris, and regarded as the Sun. He is some- times alone, at other times in company with Ariadne or Ampelus. His triumph over the Indians is represented in great pomp. The captives are chained and placed on waggons or elephants, and among them is carried a large crater full of wine; Dionysus is in a chariot drawn by elephants or DIONYSUS. 187 panthers, leaning on Ampelus, preceded by Pan, and fol- lowed by Silenus, the Satyrs, Mznades, and Bacchantes, on foot or on horseback, who make the air resound with their cries and the clash of their instruments. The Indian Bacchus is always bearded. It is with reason that Sophocles’ styles Dionysus many- named (roAvwveypoc), for in the Orphic hymns alone we meet upwards of forty of his appellations. Some of the principal of them are, Bacchus’, probably from the noise with which his festivals were celebrated ; Bromius, for the same reason; Bassareus, from the long dresses named bas- sare worn by the Thracians ; Dithyrambus, from the odes of that name, or from his double birth (dic Oipa); Eleleus and Evius, from the shouting ; Ly@us, as loosing from care; Leneus, from the wine-press. Dionysus was also called®, 1. Muse-leader ; 2. Bull- headed ; 3. Fire-born; 4. Dance-rouser; 5. Mountain- rover; 6. Sleep-giver; &c. 1 Antigone, 1115. * The maintainers of the Indian hypothesis observe that Bagis is one of the names of Seeva. According to K. O. Miller (Orchomenus, p. 384.), Bacchus (the same perhaps with Iacchus) was the mapedpos of Demeter of Thebes, and was totally distinct from the Thracian Dio- nysus. * 1. povoayérns : 2. ravpoxépados : 3. rupryevhs : 4. éyepatxopos : 5. opetpavis: 6. irvoddrns. Asin the Lydian language Muse was equivalent to Nymph, it is possible that the first of these epithets may refer to his being reared by the Nymphs. 188 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHAPTER XV. FOREIGN DEITIES.—CYBELE, COTYTTO AND BENDIS, ARTEMIS OF EPHESUS, ISIS. Our object in introducing the present chapter is to give a slight view of the manner in which the intercourse with Asia and Egypt, which had such an injurious effect on the religion of Greece, commenced. We know not how we can better open the subject, than by quoting the following just and philosophical observations of a writer’ for whom we entertain the highest respect and esteem. ‘“ After that most happy age whose image we behold expressed in the poems of Homer had passed away, a great change took place in civil affairs, but a still greater in religions, in pursuits, and inclinations ; and the whole of Greece was so much altered, that if any one passes from the perusal of Homer to that of those writers who lived in the time of the Persian war, he will feel as if removed to another region, and seem hardly to recognise those old Acheans, who, happy with the present, careless of the future, prompt to act, mindless of what they had done, were aloof from all the causes of anxiety and superstition. But when, as reason gradually ripened, the Greeks began to examine the involved conceptions of the mind, and to know themselves, there succeeded that more mature and solicitous age, at which when men arrive they feel more strongly and acutely the stimuli of pleasure and of virtue, fluctuating alternately, with great commotion of mind, and often with extreme ennui, between what they con- demn and what they desire. Hence that anxiety about hidden matters, and those presages of the future, and the various superstitions which consciousness of guilt and ' Lobeck, Aglaophamus, p. 312, et seq. FOREIGN DEITIES. 189 despair of salvation are wont to produce. The entrance and traces of this new age in Greece we are prevented from clearly discerning by the obscurity of those times, which being illumined by hardly any literary monuments, may be said to resemble a region covered with dark clouds through which the tops of the towers and castles elevate themselves, while the ground and foundation hie concealed. But that there was a great agitation of the human mind, and some new efforts, is proved by the perfection of lyric poetry, which commenced a little after the time of Hesiod, and by the origin of philosophy and the advance of the ele- gant arts. We presently see magnificent temples raised to the gods and heroes, solemn games instituted throughout the towns, the number and the insignia of the priests, espe- cially when the regal power had been abolished, increased. But that at the same time the mystic ceremonies, whose first traces appear in the Hesiodic and Cyclic poems, were diffused far and wide, and occupied the whole of life with new superstitions, is manifest from the number of jug- _ glers who then roved through Greece, expiating by certain secret rites not only blood and man-slaughter, but also prodigies, sacrileges, and whatever piacular offences either individuals or states had committed.” Having enumerated the principal of these men, such as Abaris, Aristeas, Onomacritus of Locris, and Epimenides, our author thus proceeds : ** Meantime Egypt, the parent of superstition and sacer- dotal falsehood, was laid open; and who that reflects on the long and frequent intercourse of the two nations, and the vaniloquence of the one and the credulity of the c.her, will hesitate to concede that the contagion had secretly insinuated itself into Greece before the time of Pytha- goras ? But it is not without reason believed, that during the same period the mystic poems of Museus, Eumolpus, Orpheus, and that which was called the Minyas, were made public; in all of which were scattered new fables about the lower-world, and hopes of a more happy life and Elysian abodes promised to those who received the 190 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. sacred decrees of the gods, and equal punishments threat- ened to the despisers of them. What! is not the reli- gion of the subterrane deities sanctioned by those Athe- nian laws, which direct that those who have committed man-slaughter should be brought before the King of the Sacred Affairs, and being absolved by the judgement should be solemnly purified,—-of which laws Draco is said to have been the author? This religion was also confirmed by Solon ; who, in cases of man-slaughter, directed to swear by three deities, Ikesius, Catharsius, and Exakesterius. Nor were the psychomanty and evocations of the dead, which we read of in the stories of Archilochus, Perian- der, and Pausanias, built on any other foundation: and these were posterior to Homer ; for if his contemporaries had known anything of that art, he needed not to have sent Odysseus to the nether-world. After a little interval succeeded Pythagoras, the author of a portentous wisdom, and that twilight-season in which poets began to philoso- phise and philosophers to poetise. “ In these four centuries, therefore, which elapsed be- tween Homer and the Persian wars, the greatest change was made in all matters pertaining to the worship of the gods. They contain the origin and growth of solemn lustrations, mysteries, hieratic medicine, and fanatic poetry: in these too the most ancient poems of Bacis, Pamphos, Olen, and the Sibyls, appear to have been patched up, and all the avenues of pious frauds thrown open. Whence the con- clusion is easy, that the web of the Orphic fable, which is all composed of the same kind of threads, was not woven by Proselenian philosophers, but was commenced perhaps a century or two after Homer, and completed a little before the time of Onomacritus.”’ It is needless to remind our readers, that we have no account on which we can place reliance of any intercourse between the Greeks and foreign nations previous to the Trojan war, save the commercial one with the Pheenician merchants who visited their harbours. The revolution named the Return of the Heracleides, which is said to FOREIGN DEITIES. CYBELE. 191 have occurred somewhat less than a century after that event, caused portions of the Achzan race to abandon their country and seek new settlements. ‘They seem to have turned their eyes to the former realms of the Trojan monarchs, whose power had been broken; and the first colonies were planted by the /Zolians along the coast, from the island of Cyzicus in the Propontis to the mouth of the Hermus. The Ionians and the Dorians afterwards came and settled to the south of that river ; and thus the coast of Asia was occupied to a considerable extent by the Grecian colonies. We can trace in Homer no difference between the reli- gion of the Achzans and that of the Asiatics. In the case of the Trojans, who are regarded (and we think justly) as a portion of the Pelasgic race, this need not surprise us; but the poet is equally silent with respect to anything of the kind between them and the Phrygians, whose religion we know to have been different. It does not however seem to have been the practice of the A@di to attend to distinctions of this kind; for Odysseus, we may observe, in all his wanderings never found any want of an inter- preter, as good Greek was spoken wherever he came. The silence therefore of the poet throws no impediment in the way of our assuming, that when the Grecian colo- nies settled on the Hellespont they found there a religion very different from their own ; the one being calm and cheerful, the other wild and orgiastic. This religion was that of KuBérn. KuBnBn. Rhea, Ops. Cy'bele, called also the Great Mother, was regarded by the Phrygians as the goddess of nature or of the earth. Her temples stood on the summits of hills; such as that of Dindymus in the isle of Cyzicus, of Berecynthus, Sipy- lus, Cybelus ; from which last she is said to have derived her name, though the reverse is more likely to be the truth. At Pessinus was preserved the aérolite which was held to be her heaven-sent image. 192 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. With Cybele was joined a being named Attis, a per- sonification perhaps of the Sun, like Adonis; though the same objections may be made to this theory in the present as in the former case. We find from the comic poets, that the worship of the Great Mother and her my- steries prevailed greatly in Greece, particularly at Athens, in their time; but the earliest detailed account of this goddess which we meet with is in Diodorus of Sicily, who probably derived his materials from Xanthus the Lydian, or some other of the early historians of Lesser Asia. According to this writer’s usual manner, it is so pragmatised as to be of little use. Cybele, he says’, was daughter to king Mzon and his queen Dindymene. She was exposed by her father on Mount Cybelus, where she was found and suckled by panthers and lionesses, and afterwards reared by some old woman. When she grew up she displayed great skill in the healing arts, and cured all the diseases of the country-people and their cattle. They called her the Good Mother in the Mountains. While dwelling in the woods she formed a strict friendship with Marsyas, and had a love-affair with Attis, a youth of royal birth, who had been exposed like herself. She was afterwards acknow- ledged by her parents; but her father, on discovering her intimacy with Attis, seized that unhappy youth and put him to death. Grief deprived Cybele of her reason : with dishevelled locks she roamed, to the sound of the drums and pipes which she had invented, over various regions of the earth, even as far as the country of the Hy- perboreans, teaching mankind agriculture: her companion was still the faithful Marsyas. Meantime a dreadful fa- mine ravaged Phrygia: the oracle, on being consulted, directed that the body of Attis should be buried, and di- vine honours paid to him. A stately temple was accord- ingly erected to him at Pessinus by king Midas. It is apparent from this account that Cybele, Marsyas, 1 Diod. ili, 58. CYBELE, 193 and Attis were all ancient Phrygian deities. The name of Attis occurs frequently in the dynasties of the Lydian kings, who according to the usual practice were named after their god. The Lydian legend of his birth* is curious and significant ; but its details are of such a nature as to preclude their admission into our pages. Like Asiatic worship in general, that of Cybele was enthusiastic. Her priests, named Galli, Corybantes, &c., ran about with dreadful cries and howlings, beating on timbrels, clashing cymbals, sounding pipes, and cutting their flesh with knives. The box-tree and the cypress were considered sacred to her; as from the former she made the pipes, and Attis was said to have been changed into the latter. The worship of Cybele was introduced into Rome A.U.C. 547, when a solemn embassy was sent to Atta- lus king of Pergamus, to request the image at Pessinus which had fallen from heaven. The monarch readily yielded compliance, and the goddess was conveyed to Rome; where a stately temple was built to receive her, and a solemn festival named the Megalesia celebrated every year in her honour. As the Greeks had confounded her with their Rhea, so the Latins made her one with their Ops, the goddess of the earth. The poet Lucretius * has described her worship in beautiful verse, and explained her attributes on the physical theory. Ovid* has sung the pleasing tale of the Vestal Claudia vindicating her sus- pected chastity by drawing with her girdle the ship which carried the statue of the goddess. In works of art Cybele exhibits the matronly air and composed dignity which distinguish Hera and Demeter. Sometimes she is veiled, and seated on a throne with lions at her side; at other times riding in a chariot drawn by lions. Her head is always crowned with towers. She ee ee ee ae 1 Pausanias, vii. 17. * De Natura Rerum, ii. 600. ° Fasti, iv. 305, et seg. 18) 194 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. frequently beats on a drum, and bears a sceptre in her hand. Korvuc 7 Korurro cat Bevote. Cotytto et Bendis. Cotytto was a goddess worshiped by the Thracians, whose king's were frequently named from‘her. She was identical with the Phrygian Cybele. . Her worship was introduced at Athens and at Corinth, where it was cele- brated in private with great indecency and licentious- ness '. Bendis was also a Thracian goddess. She had some analogy with Artemis and Hecate. Her worship also was adopted at Athens. "Apremc ev Edéow. Diana Ephesia. The Ephesian Artemis was another Asiatic goddess whose worship was adopted by the Greeks. From their confounding her with their own Artemis, it would seem that they regarded her as the Moon-goddess ; though her attributes might lead to an identification of her with Cybele. The most ancient statue of the Artemis of Ephesus was a black stone which had fallen from heaven,—an aérolite of course. Her subsequent ones were a sort of Pantheon, a compound of various attributes.. She is covered with the breasts and heads of animals, and stands an image either of the natural fecundity of the earth, or of that sup- posed to be induced by the influence of the moon. Nothing can be clearer than that this goddess was originally distinct from the Artemis of the Greeks. Yet in after times we find them so completely identified, that the Ephesians in the reign of Tiberius maintained’, ‘‘ that 1 See Buttmann’s Mythologus, ii. 159, et seg., and the passages of the Classics there quoted. 2 Tacitus, Annalia, ili. 61. COStIPP an AAU } EET ARTEMIS. ISIS. ~ 195 Apollo and Diana were not born ian Delos as-was com- monly supposed ; but that the river Cenchrius and the grove Ortygia, where the travailing Latona, resting against an olive-tree which still existed, brought forth these dei- ties, were with them.” In like manner we find the whole mythic cycle of Leto, Apollo, and Artemis, transferred to Egypt ;—Leto becoming Buto, Apollo Orus, and Artemis Bubastes, and an island in the Nile, said (for Herodotus could not perceive it to move) to be a floating one, De- los'. These instances should make us cautious how we draw inferences from similarity of names and practices, which was so frequently the result of fiction and forgery. In what precedes, and in the foregoing chapter, we have endeavoured to trace out the manner in which the religion and mythology of the Greeks were affected by their in- tercourse with Thrace and Asia. We shall now examine into the nature of their relations with Egypt, the country which has been so generally, though unjustly, regarded as the cradle of their religion and philosophy. In the subsequent part of our work will be discussed, under the heads Danaiis and Cecrops, the question, whether Egyp- tian colonies ever came to Greece. "Tow. Isis. Isis was one of the chief deities of Egypt and spouse of Osiris. Her worship was introduced during the Alex- andrine period into Greece, and afterwards into Rome. The Isiac mysteries were among the secret ones, and abounded in gross superstition, vile juggling, and scan- dalous indecency. As the goddess herselfis by Herodotus” identified with the Grecian Demeter, we are to suppose that she was one of those personifications of nature, or of the productive power of the earth, which we find among most ancient nations. Egypt is once mentioned in the Ilias’ of Homer. The (Pe pull ABS a cee LTE OIE PAE ie 1 Herod. ii. 155, 156. 2 Herod. ii. 156. a) Tee eae} 0 2 196 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. genuineness of the passage has not to our knowledge been called in question; yet the mention in it ot Thebes in Upper Egypt, and the apparently accurate description of that town, might induce us to doubt, as we have little reason to ascribe such knowledge to the Greeks of Ho- mer’s time. In the Odyssey * Egypt, or rather the Egyp- tians, and the river /Egyptus are spoken of; and from these passages we may perhaps collect, that ne Greeks, particularly the Cretans, used occasionally in those times to make piratical incursions on Egypt. The Nile is men- tioned by Hesiod *. From Herodotus’ we learn, that when about the middle of the 7th century B.C. the Egyptian prince Psammiti- chus was driven by his competitors for the throne to seek shelter in the marshes of the Delta, he was told by the oracle of Buto that brazen men from the sea would be his avengers. Shortly afterwards some Carians and lo- nians, who were out a-pirating, were driven by stress of weather to Egypt, where they landed and be to plun- der the country. As after the Grecian fashion they wore brass armour (a sight unusual to the Egyptians), word was brought to Psammitichus that brazen men had landed and were plundering. Calling to mind the oracle, he sent to invite them to enter his service: they consented, and with their aid he made himself master of Egypt. Having induced his auxiliaries to remain in the country, Psammitichus assigned them a settlement near the Pelu- siac mouth of the Nile. Their descendants were about eighty years afterwards removed thence to Memphis by Amasis. This monarch appointed the town named Nau- cratis, which he allowed the Greeks to build at the Cano- bic mouth of the Nile, to be the emporium of the trade of Greece and Egypt, just as Canton is that of the trade between China and Europe. Vessels were allowed to — 1 Od. ili. 80, 229, 351, et seg. xiv. 257, et seq. 2 Theog. 338. 8 Herod. iii. 152, 153. The historian asserts positively, that pre- vious to this time the Greeks knew nothing certain about Egypt. ISis. 197 enter that port alone; and if driven into any other by stress of weather, they were obliged to sail for it, or their cargoes, if the wind was still rough, were conveyed thither in barges round the Delta. Amasis, who was a great favourer of the Greeks, permitted them to erect altars and consecrate pieces of land (reuévea) to their national deities. These religious colonies extended far up the country, and we even find the Samians in one of the Oases’. When the Ionians and Carians settled in Egypt, Psam- mitichus put some Egyptian children under their care, to be instructed in the Greek language ; and as every thing in that country was regulated on the principle of castes, these and their descendants formed the caste of Inter- preters, whom Herodotus found there two centuries after- wards. We may thus see at once how in a space of two hundred years, by means of these interpreters and of the introduction of the worship of the Grecian deities, the artful priesthood of Egypt may have contrived to frame the system above noticed, of the derivation of the religion and civilisation of Greece from the land of Nile, which we find in the pages of that most honest and most de- ghtful of histo rians. From this digression we return to the gods of Greece. ! Herod. iii. 26. 198 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHoaprer XVI. * RURAL DEITIES.—PAN, SATYRS, SILENUS, PRIAPUS, NYMPHS. Ilav. Pan. Pan, a deity unknown to Homer, seems to have been an original Pelasgian god presiding over the country. As such he was at all times honoured in Arcadia, whose in- habitants, defended by their mountains, did not partake of the convulsions and revolutions which agitated the rest of Greece. His name would appear to be a con- traction of the word wawv’, i. e. the owner or the pasturer. Its similarity to wav all, gave rise to the fables which we shall here notice. Pan was said to be the son of Hermes, a god whom we have endeavoured to prove to have been a rural one, and whose own birth was placed in Arcadia, by the nymph Dryops. Hermes, says the Homeride, smitten with love for the nymph Dryops, abandoned Olympus and took service as a shepherd in Arcadia. He succeeded in gain- ing the heart of the ‘‘ well-tressed nymph,” and a child was the result of their secret interviews. But so mon- strous was his appearance, that the nurse on beholding him fled away in affright. Hermes immediately caught him up, wrapped him carefully in a hare-skin, and car- ried him away to Olympus : then taking his seat with Zeus and the other gods produced his babe. All the gods, especially Dionysus, were delighted with the little stranger; and they named him Pan (i.e. Adl), because he had charmed them all. 1“Ta@y pro rawy, part. of raw,—whence imperat. 77, sic Tar, Tlavav, ‘Eppay, veav, Evvav, peycorar,” &c. Schneider. ad Soph. Ckdip. Tyr. p. 138. PAN. 199 Others fabled that Pan was the son of Hermes by Pe- nelope, whose love he gained under the form of a goat, as she was tending, in her youth, the flocks of her father on Mount Taygetus. Some even went so far as to say that he was the offspring of the amours of Penelope with all her suitors. The worship of Pan seems to have been confined to Arcadia till the time of the battle of Marathon, when Pheidippides, the courier who was sent from Athens to Sparta to call on the Spartans for aid against the Per- sians, declared, that as he was passing by Mount Parthe- nius near Tegea in Arcadia, he heard the voice of Pan calling to him, and desiring him to ask the Athenians why they paid no regard to him, who was always, and still would be, friendly and assisting to them. After the battle the Athenians consecrated a cave to Pan under the Acropolis, and offered him annual sacrifices’. Long before this time the Grecian and Aigyptian systems of religion had begun to mingle and combine. The goat- formed Mendes of Egypt was now regarded as identical with the horned and goat-footed god of the Arcadian herdsmen; and Pan was elevated to great dignity by priests and philo- sophers, becoming a symbol of the universe, for his name signified all; and further, as he dwelt in the woods, he was called Lord of the Hyle (tov rig vAnG Kvp.oy), and as the word hyle (vAn) by a lucky ambiguity signified either wood or primitive matter, this was another ground for exalting him. It is amusing to read how, though at perhaps a later period, all the attributes of the Arcadian god were made to accord with this notion. ‘* Pan,” says Servius on the second Eclogue of Virgil, “‘ is a rustic god, formed in similitude of nature; whence he is called Pan, i.e. All: for he has horns in similitude of the rays of the sun and the horns of the moon: his face is ruddy, in imitation of the ether: he has a spotted fawn-skin on his 1 Herod. vi. 105. 200 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. breast, in likeness of the stars: his lower parts are shaggy, on account of the trees, shrubs, and wild-beasts: he has goat’s feet, to denote the stability of the earth: he has a pipe of seven reeds, on account of the harmony of the heaven in which there are seven sounds: he has a crook, that is a curved staff, on account of the year, which runs back on itself, because he is the god of all nature. It is feigned by the poets, that he struggled with Love and was conquered by him, because, as we read, Love con- quers all, omnia vincit amor.” This is certainly an admi- rable specimen of that art which can make anything of anything. in Arcadia, his native country, Pan appears never to have attained to such distinction. So late as the days of the Ptolemies, Theocritus’ could thus allude to the treat- ment which he sometimes there experienced from his worshipers : And if thou do so, Pan beloved, may ne’er The Arcadian boys thy shoulders and thy sides Pelt with their squills when little meat is had ; But if thou otherwise incline, may pain Seize thee when all thy skin is torn with nails, And in hot nettles may thou lie to rest: which the scholiast tells us was the Arcadians’ mode of treating the god when they were unsuccessful in hunting *. The Homeride already quoted, who is older than Pin- dar, describes in a very pleasing manner the occupations of Pan. He is lord of ail the hills and dales : sometimes he ranges along the tops of the mountains, sometimes pursues the game in the valleys, roams through the woods, floats along the streams, or drives his sheep into a cave, and there plays on his reeds music not to be ex- 1 Tdyll. vii. 106. : 2 The Samoyedes, when successful in hunting, smear their gods with fat; if unsuccessful, they beat them and throw them in the dung. PAN. 201 celled by that of the bird ‘‘ who among the leaves of flower-full spring laments, pouring forth her moan, a sweet-sounding lay.” And with him the clear-singing mountain-nymphs Move quick their feet, by the dark-watered spring In the soft mead, where crocus, hyacinths, Fragrant and blooming, mingle with the grass Confused, and sing, while echo peals around The mountain’s top. The god meanwhile moves his feet rapidly as he joins in the dance, with the skin of a lynx on his back, and de- lighted with the sweet song. Pan was, as may well be supposed, a sad fellow among the Nymphs ; but the poets have not recorded many of his adventures. He was even so lucky as to captivate the goddess of the night, Selena, under the form of a white ram’. He was fortunate in an amour with the nymph Echo; but he could not gain the love of Syrinx, another of the Nymphs. Syrinx was a Naias of Nonacris in Arcadia, and devoted to the service of Artemis: as she was returning one day from the chase, and passed by Mount Lyceum, Pan beheld her and loved ; but when he would address her, she fled. The god pursued : she reached the river Ladon, and unable to cross it, implored the aid of her sister-nymphs ; and when Pan thought to grasp the object of his pursuit, he found his arms filled with reeds. While he stood sighing at his disappointment, the wind began to agitate the reeds, and produced a low musical sound. The god took the hint, cut seven of the reeds, and formed from them his syrinx (svpryé) or pas- toral pipe®. What are called Panic terrors were ascribed to Pan ; for loud noises whose cause could not easily be traced were not unfrequently heard in mountainous regions ; and the gloom and loneliness of forests and mountains fill the mind with a secret horror, and dispose it to superstitious get aes aco dementias ele RR 3 ! Virg. Geor. iii. 391. 2 Ovid, Met. i. 690. 202 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. apprehensions: hence perhaps it is, that madness was believed to be the consequence of encountering the rural deities. Pan is said to have aided the Athenians in this way at Marathon, and to have terrified the Gauls, who were advancing to plunder Delphi. It is the hypothesis of the learned Heyne, that the more ancient gods of the Greeks were represented with horns and fue indicative of the time when the Pelasgians went clad in the skins of wild beasts retaining these ap- pendages. This theory has been most amply and most agreeably confuted by Voss in his Mythological Let- ters. On the subject of Pan, this writer having quoted a passage from Lucian’s dialogues, where the spruce Hermes on being saluted as his sire by the goatlike Pan, cries in amaze, ‘“‘ You! you my son! you that have horns and such a nose, and a matted beard, and cloven goat’s feet, and a tail dangling behind you ! ”—TIf, he adds, Pan had attended one of Heyne’s lectures, he might have easily replied, ‘‘See now, my dear father, the horns, and the flat nose, and the beard, and the goat’s feet, and the dangling tail are not me but my goat-skin. I dress myself thus because it is the good old simple fashion, and that the priests may be able to draw philosophemes out of it ; and I am really surprised, father, that you should go about so like a fashionable dandy.” The ancients had two modes of representing Pan. The first, according to the description already given, as horned and goat-footed, with a wrinkled face and a flat nose. But the artists sought to soften the idea of the god of shepherds, and they portrayed him as a young man hardened by the toils of a country life. Short horns sprout on his forehead, to characterise him; he bears his crook and his syrinx ; and he is either naked, or clad in the light cloak called chlamys. Pan was called", 1. Goat-footed; 2. Noise-loving ; 3. Bright-locked ; 4. Cave-dwelling ; &e. 1 1, aiyurddns: 2. pirdxporos: 3. &yAadDempos: 4. dyTpodiatros. SATYRS. 203 Larvpot. Satyri. Satyrs. The Satyrs, like Pan, do notappearin Homer. They also seem to have been originally Pelasgian rural deities. He- siod is the earliest poet who mentions them; and according to him” they were brothers of the mountain-nymphs and the Curetes, and children of the five grand-daughters of the Argive Phoroneus. Lucian’ describes the Satyrs as bald, with pointed ears and little sprouting horns, like those of a young kid. fEschylus, as it would appear, in a fragment quoted by Plutarch, calls a Satyr Buck-goat (rpayoc), and it is ma- nifest from all the notices remaining, that the Satyrs were considered as a rough shaggy species of beings; but in the more ancient idea of them, they had human not goat’s feet. By the Dorians they were called Lityrt (ritvpor) which word signifies buck-goats. Hence Tityrus, the name of a shepherd in the pastoral poems of Theocritus and Virgil. The Satyrs are described as being of a lively, joyous, frolicsome disposition,—the usual character of rural deities. In the species of drama denominated from them they formed the chorus, conducted by the old Silenus. When the fable of Dionysus was amplified, and his cortége increased, the Satyrs formed a conspicuous part of his retinue. Some have thought that the notion of the Satyrs was taken from that of large apes; but it is hardly probable that the Greeks could have had much knowledge of these animals so early as the days of Hesiod. The Pelasgian herdsmen, who like the later Grecian ones wore them- selves rough goatskin dresses, must naturally have con- ceived the rural deities to make a similar appearance. —_——o ee ' Hes, Frag. xiii. * Council of the Gods, 204 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. LTeurnvoc. DiAnvdc. Silenus. The origin of Silénus is very uncertain. In the Satyric drama he always appeared as the leader of the Satyrs ; and the latter when old were called Sileni. The Home- ride in the hymn to Aphrodite seems to have considered the Sileni as identical with the Satyrs. Silenus, according to Pindar’, was born at Malea, in Lesbos; for speaking of Dionysus he says, : The impetuous, the dance-arranger, whom The Naiad’s husband reared, Silenus born In Malea. Silenus was said to be the foster-father of Dionysus, whom he always accompanied. He appeared riding on a broad-backed ass, usually intoxicated, and carrying his can (cantharus), or tottering supported by his staff of fen- nel ( ferula). This deity was remarkable for his wisdom; his drunk- enness being regarded as inspiration’. Some Phrygian peasants, it is said, found him and brought him to king Midas ; or according to others, Midas himself took him, by pouring wine into a fountain to which he was in the habit of coming to drink ; and having entertained him for ten days restored him to Dionysus, who at his request enabled him as a reward to turn whatever he touched into gold *® ;— a proof that the Lydian king had derived no wisdom from his guest. Virgil, in his sixth eclogue, introduces Sile- nus lecturing on the origin of things; and Socrates used jocularly, on account of his baldness and flat nose 1 Fr. incert. \xxill. 2 Itis well known that the Mohammedans regard idiots as inspired ; and it is a curious circumstance, that the Irish peasantry esteem a drunken schoolmaster to be far superior in genius and learning to a sober one. See that admirable picture of Irish manners and modes of thinking, entitled ‘‘ Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry,” vol. il. p. 111. 3 Ovid, Met. xi. 90. SILENUS. PRIAPUS,. 205 united with his wisdom, to compare himself to “‘ the Silen who were born of the divine Naiades.” Anacreon says, ’Tis true I’m old and gray ; But midst you I will dance, Silenus mimicking. Silenus is represented as old, but still robust. His head is bald, his nose flat, his beard thick. He sometimes is naked, at other times clad in a cloak. IIpiaroc. Priapus. Priapus was introduced late into Grecian mythology, probably not till after the time of Alexander. He was a rural deity, worshiped by the people of Lampsacus, a city on the Hellespont famous for its vineyards. Priapus was not—as is supposed, from the employment usually assigned him by the Romans after they had adopted his worship—merely the god of gardens, but of fruitfulness in general. ‘‘ This he ”, says Pausanias’, “is honoured elsewhere by those who ree sheep and iis, or stocks of bees ; but the Lampsacenes regard him more than any of the aude, calling him the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite.” In Theocritus *, ‘the shepherds set his statue with those of the Nymphs at a shady fountain ; and by Virgil ° bees are placed under his care. Fishermen also made offerings to him as the deity presiding over the fisheries *. The Priapi (for, like Pan and Silenus, Priapus had been multiplied) are enumerated by Moschus’ among the rural gods : And Satyrs wail, and sable-cloaked Priapi; And Pans sigh unto thy sweet melody. It was fabled °“—a proof of the lateness of the legend— that Priapus was the son of Aphrodite by Dionysus, whom she met on his return from his Indian expedition at the Lampsacene town Aparnis. Owing to the malignity of Hera, he was born so deformed that his mother was hor- 1 Pausan. 1x. 31. 2 Theoc. i. 21. 3 Geor. iv. 110. 4 Anthol. vi. 3. 5 Idyll, ii. 21. ® Schol. Ap. Rhod. i. 982. 206 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. rified and renounced (avapveiro) him, whence the place derived its name. Others said ' that his mother was Chione, or a Nais; others*, that he had a long-eared father,—Pan or a Satyr perhaps, or it may be his sacred beast the ass. Priapus like the other rural gods is of a ruddy com- plexion. His cloak is filled with all kinds of fruits : he has a scythe in his hand, and usually a horn of plenty. He is never without his indecent symbol of productiveness. Nopda. Nymphe. Nymphs. The imagination of the Greeks peopled all the regions of earth and water with beautiful female forms called Nymphs, a word originally signifying marriageable young women”. Those of the land were divided into various or- ders, according to the place of their abode. Thus* 1. the Mountain-nymphs (Oreiades) haunted the mountains ; 2. the Dale-nymphs (Napee), the valleys; 3. the Mead- nymphs (Lezmoniades), the meadows; 4. the Water- nymphs ( Naiades), the rivers, brooks, and springs; 5. the Lake-nymphs (Limniades), the lakes and pools. There were also, 6. the Tree-nymphs (Hamadryades), who were born and died with the trees; 7. the Wood-nymphs in general (Dryades)’; and 8. the Fruit-tree-nymphs or Flock-nymphs (Meliades)°, who watched over gardens and flocks of sheep. The Nymphs occur in various relations to gods and men. Their amours, of which we have seen some instances, were numerous. The charge of rearing various gods and Tt tania 1 Schol. Theoc. i. 21. 2 Macrob. Sat. vi. 5. 3 “ The word Nympha is probably derived from an obsolete verb vuBw, the Latin nubo, signifying to veil or cover: hence nubes, clouds. In Homer (II. iii. 130.) Iris says to Helen, Acvp’ 101, viuda gidn.”— See Fairy Mythol. i. 111. note. * 1. dpecddes: 2. varratac: 3. Aetwwviddes: 4. vyarhdes: 5. Aupve- does: 6. apadpudees : 7. dpvaces: 8. pnXudoes. * It is plain that dpis and the Germanic éree are the same word. ° MyAoyv is an apple or a sheep. NYMPHS. 207 heroes was committed to them: they were, for instance, the nurses of Dionysus, Pan, and even Zeus himself ; and they also brought up Aristeeus and Aineas. They were moreover the attendants of the goddesses ; they waited on Hera and Aphrodite, and in huntress-attire pursued the deer over the mountains in the company of Artemis. As we have had occasion to treat of the Nymphs in another work *, we will take the liberty of making the fol- lowing extracts from it in this place, rather than attempt to convey the same matter in different langnage,—a practice which to our apprehension savours a little of affectation. “In the Homeric poems, the most ancient portion of Grecian literature, we meet the various classes of Nymphs. In the Odyssey, they are the attendants of Calypso, her- self a goddess and a nymph. Of the female attendants of Circe, the potent daughter of Helius, also designated as a goddess and a nymph, it is said, They spring from fountains and from sacred groves, And holy streams that flow into the sea 2. Yet these Nymphs are of divine nature ; and when Zeus, the father of the gods, calls together his council, None of the streams, save Ocean, stayed away, Nor of the Nymphs, who dwell in beauteous groves, And springs of streams, and verdant grassy slades 3. The good Eumeus prays to the Nymphs to speed the return of his master, reminding them of the numerous sa- crifices which Odysseus had offered to them. In another part of the poem* their sacred cave is thus described : ! Fairy Mythology, ii. 224, et seq. © OG: x. S50, 9 Tl. xx. 7. We believe there is no word in the English language which so nearly expresses the Greek ricea, as this old, now provincial term. The Anglo-Saxon yle> is certainly a valley; all the spots denominated s/ades that we have seen were rich, grassy, irriguous, but somewhat depressed lands. Mr. Todd says that Lye gives in his An- glo-Saxon Dictionary the Icelandic Slaed. Certainly not in the copy which we consulted. Sveét, by the way, is the Icelandic word, and it signifies a plain. © Od, xii, 102, 208 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. But at the harbour’s head a long-leafed olive Grows, and near to it lies a lovely cave, Dusky and sacred to the Nymphs, whom men Call Naiades. In it large craters lie, And two-eared pitchers, all of stone; and there Bees build their combs. In it, too, are long looms Of stone, and there the Nymphs do weave their robes, Sea-purple, wondrous to behold. Aye-flowing Waters are there. Two entrances it hath; That to the north is pervious unto men; That to the south more sacred is, and there Men enter not, but ’tis the Immortals’ path. Yet though thus exalted in rank, the Homeric Nymphs frequently ‘ blessed the bed ’ of heroes ; and many a war- rior who fought before Troy could boast descent from a Naias or a Nereis. “One of the most interesting species of Nymphs are the Hamadryades, those personifications of the vegetable life of plants. In the Homeridian hymn to Aphrodite, we find the following full and accurate description of them. Aphrodite, when she informs Anchises that she is preg- nant, and of her shame to have it known among the gods, says of the child,—- But him, when first he sees the sun’s clear light, The Nymphs shall rear, the mountain-haunting Nymphs, Deep-bosomed, who on this mountain great And holy dwell, who neither goddesses Nor women are!. Their life is long; they eat Ambrosial food, and with the Deathless frame The beauteous dance. With them, in the recess Of lovely caves, well-spying Argus-slayer And the Sileni mix in love. Straight pines Or oaks high-headed spring with them upon The earth man-feeding, soon as they are born 5 Trees fair and flourishing ; on the high hills Lofty they stand; the Deathless’ sacred grove Men call them, and with iron never cut. But when the Fate of death approaches nigh, First wither on the earth the beauteous trees, re 1 ai p dure Ovnris bur’ ABavarovo Exovra. This passage is very Bers a * : obscure, but we think the ahove is the sense of it. Ilgen regards the whole as an interpolation, taken perhaps from some theogony. NYMPHS. 209 The bark around them wastes, the branches fall, And the Nymph’s soul at the same moment leaves The sun’s fair light '. “They possessed power to reward and punish those who prolonged or abridged the existence of their associate-tree. In the Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius, Phineus thus explains to the heroes the cause of the poverty of Pere- bius : But he now pays the penalty laid on His father’s crime ; for one time, cutting trees Alone among the hills, he spurned the prayer Of the Hamadryad Nymph, who, weeping sore, With earnest words besought him not to cut The trunk of an oak tree, which, with herself Coeval, had endured for many a year. But, in the pride of youth, he foolishly Cut it; and to him and his race the Nymph Gave ever after a lot profitless 2. “The scholiast gives on this passage the following tale from Charon of Lampsacus : “‘A man, named Rheecus, happening to see an oak just ready to fall to the ground, ordered his slaves to prop it. The Nymph, who had been on the point of perishing with the tree, came to him and expressed her gratitude to him for having saved her life, and at the same time desired him to ask what reward he would. Rheecus then re- quested her to permit him to be her lover, and the Nymph acceded to his desire. She at the same time charged him strictly to avoid the society of every other woman, and told him that a bee should be her messenger. One time the bee happened to come to Rhecus as he was playing at draughts, and he made a rough reply. This so incensed the Nymph that she deprived him of sight. “Similar was the fate of the Sicilian Daphnis*. A Naias loved him, and forbade him to hold intercourse with any other woman under pain of loss of sight. Long he abs- SR po prey ao ce ne nla aE ac J a '"Ypvos eis ’"Adpodirny, ver. 257. * Argonautica, li, 475. * Parthenius, Erotica, chap. xxix. Ee 210 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. tained, though tempted by the fairest maids of Sicily. At length a princess contrived to intoxicate him : he broke his vow, and the threatened penalty was inflicted.” The nymph Arethusa was one day returning from the chase, and coming to the clear stream of the Alpheius, she stripped herself and entered it, to drive away the heat and the fatigue. She heard a murmurin the stream, and terrified sprang toland. The river-god rose: she fled away naked as she was; Alpheius pursued her. She sped all through Arcadia, till with the approach of evening she felt her strength to fail, and saw that her pursuer was close upon her. She prayed to Artemis for relief, and was imme- diately dissolved into a fountain. Alpheius resumed his aqueous form, and sought to mingle his waters with hers. She still fled under the earth and through the sea, till she rose in the isle of Ortygia opposite Syracuse’, still followed by Alpheius ; and the credulous Greeks believed that the offerings thrown into the Alpheius at Elis rose again in Ortygia. The nymph Echo had been, as we have seen, beloved by the god Pan. She was also of a very accommodating disposition to Zeus; and while he was engaged in his pranks with the other nymphs, Echo, being of a very loquacious character, used to keep Hera in chat till the nymphs had time to make their escape. When Hera discovered the artifice, she declared by way of punish- ment, that in future she should have but little use of her tongue; and immediately she lost all power of doing any more than repeat the sounds which she heard. Echo happening to see the beautiful youth Narcissus, the son of the river-god Cephissus by the nymph Leiriope (Lily- voice), as he was hunting, became deeply enamoured of him. She followed his steps everywhere, but was long unable to accost him. At length 1 Ovid. Met. v. 575. A somewhat similar legend was told of the river Selamnus and the fountain Argyra in Achea. Paus. vii. 23. See below, Part II. chap. 11. NYMPHs. 211 It happed the youth was from his faithful band Of comrades parted, and he cried aloud, Is any here? and Echo answered, Here. Amazed, on every side he turns his view, And in loud tones cries, Come ; and Echo calls The caller. Back he looks, and, no one yet Approaching, cries, Why fliest thou? and receives As many words in answer. By the sound Of the alternate voice deceived, he still Persists, and says, Let us meet here; and, ne’er To sound more grateful answering, Echo cried, Let us meet here, and issued from the wood. But at the sight of her the youth fled. Vexed at the ill success of her advances, and ashamed to appear, she henceforth lurked in solitary caverns, and her love wore her away till nothing remained but her voice and bones. The former still remains, and may be heard among the hills ; the latter were turned to stone. Narcissus, however, suffered the penalty of his hard-heartedness to her and other nymphs and maidens ; for seeing his own figure in a clear spring, he became enamoured of it, and pined away till he was converted into the flower which bears his name ’. It was fabled*, that in the early ages of Southern Italy, when the people there were in the pastoral state, the Epi- melian- or Flock-nymphs were once seen dancing ata place called the Sacred Rocks in Messapia. The young shep- herds quitted their flocks to gaze on them; and, ignorant of their quality, declared that they could dance better themselves. The nymphs were offended, and after a long dispute the shepherds began to dance against them. The motions of the shepherds were of course awkward and ungraceful, those of the nymphs light and elegant, as became goddesses. The shepherds were vanquished ; and the nymphs cried out to them, ‘‘ O youths, you have been contending with the Epimelian nymphs! you shall there- fore be punished.” The shepherds instantly became trees where they stood, at the temple of the nymphs ; and to (ASCHER SR, A eR ' Ovid. Met. iii. 379, ® Nicander, apud Ant. Lib. cap. 31. P2 212 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. this day, says Nicander, a voice as of lamentation is heard at night from the grove. The place is called that of the Nymphs and the Youths. Dryops, the son of the river Spercheius, who dwelt at Mount Cita, had a daughter named Dry’ope. She fed the flocks of her father, and the Hamadryad nymphs con- ceived a strong affection for her. They made her their playfellow, and taught her to dance and sing hymns to the gods. Apollo beheld her dancing with them, and fell in love with her. He changed himself into a tortoise, with which they began to play and amuse themselves. Dry- ope placing it in her bosom, the god changed himself into aserpent: the nymphs fled im affright, and he gained his object. Dryope returned home, and shortly afterwards married Andremon the son of Mylus. Her son by Apollo was named Amphissus, who built at the foot of Cita a town of the same name, and ruled over the whole of that part of the country. He built a temple to Apollo; at which when Dryope appeared one day, the Hamadryades carried her away and concealed her in the wood. In her stead they caused a poplar to grow up, and a spring of water to gush out beside it. The nymphs communicated their own nature to Dryope; and her son Amphissus out of gratitude raised them a temple, and instituted games, at which no woman was permitted to be present; because when Dryope was taken away, two maidens who were present informed the people of it, and the nymphs in- censed turned them both into fir-trees’. Terambus, who dwelt at the foot of Mount Othrys, abounded in flocks, which he himself fed on the mountains. — The nymphs assisted him, for they were charmed with his singing and his music, in which he excelled all the men of his time, being the inventor of the lyre and the shep- herd’s pipe, and they often danced to his melody. Pan also loved him, and one time warned him to drive his flocks down into the plain, as a most terrific winter was coming 1 Nicander, apud Ant. Lib. cap. 32. NYMPHS. 213 on: but Terambus, elate with youth and confidence, despised the admonition of the friendly deity, and even mocked at and ridiculed the gentle amiable nymphs, saying that they were not the children of Zeus at all, but of Dino daughter of the Spercheius, and that Posei- don had once when in love with one of them turned the rest into poplars, and kept them in that form as long as he thought proper. Soon however the presage of Pan proved true: the winter came on; all the streams and torrents were frozen, the snow fell in great quantities, and the flocks of Terambus vanished along with the paths and the trees. The nymphs then changed Terambus himself into the animal called by the Thessalians Keram- byx (KepauBvé), or cock-chafer, ‘‘ of which the boys make a plaything, and cutting off the head carry it about; and the head with the horns is like the lyre made from the 1 99 tortoise . ' Nicander, apud Ant. Lib. cap. 22. 214 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaptrer XVII. WATER-DEITIES, OCEANIDES.— NEREUS, NEREI{DES, PHORCYS, TRITON, PROTEUS, GLAUCUS, LEUCOTHEA AND PAL/MON, RIVER-GODS. We have already seen that the stream which encompassed the earth was ruled over by the Titan Oceanus, and that the interior sea, which had been governed by the Titan Pontus, was under the dominion of the Kronide Poseidon. Oceanus reigned in patriarchal solitude over his circling stream, his only companions being his wife Tethys and his daughters the : ‘Qxeavidec. Oceanides. Ocean-nymphs. These nymphs were three thousand in number; and, according to Hesiod’, it is their office to rear up to man- hood the children of men. They are placed in a very amiable light by the poets, and they everywhere partake of the gentle feminine character ascribed to the nymphs in general. The names of some of the principal of them are Asia, Electra, Eurynome, Metis, Styx, Doris, Cly- mene, and Clytia. Hesiod reckons among them Calypso, who according to Homer is the daughter of Atlas; and Apollodorus places among them Amphitrite, whom He- siod, more justly perhaps, puts in the catalogue of the Nereides; among which last Apollodorus sets Calypso. But it is idle to look for uniformity in these matters. “‘ The sweet, gentle, pious Ocean-nymphs, who in the Prometheus of Aeschylus appear as the consolers and ad- - visers of its dignified hero, seem to hold a nearly similar 3 Theog, 346. OCEANIDES. NEREUS. 215 relation with man to the supernal gods. Beholding the misery inflicted on Prometheus by the power of Zeus, they cry, May never the all-ruling Zeus set his rival power Against my thoughts ; Nor may I ever fail The gods, with holy feasts Of sacrifices drawing near, Beside the ceaseless stream Of father Ocean: Nor may I err in words; But this abide with me, And never fade away. ’Tis sweet in bold confiding Hopes long life to extend, With joys serene, Aye nourishing one’s soul !.” Nnpevc. Nereus. Nereus, though not mentioned by name in Homer, is frequently alluded to under the title of the Marine Old- god (aXwoc yépwv), and his daughters are called Nereides. According to Hesiod*® he was the son of Pontus and Earth, and was distinguished for his knowledge and his love of truth and justice: the gift of prophecy was also assigned him. When Hercules was in quest of the apples of the Hesperides, he was directed by the nymphs to Nereus: he found the god asleep, and seized him. Ne- reus on awaking changed himself into a variety of forms, but in vain: he was obliged to instruct him how to pro- ceed before the hero would release him®. Nereus was married to Doris, one of the Ocean-nymphs, and by her he had the Nereides. 1 TIpopnOevs deopwrns, v. 526. Fairy Mythology, 11.227. 2 Theog. 233. $ Apollod. ii. 5. The narration is manifestly founded on the ad- venture of Menelaus with Proteus told in the fourth book of the Odyssey. 216 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Nnpnidec. Nereides. The Neréides, or nymphs of the sea, were fifty in number ; but the mythologists do not agree exactly in the names which they put into the catalogue. The best known of them are, Amphitrite the wife of Poseidon, Thetis the mother of Achilles, Galatea loved by the Cyclops Poly- phemus, Doto, Psamathe, Cymothoe, Speio, Panope, Cymodoce, &c. The Nereides, like all the other female deities, were originally conceived to be of a beautiful form, with skin of a delicate whiteness and long flowing hair. A constant epithet of Thetis is Stlver-footed (apyuporéZa) ; and it was for venturing to compare herself in beauty with the Nereides, that Cassiope brought such misfortune on her daughter Andromeda. But the painters and sculptors, who contributed so much to degrade the other gods, robbed the Nereides also of their charms, by bestowing on them green hair, and turning their lower parts into those of a fish ; thus giving them a form exactly corresponding with the modern idea of a mermaid. Dopxve. Phorcys. Phorcys is called by Homer a Ruler (ué8wv) of the Sea and a Marine Old-god. A harbour in Ithaca’ is said to belong to him. Hesiod* makes him a son of Pontus and Gea, and father of the Grew, Gorgons, and the serpent which watched the golden apples of the Hesperides. Tpirwv. Triton. According to Hesiod*,—the earliest poet who mentions. him,—Triton was a son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, who 1 Od. xili. 96. 2 Theog. 270. 5. Fheog. 980. TRITON. 217 ‘keeping to the bottom of the sea, dwelt with his mother and royal father in a golden house.” It has been thought that he was originally a deity presiding over the slimy lake Triton, which was supposed to communicate with the Syrtes; but it appears more likely that the lake may have been named from him, than the reverse. Gradually, like Pan, Silenus, and Priapus, Triton was multiplied, and we read of Tritons in the plural number. Triton was generally regarded as the trumpeter of his father. His trumpet was a conch-shell ; and Ovid’ gives a very fine description of his sounding the retreat to the waters which had covered the earth at the time of Deu- calion’s flood. Like the Nereides, the Tritons were degraded to the fish-form. Pausanias’ tells us that the women of Tana- gra in Beotia, going into the sea to purify themselves for the orgies of Bacchus, were, while there, assailed by Tri- ton; but on praying to their god, he vanquished their persecutor. Others, he adds, said that Triton used to carry off the cattle which were driven down to the sea, and to seize all small vessels; till the Tanagrians placing bowls of wine on the shore, he drank of them, and becoming intoxicated tumbled down a steep ; where as he lay, a Tanagrian cut off his head with an axe. He relates these legends to account for the statue of Triton at Tanagra being headless. He then subjoins,— ‘ T have seen another Triton among the curiosities of the Romans, but itis not so large as this of the Tanagrians. The form of the Tritons is this :——the hair of their head resembles the parsley that grows in marshes, both in colour and in the perfect likeness of one hair to another, so that no difference can be perceived among them: the rest of their body is rough with small scales, and is of about the same hardness as the skin of a fish: they have fish-gills under their ears: their nostrils are those of a man, but their teeth are broader, and like those of a 1 Met. i. 335. 2 Paus. ix. 20, 21. 218 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. wild beast: their eyes seem to me azure; and their hands, fingers and nails, are of the form of the shells of shell- fish: they have, instead of feet, fins under their breast and belly, like those of the dolphin.” IIpwrevc. Proteus. In the fourth book of the Odyssey Homer introduces this sea-god. He styles him, like Nereus, a Marine Old- god, and gives him the same power of foretelling the future. He calls him Egyptian, and the servant of Poseidon, and says that his task was keeping the seals or sea-calves. When Menelatis was wind-bound at the island of Pharos opposite Egypt, and he and his crew were suffering from want of food, Kidothea the daughter of Proteus accosted him, and bringing seal-skins directed him to disguise himself and three of his companions in them; and when Proteus at noon should come up out of the sea and go to sleep amidst his herds, to seize and hold him till he dis- closed some means of relief from his present distress. Menelatis obeys the nymph; and Proteus drives up and counts his herds, and then lies down to rest. The hero immediately seizes him, and the god turns himself into a lion, a serpent, a pard, a boar, water, and a tree. At length, finding he cannot escape, he resumes his own human form, and reveals to Menelaiis the remedy for his distress. He at the same time informs him of the situation of his friends, and particularly notices his hay- ing seen Odysseus in the island of Calypso,—a clear proof that his own abode was not confined to the coast of Egypt. This part of the Odyssey has been beautifully imitated by Virgil in the fourth book of his Georgies, where Ari- steus on the loss of his bees seeks in a similar way a remedy from Proteus. The scene is here transferred to the Carpathian sea, and the god is described as of a blue colour, the hue which painters had been pleased to bestow PROTEUS. GLAUCUS. 219 on the marine deities: he has also a chariot drawn by the biped sea-horses. Those who embraced the theory of representing the gods as having been originally mere men, said that Pro- teus was a king of Egypt; and the Egyptian priests told Herodotus’ a fine cock-and-bull tale of hishaving detained Helen when Paris was driven to Egypt, and having re- stored her to Menelaiis on his arrival there when return- ing from Troy. The mystics regarded Proteus as a symbol of the ori- ginal matter which developed itself into the four elements whose form he took : the lion was ether, the serpent earth, the tree air, and the water itself. TAavcoc. Glaucus. Glaucus was probably, as his name denotes, an ancient deity of the sea. By those who explained everything on the system of the gods having been men, we are told that he was originally a fisherman of Anthedon in Beotia. Observing one day the fish which he had caught and thrown on the grass to bite it and jump back into the sea, he had the curiosity to taste that grass, and it so affected him that he immediately followed their ex- ample. The sea-gods besought Oceanus and Tethys in his favour, and he was made a god of the sea *. Another tradition said °, that Glaucus obtained his immortality by bathing in a certain fountain ; and that when he refused to communicate the secret he was flung into the sea, where he might be heard along the coasts bewailing his fate in not being able to die. Glaucus was, like Nereus and Proteus, endowed with the gift of prophecy. Pausanias says, that sailors had every year something new to tell of his soothsaying. Eu- ripides * makes him prophesy at Malea to those who were ' Herod. ii. 113, 114, 115. 5 Schol. Plat. Rep. x. 2 Paus. ix. 22. Ov. Met. xiii. 904, e¢ seq. + Orest. 363. 220 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. sailing by; and in Apollonius he prophesies to the Argo- nauts. According to this last poet, he is the interpreter of Nereus’. Each year, it is said*, he visits all the coasts and isles, accompanied by a train of marine animals («n- Teo.), with a great noise, and prophesies invisibly in the folic dialect all kinds of evil. The fishermen watch him in the night, and endeavour when he comes, to avert by prayer and fumigations, and afterwards by fasting, the evil with which his prophecy menaces the fruits and cattle. He still laments that he cannot die. At times he was seen among the waves that lashed his body, which was overgrown with muscles, sedge, and stones. Glaucus appears one of the latest of the gods in the works of the poets. Pindar and Aschylus are the first who mention him: the former cursorily; the latter de- voted to him an entire drama, which is lost’, He was described like the other sea-gods, with green beard and hair, and a blue body ending in the tail of a fish. Velleius* says, that at an entertainment given by Antonius and Cleopatra, Plancus danced in the charac- ter of Glaucus, having his body naked and blue, with reeds about his head, and on his knees dragging a tail after him. The only adventure of Glaucus is his love for Scylla’. AevxoQéa kat Tadaivwv. Matuta et Portumnus. Ino the daughter of Cadmus and wife of Athamas, flying from her husband’s anger, with her little son Meli- certa in her arms, sprang off a cliff into the sea. The gods out of compassion made her a goddess of the sea under the name of Leucothea ( White-goddess), and him a god under that of Palemon (Champion). Both were held powerful to save from shipwreck, and were invoked by sailors. The fable appears to be ancient; as Leucothea, 1 Argon. 1. 1310, e¢ $€9. 2? Plat. Rep. x. 5 Paus. ut supra, * Vell. Pat. 11. 83. > See below, chap. xix, LEUCOTHEA AND PALEMON. RIVER-Gopbs. 221 who gives her veil to Odysseus when tossed in a storm, is called ‘“‘ fair-ankled Ino daughter of Cadmus,” and her transformation is mentioned’. Tlorapor. Fluvit. River-gods. Each river was held to have its presiding deity, who dwelt in it and directed its waters. These gods had their houses and children; and the love-adventures of several of them, such as Alpheius and Acheloiis, are recorded by the poets. The rivers were all the sons of Oceanus and Tethys. The River-gods were represented of a handsome human form, crowned with reeds, and wearing dark-blue mantles of fine texture. They were often given the head or horns of a bull, indicative of their strength or of their influence on agriculture. 1 Od. v. 333. There may be some interpolation. piped MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CuaptTer XVIII. DEITIES OF THE OCEAN-SHORE.—GORGONS, GREE, HES- PERIDES, HARPIES, WINDS. Tue hither bank of the western portion of the Ocean- stream was the scene of many of the wonders of Grecian fiction. The dwelling of the Gorgons, the Grae, and the Hesperides, was placed there; it seems also to have been the abode of the Harpies. As these last goddesses were of similar nature to the Wind-gods, we have, to avoid sub-division, placed the Winds also in this chapter. Topyovec. Gorgones. Gorgons. Homer in various places speaks of a terrific monster which he calls Gorgo (Topyo): its head is said to be on the egis of Zeus; and in his description of the shield of Agamemnon’ he says that the “ fierce-looking Gorgo” was on it, glaring terribly : in the Odyssey’, its hero feared to remain any longer where he saw the dead, lest Perse- phoneia should send the head of the terrible monster Gorgo against him out of the domains of Hades. If Homer was acquainted with the legend of Perseus, it is probable that he knew of his adventure with the Gorgons; but Hesiod is the earliest poet who notices it. According to him*, the Gorgons were the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They were three in number,—Stheino (Strength), Euryale ( Wide-sea), and Medusa (Mistress), of whom the last alone was mortal. ‘“‘ They dwelt,” he says, “ beyond (zépnyv) the illustrious Ocean, on the shore towards N ight, Le eee 1. TG: 2 Od. x1. 634. 3 Theog. 274. GORGONS. 223 where the clear-voiced Hesperides are.”” Poseidon, he adds, lay with Medusa ‘“‘in a soft mead and spring flowers.” Perseus, aided by the arms with which he had been supplied by the gods, cut off the head of Medusa, as the Gorgons slept, and by means of the helmet of Hades escaped the pursuit of her sisters. From the blood of Medusa sprang Chrysaor (Gold-sword) the father of Geryon, and the steed Pegasus. There is nothing in Hesiod which would lead us to sup- pose that the Gorgons were not beautiful maidens, and Pindar calls Medusa “‘ fair-cheeked.” Hesiod’, indeed, describes the sisters in their chase of Perseus as being begirt with serpents; and this, perhaps, gave occasion to the later fable of their having snaky locks, which were also ascribed to the Erinnyes. AXschylus’* calls them ‘serpent- fleeced,” and says that no one can see them and retain his breath ; and Apollodorus describes them as having their heads wreathed round with scales of serpents, with teeth as large as those of swine, brazen hands, and golden wings ; and adds, that they turned those who saw them to stones. In another place this writer observes, that when Hercules descended to the under-world, all the souls which saw him fled but Meleager and Medusa the Gorgon, and that he was drawing his sword against the latter, till Hermes reminded him of her being only a shade. Respecting the habitation of the Gorgons, we place it in accordance with our ideas of the Homeric geography on this side of Ocean, on the strongly illuminated side of the terrestrial disk ; and the legend of Perseus does not say that he crossed the Ocean to arrive at their abode. Hesiod has, we see, placed it beyond the Ocean; and, though Voss asserts the contrary, Aschylus in the passage just quoted has transported the Gorgons, with the rest of the original wonders of the West, to the eastern side of the earth. ——_ 1 Shield of Hercules, 233, 2 Prometheus, 805, 224 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Ipaiat. Gree. Old Maids. The ‘‘ fair-cheeked ” Gree were according to Hesiod! sisters of the Gorgons and daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They were gray from their birth: their names were *“Well-robed Pephrédo” and ‘‘ Yellow-robed Enyo,” and they abode near the Gorgons. AMschylus®* says that they were three in number ; he calls them “ long-lived maids, three swan-formed, possessing a common eye, one-toothed, whom the sun never looks on with his beams, nor the nightly moon ;” and he places them on the east side of the earth. Apollodorus calls them Enyo, Pephredo, and Deino ; and adds, that they were old from their birth, and that they used the one eye and tooth by turns. Of these Perseus contrived to make himself master, and would only restore them on condition of their directing him to the abode of the nymphs. ‘Eorrepioec. Hesperides. Western-Maids. The ‘clear-voiced” Hesperides were, according to Hesiod *, by whom they are first mentioned, the daughters of Night without a father. They dwelt near the Gorgons ““beyond the illustrious Ocean,” and their office was to take care of the golden apples and the trees which bore them. Apollodorus* places the Hesperides in the country of the Hyperboreans, and names them ‘Egle, Erythia, Hes- tia and Arethusa. To fetch some of the golden apples,— which were also guarded by a wakeful dragon, and were the property of Zeus, having been given to him by Hera on the day of their marriage’,—was one of the tasks of Hercules. eee eases RM oO ! Theog. 270. 2 Prometh. 800, 5 Theog. 215. * Apollod. ii. 5. * The more probable account is that of Pherecydes, that they were given by Earth to Hera on her wedding-day. HESPERIDES. HARPIES. 225 The apples of the Hesperides were, as some suppose, the pomegranates of Spain and Africa, a fruit anciently un- known in Greece ; and navigators may have invested them with all their wonders to excite admiration. A dragon is, as is well known, the guardian of treasure in all countries. “Apia. Harpies. The Harpies of Homer are goddesses who carry off people unseen. Thus in the Odyssey, Telemachus' and Eumezus~ both express their belief that these deities had taken away Odysseus. Penelope*®, when praying to Ar- temis to deprive her of life, wishes also that a storm (QveAAa) would snatch her away and cast her on the strand of Ocean*. She calls to mind the fate of the daughters of Pandareiis, whose parents the gods destroyed, but Aphrodite reared the helpless orphans on cheese and honey and wine. Hera gave them beauty and prudence beyond all women, Artemis height, Pallas Athena skill in female works. But while Aphrodite was gone to Olympus to ask of Zeus a happy marriage for them, the Harpies carried them off, and gave them for servants to the hateful Erinnyes. In this passage, Storms or Whirlwinds (ObeAXat) and Harpies are plainly synonymous. Homer says nothing of the parentage or form’ of the Har- pies ; but as none of his gods had the strange and uncouth additions and attributes bestowed on them by succeeding poets and artists, we may suppose them to have pos- sessed the usual appearance of his deities. Hesiod® gives them one of the usual marks of beauty, by calling them Well-haired (nvxopovc): he makes them sisters of Iris eee ' Od.1. 241. MOS TY, oft. 3 Od. xx. 61. * Hence we would infer that the shore of Ocean was the abode of the Harpies. > Volcker (Ueber Hom. Geog. p. 85.) denies that Homer gave them any form. ° Theog. 267. QO 226 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. and daughters of Thaumas and Electra. Homer cer- tainly says that the Harpy Podarge (Swift-foot) bore to the wind Zephyrus, as she grazed on a mead by the stream of Ocean, Xanthus and Balius, the immortal steeds of Achilles. But we must remember, that Demeter was by Poseidon the dam of the horse Arion; and probably the legend to which the poet alludes was, that Podarge to escape Zephyrus changed herself like Demeter into a mare, and was in that shape enjoyed by him in the form of a horse. The number of the Harpies is not given by Homer, and he names but one,—Podarge. Hesiod* would appear to restrict the number to two,—Aello (Storm) and Ocypete (Swift-flight). In Nonnus® we meet a Thracian Harpy, Aéllopos (Storm-foot), who bore to Boreas the horse Xanthus and the mare Podarke, which he gave to Erech- theus in lieu of Orithyia whom he had carried off. The name of the Harpies evidently comes from apmalw, to snatch*. | The tale of Phineus is unnoticed by Homer. Hesiod, as quoted by Strabo, says he was carried by the Harpies to the country of the Mi/k-eaters. Various causes are as- sioned by the poets for his punishment; but they all agree that he was blinded, and that the Harpies continually snatched away whatever food was placed before him, till they were finally expelled and the old king relieved by Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of Boreas, when the Argonauts came to the palace of Phineus. In this fable the Harpies have lost all traces of the beauty of form of the Homeric gods, and are become odious monsters, with female faces, birds’ bodies, wings and claws, and infecting every place whither they come with stench and odour. Virgil and Apollonius Rhodius, eee 1 J]. xvi. 149. 2 Theog. 267- 3 Dionys. xxxvii. 155. 4 Asa proofof the deceptiveness of etymology, Le Clere’s derivation of Harpy from Arba (many), the Semitic term for a locust, evidently founded on the later idea of the Harpies, has met with the approbation of some men of learning. HARPIES. WINDS. phy two of the most delicate of the ancient poets, seem to vie in giving disgusting details of the filthy monsters which poets and artists had made of the beautiful storm-god- desses of Homer and Hesiod. TA veuot. Venti. Winds. The Winds are represented in the Ilias as gods': Iris goes to them as they are feasting in the dwelling of Zephyrus, to inform them of the prayer of Achilles that they would inflame the pyre of Patroclus. In the Odys- sey’, the winds are not directed by separate deities, but are all under the charge of Aolus. We may, as a matter of course, observe that the Wind-gods of Homer are not winged. The Winds were divided into wholesome and novious. The former which were Boreas (North-wind), Zephyrus (West-wind), and Notus (South-wind), were according to Hesiod * the children of Astreeus (Starry) and Eos (Dawn). The other winds, he says’, (probably meaning only those which blow from the East,) are the race of Typhoeus, whom he describes as the last and most terrible child of Earth. In Greece, as over the rest of Europe, the East-wind was pernicious. Boreas (Bopéac) was called Clear weather- or Frost-pro- ducer (aiOpnyevernc). He loved Orithyia the daughter of Erechtheus king of Athens, and carried her off. His children by her were Zetes and Calais, Cleopatra and Chione. The Athenians ascribed the destruction of the fleet of Xerxes by a storm to the partiality of Boreas for the country of Orithyia, and erected altars to him after that event. Boreas is also said by Homer ’ to have turned himself into a horse out of love to the mares of Erichtho- nius, and to have begotten on them twelve foals. Zephyrus (Zédupoc) is described by Homer as a strong- - blowing wind, but he was afterwards regarded as gentle 1 Tl. xxiii. 192. Ai Qdone dy > Theog, 378. * Theog.869. ?oTlixxi293. Q.2 228 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. and soft-breathing : as such heappears chiefly in the Latin poets. Zephyrus once beheld the nymph Chloris ( Yedlow- green), as she was roving through the fields of Spring, and loved her. He carried her off and married her, was a faithful husband, and presented her with a delightful gar- den of flowers’. Of the ‘‘ moist-blowing ” Notus (Néree) and the inju- rious Eurus (Evpoc), the poets have recorded no adven- tures. The later poets and artists have furnished all the Winds with wings, horses, and chariots. We shall take the present opportunity of recurring to the Ocean and its shores, and of considering them more minutely than we have done in our view of the mythic cosmology of the Greeks. In both the Ilias and the Odyssey the Ocean is repre- sented as a river which flows. round the earth : the same is the view given in the Hesiodic poems. It is called soft- flowing, deep-flowing, back-flowing. Its course, as we may collect from the Odyssey, is from south to north on the western side of the earth; for Odysseus required Boreas, that is anorth-east wind, to carry him across it from Aiea theisland of Circe; and on his return he was borne along by the “‘ wave of the stream.” This view gives consistency to the beautiful fiction of the Cup or boat, which later poets (for it seems to have been unknown to Homer? and He- siod) provided for the conveyance of the Sun-god and his horses from west to east, and enables us to determine in some measure the rate at which the Ocean flowed: for as we are to suppose that the Cup was borne along by the mere force of the current, and it took the entire night to go round the northern side of the earth, we are thence to 1 Ovid. Fasti. v. 195, e¢ seq. 2 From Od. x. 191. it would seem, that in the Homeric time the sun was believed to go under the earth every evening. OCEAN-STREAM. 229 conclude, that after landing the god and his horses it con- tinued its course during the day; and thus the Cup, and consequently the Ocean-stream, went round the earth once in every twenty-four hours. As the West appears to have been the scene of all the wonders of the Homeric age, we need not be surprised to find no mention of the banks of Ocean in any part but the western end of the earth; and must not on that ac- count charge the Achzans with absurdity, as if they did not suppose it to have a further bank in any other part of its course. It is probable, that they considered it to be edged all round by a strip of land of uncertain breadth which confined it to its channel. The hither western bank is once noticed in the Ilias, where it is said’ that the Harpy Podarge, “‘ grazing in a mead by the stream of Ocean,” bore to the wind Zephyrus the steeds of Achilles. The Odyssey” places on the same bank the Elysian Plain, whither the favourites of Zeus were transported without having tasted of death, to live inanimmortality of bliss. The further bank is unnoticed in the Ilias : the Odyssey covers it with perpetual darkness, makes it the abode of the peo- ple called Kimmerians, and places there Erebus the realm of Hades, which the Ilias invariably represents as being under the earth®. In neither poem is there mention of any islands in the Ocean, of fish in its waters, or birds on its waves. But in the Hesiodic poems* we find the Elysian Plain become the Islands of the Blest: they are however still on the hither side of Ocean, “‘ beside or along (apa) the deep-eddying Ocean,” and therefore we may suppose in rel Lee 6p ea 2 Od. iv. 563. 3 It is not by any means improbable that the Greeks learned these ideas and names from the Pheenicians. Elysium may be very fairly derived from alatz (xy) to rejoice ; Erebus from ereb (any) evening: and though we have above (p. 36) supposed the possibility of the Kimmerians being a dark tradition of the Germans, we are to observe that in Hebrew kimriri (*199) signifies darkness. * Works and Days, 169. 230 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the Sea. Hesiod’ covers the waters of Ocean with sing- ing swans, and fills them with gamboling fishes. On the further side he places, as we have just seen, the Gree, the Gorgons, and the Hesperides. At the other side of Ocean also, according to him’, was the isle Erytheia, where the herdsman Eurytion and his dog Orthrus kept the oxen of Geryon. In our account of the mythic cosmology we omitted to notice, that the Ocean and its further bank appear to have lain outside of the hollow sphere which contained the earth and sea, with the regions above and below them, and to have encompassed the middle of it like a rim. This we say, because Hesiod® describes the extremities of hea- ven, earth, the sea, and Tartarus, as all meeting together, evidently excluding the Ocean, which he always distin- guishes from the Sea. It is further to be observed, that this view of the world is Hesiodic rather than Homeric ; for in the Odyssey, the Heaven is described as resting on lofty pillars kept by Atlas *. ' Shield of Hercules, 315. * Theog. 290. These places will be further considered in Part II. under Hercules. 3 Theog. 736. * Od.i. 54. See above p. 51. The name Atlas, we should have observed, manifestly comes from rdw, to endure. HOMERIC GEOGRAPHY. Si CHAPTER XIX. INHABITANTS OF THE ISLES AND COASTS OF THE WEST-SEA.—LOTUS-EATERS, CYCLOPES, GIANTS, HOLUS, LESTRYGONES, CIRCE, SIRENS, SCYLLA AND CHARY- BDIS, PHAETHUSA AND LAMPETIA, CALYPSO, PHAA- CIANS. Tue present chapter will be devoted to the elucidation of the geography of the Odyssey of Homer. It is in this poem that the first mention is made of the various beings which we shall have to consider ; and all succeed- ing poets who notice them have so evidently derived their knowledge from it, that they may be regarded as the creations of the singer of the wanderings of Odysseus. The object of our inquiry here will be not so much to ascertain what knowledge of the western part of the Me- diterranean some of the Greeks of the Homeric age may have possessed, as what the Ionian Singer knew of it, or what he took the license of inventing. Our readers will bear in mind the circular form of the earth, and the ambient stream of Ocean already de- scribed. Though we have said that Greece was held to be the centre of the terrestrial disk, and believe such to have been the prevailing notion in the Homeric age, we must observe that this view is not expressly given either in the Ilias or the Odyssey. Assuming it however, it follows that the Greeks must have regarded the distance from their own country to the junction of the Mediterranean (or West-Sea, as we may call it,) and the Ocean, to have been much greater than that from Greece to Egypt and the coast of Libya,—probably double the distance. Witha fair wind the passage from Crete to Egypt was one of only 23.2 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. five days’; so that we might conjecture that to za, the isle of Circe, close to the Ocean, to have been rated at fourteen or fifteen days’ sail. This observation may serve to guide us in our future inquiries. Both the Ilias and the Odyssey were probably composed in Tonia, on the coast of Asia. In the former, no knowledge is shown of any country west of the Cephallenian realm of Odysseus: in the latter, some knowledge is evinced of either Italy or Sicily, though neither is expressly named. We read in the Odyssey* of a place called Temesa, whither the Taphians sailed to barter iron for copper. This last metal we know abounded in Italy, and there was a place on the eastern coast of Calabria named Temesa °. Were it not, therefore, that the Greeks, when they after- wards colonised Italy and Sicily, were so much in the habit of imposing the names which occur in the Odyssey on such places as they fancied to have been meant by the poet, we might at once conclude from this passage, that southern Italy was well known to the Greeks of the Homeric age. In another place’*, one of the suitors advises Telemachus to put his guests on shipboard, and send them to be sold to the Sikeli: but as this people inhabited both Italy and Sicily, a doubt still remains as to which place was under- stood by the poet. All that we can collect’ with certainty is, that he knew of a people dwelling to the west of Greece called the Sikeli, with whom the Greeks traded, and who spoke a language different from theirs’. Whether their country was an island’, or a part of the continent, or both, and what was its exact position relative to Greece, we have no means of determining. ee 1 Odi xiv. 25%, 2 Od. 1. 184. * There was also a Temesain Cyprus, and (Od. xv. 425, et seq.) the Taphians used to sail as far as Sidon. * Od. xx. 383. ° “addobpdous avOpmrovs.”—Od. i. 183. ° In Od. xxiv. 307. Sicania is spoken of. The doubts which are en- tertained of the genuineness of that book have been more than once mentioned. LOTUS-EATERS. 233 In those days books and maps were unknown, and it must not surprise us to find the Ionian Singer either _ designedly negligent or casually ignorant of the relative situations and distances of places remote from his own country. Thus’ the isle of Pharos is placed a day’s sail from the mouth of the Nile, and is described as having a good harbour and plenty of fresh water; and Ithaca is made the most westward of the group of isles to which it be- longs, and the whole group placed opposite to the coast of Elis, much to the south of their actual position. This last point has, we think, been demonstrated by Volcker in his valuable work on the geography of Homer’. We shall now follow the wanderings of Odysseus through the West-Sea, and describe the various beings, goddesses, monsters, men, or whatever else they may be, which the poet places on its isles and coasts. Awropayo. Lotophagi. Lotus-eaters. Odysseus, when doubling the Cape of Malea in Laco- nia on his return from Troy’, encountered a violent north- east wind (Gopénc), which drove him for nine days along the sea, till he reached the country of the Lotus-eaters, Here, after watering, he sent three of his mer: to discover who the inhabitants were. These men on coming among the Lotus-eaters were kindly entertained by them, and given some of their own food, the Lotus-plant, to eat. The effect of this plant was such, that those who tasted of it lost all thoughts of home, and wished to remain in that country. It was by main force that Odysseus dragged these men away, and he was even obliged to tie them under the benches of his ship. As the coast of Cyrene lies opposite the Peloponnesus, and is much nearer to it than Egypt is to Crete, we must Suppose the country of the Lotus-eaters to have been (SSE SI, oA eee as aM eC) Cee ea } Od. iv. 355. > Volcker, Ueber Hom. Geog. p. 46, e¢ seq. p.Od,-ix..80, 234 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. far more to the west. They seem in the poet’s view to have been the last tribe of ordinary men in that direction, and to have dwelt on the verge of the land of fable. The Lotus, under the name of Jujuba, is a part of the food of the people of the north coast of Africa at the present day. KixrAwrec. Cyclopes. When Odysseus left the country of the Lotus-eaters, he sailed on further, 7. e. westwards ', and came to that of the Cyclépes, which could not have been very far distant, or the poet would in that case, as he always does, have specified the number of days occupied in the voyage. The Cyclopes are described as a rude lawless race, who nei- ther planted nor sowed, but whose land was so fertile as spontaneously to produce them wheat, barley, and vines. They had no social institutions, neither assemblies nor laws, but dwelt separately, each in his cave, on the tops of lofty mountains, and each without regard to others governed his own wife and children. In front of a harbour of their land lay a well-wooded fertile isle, abundantly stocked with goats. But the Cy- clopes having no ships could not derive any advantage from it. Odysseus, leaving the rest of his fleet at the island, went with one ship to the country of the Cyclopes. Here he entered the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus, who was a son of Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa, the daughter of Phorcys. The Cyclops on his return in the evening with his flocks, finding strangers there, inquired who they were; and on Odysseus saying that they had been shipwrecked, and appealing to his merey and reverence for the gods, he declared that the Cyclopes regarded not the gods, for they were much more powerful than they : he then seized two of the Greeks, and dashing them to 1 “<”"EyOev 0€ mporépw wiéopev.” The wind had been north-east, and it is not said that it had fallen or changed. We apprehend that by zporépw the poet always means further on in the same direction. CYCLOPES. 235 the ground like young whelps killed and devoured them. Wher he fell asleep Odysseus was going to kill hin, till recollecting the huge rock,—one which two-and-twenty four-wheeled waggons could not move,—with which he had closed the door, he refrained. Against the next evening Odysseus had prepared a piece of the Cyclop’s own olive- staff, which was as large as the mast of a merchant-vessel, and when the monster had devoured two more of his vic- tims gave him wine to drink, and then while he was sleeping profoundly, heated the stick in the fire, and aided by four of his companions bored out his eye with it. Polyphe- mus roaring out with pain, the other Cyclopes came to inquire what had befallen him; but on his informing them that Nobody (Ovvic)—the name which Odysseus had given himself—was killing him, thinking it was some dis- ease they left him, recommending him to pray to his father. Next morning when Polyphemus turned out his sheep and goats, his prisoners fastened themselves under their bel- lies, and so escaped. Odysseus, when a little way out at sea called out his real name, and the Cyclops hurled im- mense rocks at him, which were near sinking his ship. Nothing is said by the poet respecting the size of the Cyclopes in general, but every effort is made to give an exaggerated idea of that of Polyphemus. When Odysseus first sees him, he compares him to “‘a woody peak of lofty mountains, when it appears separate from others.” The erash of the bundle of wood which he brings home in the evening, when it is cast on the ground, terrifies the Greeks who were hiding in his cave: twenty-two waggons could not move the rock with which he closed his door: his staff was in length and thickness equal to the mast of a large ship: the first rock which he flings at the ship of Odys- seus was “‘ the top of a great hill,” and falling before the vessel it drove her back to the shore; the second was still larger. Yet, perhaps, we are not to infer that the Cyclopes were in general of such huge dimensions or cannibal habits. Polyphemus was not of the ordinary Cyclop- 236 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. race, being the son of Poseidon and a sea-nymph: he is also said’ to have been the strongest of the Cyclopes. It is not a little remarkable, that neither in the description of the Cyclopes in general, nor of Polyphemus in particular, is there any notice taken of their being one-eyed ; yet in the account of the blinding of the latter, it seems to be assumed as a thing well known. We may hence perhaps infer that Homer followed the usual derivation of the name”. Both ancients and moderns agree in regarding Sicily as the country of the Cyclopes: we however cannot help thinking that it was on the coast of Libya. It lay at no great distance from that of the Lotus-eaters, which was evidently on that coast. The poet merely says, ‘‘ We then sail on further, and come to the land of the Cy- clopes;” and if it had been an island, he would, as usual, have noticed the circumstance: he would also have told us with what wind they sailed to it, if it had been at anything like the distance which Sicily is from Libya: and further, though the fertility of Sicily may accord with that of the Cyclopes’ land, yet it does not offer the caverns on mountain-tops in which they abode, nor can any island answering to that of the Odys- sey, stretching before a harbour, be shown in it. If the little islet of Ortygia in front of Syracuse should be thought of, we reply, that it is neither large nor fertile enough, and it moreover could hardly have been men- tioned without Aitna. | 1 Od. 1, 70. 2 From xvedos a circle, and dp an eye. Yet it does not plainly appear why the word kixdwi), round-eyed, should signify one-eyed. Cyclopes seems to have been, like Cercopes (xépxwzes), the appella- tion of a people, though perhaps of animaginary one. As this last is not a compound of dw, so neither may Cyclopes have been such, and both may have been originally similar in form to Doldpes, Drydpes, &c., to which, as we shall show in the sequel, may perhaps be added Cecrdpes and Peldpes. According to the principle stated in page 6, the name Cyclopes may have given origin to the legend of their being one-eyed. CYCLOPES. GIGANTES. pas In the Theogony of Hesiod’ a widely different account of the Cyclopes is to be found. This poet reduces them, like most of those persons whom Homer mentions inde~ finitely, to three in number, and makes them children of Heaven and Earth. Their names are Brontes (Thunder), Steropes (Lightning), and Arges (Bright), who give to Zeus his thunderbolts. They are one-eyed, but in other respects resemble the gods. Succeeding poets, com- bining this notion of them with that of Sicily being their abode, placed them in Etna as the workmen of Hephe- stus, whose forge was removed thither from Olympus, and they fashioned the arms and armour of all the gods. In Hesiod the Cyclopes are evidently personifications of thunder and lightning, and we have to choose between this account and that of Homer to come at the original idea of them. As the Theogony is evidently an attempt at systematic cosmogony, we incline to the opinion of the Cyclopes being a race of fabulous monsters, like the Giants and Lestrygones, placed on the little-frequented shores of Libya by marvel-loving and marvel-coining mariners. Polyphemus, who was never made a smith, became a favourite character with later poets. His love for the sea- nymph Galatea is the subject of a beautiful idyl of The- ocritus*; and Ovid° has prettily related the story of the shepherd Acis, whom the jealous fury of the Cyclops crushed beneath a rock for being more acceptable than himself to the nymph of the waters. T lyavrec. -Gigantes. Giants. The Gigantes were another race of huge size and im- pious minds, but like the Cyclopes and Pheacians akin to the Gods. They seem to have dwelt on the coast of Libya to the west of the Pheacians, whose original country, as we shall presently show, lay between theirs 1 Theog. 139. 2 Theoce. Idyll. xi. 3 Met. xiil. 750. 238 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. and that of the Cyclopes. The Gigantes were, it would appear, destroyed by the Gods for their impiety. The daughter of their last king, Eurymedon ( Wide-ruler), was the mother of Nausithoiis king of the Pheacians’. They are called wild tribes (dypia ptAa)*; but the only passage whence their great size may be inferred is’, where the huge Lestrygones are said to be not like men but Giants. Hesiod* says that the Giants with the Erinnyes and the Melian nymphs sprang from the blood which dropped from the wound of Uranus. Succeeding poets, taking the hint perhaps from the passage of the Odyssey where the attempt of the Aloides, Otus and Ephialtes, to scale Heaven is related, imagined a Giant-war as well as a Titan-war. Pindar” is perhaps the earliest poet who mentions it. Apollodorus°® says, that Earth, incensed at the defeat of the Titans, conceived by Heaven the Giants’, of enormous size and invincible strength, with terrible visages, long thick hair on their heads and chins, and snake-feet. They dwelt either in Phlegre or in Pallene, and they launched rocks and burning trees against Hea- ven. The Gods had an opinion that no Giant could be killed by them without the aid of a mortal. Earth, on hearing it, endeavoured to provide a remedy against such an event; but Zeus, forbidding the Sun, Moon, and Dawn to shine, prevented her so doing. By the advice of Athena he called on Hercules to aid, who shot with his arrows Halcyoneus, the greatest of the Giants, and as the others were wounded by the Gods he despatched them with his weapons. Athena overwhelmed the flying Enceladus with the isle of Sicily: Poseidon cast on Poly- botes a piece of the isle of Cos. Earth, Apollodorus proceeds, more than ever enraged, mingled with Tartarus, and brought forth in Cilicia Ty- 1 Od. vil. 56. 2 Od. vil. 206. 3 Od. x. 120. 4 Theog. 185. > Nem. i. 100. § Apollod. i. 6. ” yiyas is probably derived from yq, and it is not unlikely that rizay comes from rivaca a name for the Earth. Diod. iii. 57, v. 66. GIGANTES. 239 phon, who far exceeded all her other progeny in size and strength. His stature out-topping the mountains reached the sky; his head often touched the stars; one hand extended to the East, the other to the West ; his legs and feet were the coils of snakes ; his body was covered with feathers ; his hair and beard streamed in the blast; fire flashed from his eyes. He hurled glowing rocks, with loud cries and hissing, against Heaven, and storm and flame rushed from his mouth. The Gods in terror fled into Egypt; and when he pursued them thither, changed themselves into various animals. Zeus however struck him with his thunderbolt, and put him to flight by means of his steel harpe or sickle. Ty- phon fled to Mount Casius; and when Zeus pursued him thither he entangled him in his snaky coils, and selzing his harpe cut out the sinews of his feet and hands : then taking him on his shoulders, carried him through the sea to Cilicia, and shut him up in the Corycian cave. He rolled the sinews up in a bear’s skin, and laid them there also, setting the serpent Delphyne as a guard over them. But Hermes and Aigipan stole the sinews, and restored them to Zeus; who, having recovered his strength, mounted his chariot, and launching his bolts after Ty- phon chased him to Mount Nysa, where deceived by the Fates the giant ate ripe fruit, which they said would restore his vigour. He fled thence to Thrace; and near Hemus flung whole hills at Zeus, whose thunders drove them back on him ; and he threw up great quantities of blood (aiua), whence the mountain derived its name. As he was flying through the Sicilian sea, Zeus flung Aitna a-top of him, which from that time, owing to the thun- der, began to emit flame. Inthe Gigantomachia, Hercules, Dionysus, Pan, Silenus, and the Satyrs, all bear an active part,—an evident proof of the lateness of the fable, of which Hesiod knew nothing. The flight of the Gods into Egypt is one of the bungling attempts to reconcile the simpler and more elegant Hel- lenic system with the animal-worship of that country. The 240 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Giants’ war is apparently an imitation of that of the Ti-- tans, and both are attempts at personifying the supposed struggle of the wild principles of nature against order and harmony in the beginning of the world. AioXoc ev AtoAty. Aolus in Molia. After their escape from the Cyclops, Odysseus and his companions sailed further on, and came to the floating- isle (wAOtn vinooc) of ‘‘ AXolus Hippotades, dear to the immortal gods.”” From this passage we might perhaps justly infer that Holus was not, properly speaking, himself a god. His island was entirely surrounded by a wall of brass and by smooth precipitous rocks : and here he dwelt in continual joy and festivity, with his wife and his six sons and as many daughters, whom, after the fashion set by Zeus, he had married to each other. The isle had no other tenants. The office of directing and ruling the winds had been conferred on Holus by Zeus ; and when he was dismissing Odysseus, after having hospitably entertained him for an entire month, he gave him all the winds but Zephyrus tied up in a bag of ox-hide. For nine days and nights the ships ran merrily before the wind: on the tenth they were within sight of Ithaca; when Odysseus, who had hitherto held the helm himself, fell asleep: his comrades, who fancied that AXolus had given him treasure | in the bag, opened it: the winds rushed out, and hurried them back to Holia. Judging from what had befallen them that they were hated by the gods, the director of the winds drove them with reproaches from his isle. As Aolia was a floating isle, it is evidently needless to look for its exact position. At the time Odysseus made it, it must have been lying near the country of the Cy- clopes ; but we are not told whether it remained immova- ble during the month that he spent in it, or the time that elapsed between his departure and return. The Latin poets, following the later Greeks, have placed AZolus in the Lipari islands. LESTRYGONES. 241 Aawrpuyovec. Laestrygones. The country of the Lestry’gones lay very far to the West. Odysseus when driven from his isle by AXolus, sailed on further for six days and nights, at the end of which time he reached the land of the Lestrygones ; and the distance thence to the isle of Aiea, which we shall show was near the extremity of the sea, could not have been considerable, as the length of time consumed in the passage thither is not specified. The Lestrygones were another of those huge andro- phagous races, whom the invention of the poet or the tale of the mariner had placed on the coast of Libya. Unlike the Cyclopes, they lived in the social state; their king was named Antiphates, their town Lestrygonia or Telépylus (it is uncertain which), and the fountain near it Artakia. A port—the model of that placed by Virgil near Carthage—lay at a little distance from the city; and the ships of Odysseus, all but the one he was himself on board of, entered this harbour. A herald with two others were sent to the city : they met the daughter of Antiphates at the fount Artakia, and were by her directed to her fa- ther’s house. On entering it they were terrified at the sight of his wife, who was “‘ as large as the top of a moun- tain.” She instantly called her husband from the market- place, who seized one of them and dressed him for dinner. The other two made their escape, pursued by the Lestry- gones, who with huge rocks destroyed all the ships and their crews which were within the harbour, that of Odys- seus which had not entered alone escaping. When describing the country of the Lestrygones, the poet says’, Lamus’ high town, Far-gated Lestrygonia, where aloud The herdsman as he drives in calls, and he Who drives out hears him. There a sleepless man 1 Od. x. 81. R 242 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Might double wages earn ; as neatherd one, And one as keeper of the snowy sheep,— For near the paths are of the day and night. The ancients explained this by the custom of pasturing the oxen at night, on account of the gad-fly (oicrpoc), whose persecution was thereby avoided: but, as Volcker justly observes, there was nothing so remarkable in this practice as to induce the poet to place it among the won- ders of the West. It is much more probable that the solution of the difficulty will be found in the notion, pre- sently to be noticed, of the abode of the Sun and Dawn being in the West, which may have engendered a belief that at the western extremity fe the earth the night was of extremely short continuance’. Notwithstanding the great distance which lay between the country of the Cyclopes and that of the Lestrygones, most of the localisers of the Homeric fables place both of them in Sicily. Others fixed on Formie on the west coast of Italy for the abode of the Lestrygones ; acting in this consistently: for when the floating island of Aolus was determined to be one of the Lipari isles, and the cape of Circeum to be that of Circe, it followed of course that the land of the Lestrygones which lay somewhere between them must be on the coast of Italy. Kipxn ev Ataty. Circe in Hea. When Odysseus and his surviving companions had escaped from the Lestrygones, they sailed on, that is still westward, till they came to the isle of Aiwa, the abode of Circe. This isle may be regarded as the most westerly of those scattered by the poet over the Mediterranean, for a very short distance beyond it was the outlet into the Ocean-stream ; and all the other isles and coasts mentioned by Homer, except Ogygia the isle of Calypso, lie mani- festly between it and Greece. 1 See Circe and Ortygia in this chapter: also Volcker, p. 116. CIRCE. 243 Circe is one of those deities whom Homer calls human- speaking (avdnecoa), and who do not seem to have pos- sessed the power of moving through the air or along the water, but dwelt continually in one place. She is said by him" to be the daughter of Helius and Persa, (one of the daughters of Oceanus,) and own sister of the wise (oAcodpwv) etes. The island of Circe was small; her abode was in the centre of it, deeply embosomed in wood. She dwelt alone, attended by four nymphs; and all persons who ap- proached her dwelling were turned by her magic art into swine. When the comrades of Odysseus, whom he sent to explore her residence, had tasted of the drugged draught which she set before them, she struck them with her wand, and immediately they underwent the usual change. But when Odysseus himself hearing of their misfortune set out to release them or share their fate, he was met by Hermes, who gave him a plant named Moly, potent against het magic, and directed him how to act. Accordingly when she reached him the medicated bowl he drank of it freely, and Circe thinking it had produced its usual effect, strik- ing him with her wand bade him go join his comrades in their sty. But Odysseus drawing his sword threatened to slay her; and the terrified goddess bound herself by a solemn oath to do him no injury. She afterwards at his desire restored his companions to their pristine form, and they all abode in her dwelling for an entire year. At the end of that period, as they were anxious to depart, she, after they had made their voyage to the further side of the river of Ocean and returned, dismissed them finally with ample directions how to avoid the perils which they had to encounter. According to Hesiod*, Circe was by Odysseus mother of ‘ Agrius and the excellent and strong Latinus, who afar in the recess of the holy isles ruled over ail the renowned Tyrsenians.” The same poet* would seem to 1 Od. x. 135. 2% Theog.1011. 3 Schol. Apol. Riou. il.. 309. R 2 244 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. have placed the isle of Circe on the coast of Italy, whither Helius accompanied by his son Aietes brought her from Colchis in his chariot, and left her to dwell. We may here observe, that as Hesiod’ elsewhere says that the Argonauts sailed home through the Phasis, he must also have brought Jason to Colchis. Hecateus, by the way, showed in opposition to Hesiod that the Phasis did not communicate with the Ocean. Succeeding poets devised many fables of Circe. They said forinstance, pragmatising the narration in Hesiod, that she murdered her husband, a Sarmatian prince, and that she was taken away by her father from Colchis and placed onan island on the coast of Italy ; for the localisers of the Homeric topography determined the promontory of Cir- ceum on the coast of Latium to be her island of ea, and hence was taken occasion to frame the legend of her mar- riage with king Picus, and her turning him into a bird’. It was also said* that a Daunian prince named Calchas was violently enamoured of Circe, and gave her complete power over Daunia, and did every thing possible to gra- tify her. But when Odysseus came to her island, Circe became so devoted to him, that she prohibited Calchas from setting foot on it. When however he would not keep away, she made an entertainment for him, at which all the viands were medicated, and then turned him into the pigsty : but an army of the Daunians coming to the isle in quest of him, she dismissed him on his oath never to return. The Moly (uv), is said to have sprung from the blood of a giant slain by Helius, in aid of his daughter in her island. Its name comes from the fight (u@Aoc); its flower is white, as the warrior was the Sun’*. The daughter of the Sun bears a name, Circe, which is evidently akin to the Greek term for a hawk (xipkog) ; and in the very poem in which she first appears, that bird is 1 Schol. Apol. Rhod. iv. 286. ® Ovid, Met. xiv. 320. et seq. 3 Parthenius, Erot. c. 12. 4 Ptol. Hepheest. iv. CIRCE. 245 called the ‘‘ swift messenger of Apollo’.”” May not this be added to the presumptions for the original identity of Helius and Apollo? There is one curious and perplexing circumstance re- specting the isle of Aza mentioned in the Odyssey. It is said * that ‘‘ the house and dances of Eos, and the ri- sings of Helius” were there, and hence it would seem plain- ly to follow that AXzea was the abode of these deities : but here a difficulty at once presents itself,—for how could the rising of the sun be inthe West? As Adza was afterwards transferred to the east side of the earth, a position in which it is not recognised by either Homer or Hesiod, a suspicion might arise of the verses having been inter- polated after the time when Atza was placed in Colchis: but as, on the other hand, Homer says nothing in the Odyssey of the abode of the Sun and Dawn being on the east side of the earth, we should not be justified in rejecting these lines. The whole difficulty seems to he in the word ayroAat. We must, in fine, confess the passage to be somewhat enigmatical: the explanation given by Volcker® is by no means satisfactory. On surveying the “ beautiful wonders” of the Odyssey, it is impossible not to be struck with the resemblance which many of them bear to those of the Thousand and One Nights. Odysseus and Circe remind us at once of king Beder and queen Labe ; and the Cyclopes and the Lestrygones will find their parallel in the adventures of Sindbad. Are these mere coincidences, or did the tales of the West find their way to the East? Though it may be regarded as a trivial remark, we will observe that the 1 Ode %V.. 520, =" Od. x1, 3. 3 Ueber Hom. Geog. p. 131. We do not think this writer justi- fied in the parallelism which he assumes for the times of Homer and Hesiod between the East and West, asserting that in both there were an Aca or Sun-land,an Erytheia, a ruddy sea, and a palace of Eos and Helius. As all these objects are placed by these poets in the West alone, we should feel inclined to Bi that the placing them in the East was the work of a later age. 246 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Oriental tale-maker has not fallen into the incongruities of the Hellenic Singer, who makes the daughter of the huge king and queen of the Lestrygones to be of the ordinary size, and a monster like Polyphemus milk ewes and goats of the usual dimensions. Leipnvec. Sirenes. Sirens. Leaving AXea on their homeward voyage, Odysseus and his companions came first to the island of the Sirens. These were two maidens who sat in a mead close to the sea, and with their melodious voices so charmed those who were sailing by, that they forgot home and every thing re- lating to it, and abode there till their bones lay whitening on the strand. By the directions of Circe, Odysseus stopped the ears of his companions with wax, and had himself tied to the mast, and thus was the only person who heard the song of the Sirens, and escaped. Hesiod " describes the mead of the Sirens as blooming with flowers (avOeudeooa), and says that their voice stilled the winds. Their names were said.to be Aglaiophéme (Clear-voice) and Thelxiepeia (Magic-speech). It was feigned that they threw themselves into the sea with vex- ation at the escape of Odysseus: but the author of the Orphic Argonautics places them on a rock near the shore of AStna, and makes the song of Orpheus end their en- chantment, and cause them to fling themselves into the sea. It was afterwards fabled * that they were the daughters of the river-god Achelotis by one of the Muses. Some said that they sprang from the blood which ran from him when his horn was torn off by Hercules. Sophocles calls them the daughters of Phorcys. Contrary to the usual process, the mischievous part of the character of the Sirens was in process of time left out, and they were regarded as purely musical beings with en- 1 Frag. xxvii. 2 Apollod. i. 3. SIRENS. SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS. 247 trancing voices. Hence Plato in his Republic places one of them on each of the eight celestial spheres, where their voices form what is called the music of the spheres; and when the Lacedzemonians invaded Attica, Dionysus, it is said, appeared in a dream to their general, ordering him to pay all funeral honours to the new Siren, which was at once understood to be Sophocles, then just dead’. Eventually, however, the artists laid hold on the Sirens, and furnished them with the feathers, feet, wings, and tails of birds. TKbAAn kat XapuBdswc. Scylla and Charybdis. Having escaped the Sirens, and passed without meeting the Wandering Rocks, which Circe had told him lay be- yond the mead of these songsters, Odysseus came to the terrific Scylla and Charybdis, between which the goddess had told him his course lay. She said* he would come to two lofty cliffs opposite each other, between which he must pass. One of these cliffs towers to such a height that its summit is for ever enveloped in clouds, and no man even if he had twenty hands and as many feet could ascend it. In the middle of this cliff, she says, is a cave facing the west, but so high that a man ina ship passing under it could not shoot up to it with a bow. In this den dwells Scylla (Bitch), whose voice sounds like that of a young whelp: she has twelve feet, and six long necks, with a terrific head and three rows of close-set teeth on each. Evermore she stretches out these necks and catches the dolphins, sea-hounds, and other large animals of the sea which swim by, and out of every ship that passes each mouth takes a man. 'The opposite rock, she informs him, is much lower, for a man could shoot over it. A wild fig-tree grows on it, stretching its branches down to the water : but beneath, ‘‘ divine Charybdis” three times each day absorbs and Cee ee et Re SRE Oa EE a er ee aT aT iva TT TS SATIS 1 Pausan. 1. 21. 2 Od. xii. 73. 248 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. regorges the dark water. It is much more dangerous, she adds, to pass Charybdis than Scylla. As Odysseus sailed by, Scylla took six of his crew; and when, after he had lost his ship and companions, he was carried by wind and wave, as he floated on a part of the wreck, between the monsters, the mast by which he supported himself was sucked in by Charybdis. He held by the fig-tree till it was thrown out again, and resumed his voyage. Such is the earliest account we have of these monsters, in which indeed it may be doubted if Charybdis is to be regarded as an animate being. The whole fable is evi- dently founded on the wonderful tales of sailors respecting the distant regions of the Mediterranean. The ancients, who were so anxious to localise all the wonders of Homer, made the straits of Messina the abode of Scylla and Cha- tybdis ; but as there is no whirlpool there at all resem- bling Charybdis, the most that can be said is, that that strait may have given occasion to the fable. Homer, how- ever, would seem to place the cliffs of Scylla and Chary- bdis somewhere between the Wandering Rocks and Thri- nakia (if this last be Sicily); for it is after passing those rocks that Odysseus comes to the latter island, on which the oxen of the Sun grazed. Later poets feigned that Scylla was once a beautiful maiden, who was fond of associating with the Nereides. The sea-god Glaucus beheld and fell in love with her; and being rejected, applied to Circe to exercise her magic arts in his favour. Circe wished him to transfer his affec- tions to herself; and filled with rage at his refusal, she infected with noxious juices the water in which Scylla was wont to bathe, and thus transformed her into a monster’. Charybdis was said to have been a woman who stole the oxen of Hercules, and was in consequence struck with thunder by Zeus, and turned into a whirlpool. wa Se is rd ee a ee ' Ovid. Met. xiv. 1. e¢ seg. PHAETHUSA AND LAMPETIA. 249 DaéPovoa kai Aaurerin év Opwakiy. Phaéthusa and Lampetia in Thrinakia. Both Teiresias and Circe’ had strictly charged Odys- seus to shun the isle of Thrinakia, on which the flocks and herds of the Sun-god fed under the care of his daugh- ters Phaethusa and Lampetia, and to which he would come immediately after escaping Scylla and Charybdis. Odysseus was desirous of obeying the injunctions which he had received ; but as it was evening when he came to it, his companions forced him to consent to their landing and passing the night there. They promised to depart in the morning, and took an oath to abstain from the cattle of the Sun. During the night a violent storm came on; and for an entire month afterwards a strong south-east wind (Eurus and Notus) blew, which confined them to the island. When their provisions were exhausted, they lived on such birds and fish as they could catch. At length, while Odysseus was sleeping, Eurylochus pre- vailed on them to slaughter some of the oxen of the Sun in sacrifice to the gods, and to vow by way of amends a temple to Helius*. Odysseus on awaking was filled with horror and despair at what they had done; and the dis- pleasure of the gods was manifested by prodigies ; for the hides crept along the ground, and the flesh lowed on the spits. They fed for six days on the sacred cattle ; on the seventh the storm fell, and they left the island 7 DUE as soon as they had lost sight of land, a terrible west-wind, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and pitch darkness, came on. Zeus struck the ship with a thunderbolt: it went to pieces, and all the sacrilegious crew were drowned. aN Re SIE 1 Od. xi. 106. xii. 127. See above, p. 57. ® The episode (xii. 374390.) of the complaint of Helius to Zeus was rejected by the ancient grammarians. We may observe that the cosmology in it is at variance with that of the Odyssey, for Helius menaces a descent to Erebus : ? A > rs , Avoo (at eis Aitédao Kal EV VEKVEOCL OAELYW. f 250 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The resemblance between Thrinakia and Trinacria’, a name of Sicily, has induced both ancients and moderns to acquiesce in the opinion of the two islands being identical. Against this opinion we will observe, that Thrinakia was a desert isle (vncoc épnun)*, that is, an uninhabited isle ; that it was called the excellent isle of the god’; that ac- cording to the analogy of the Odyssey it must have been a small island, for such were Aiea, Ortygia, and all that we meet ;—not one of which circumstances agrees with Sicily. It seems therefore the more probable supposition, that the poet regarded Thrinakia as an islet about the same size as those of Circe and Calypso, belonging to the Sun-god, and tenanted only by his flocks and herds, and his two daughters their keepers. He must also have conceived it to lie much more to the west than Sicily, for it could not have been more than the third day after leaving Aiea that Odysseus arrived at it. Kadvupo ev ‘Qyvyty*. Calypso in Ogygia. Odysseus, when his ship had gone to pieces, fastened the mast and keel together, and placed himself on them. The wind changing to the south-east (voroe) carried him back to Scylia and Charybdis. As he came by the latter, she absorbed the mast and keel, but the hero caught hold of the fig-tree, and held by it till they were thrown out again. He then floated along for nine days; and on the tenth reached Ogygia, the isle of Calypso, by whom he was most kindly received and entertained. She detained him there for eight years, designing to make him immor- tal,and to keep him with her for ever : but Hermes arriving | Thucydides (vii. 1.) is we believe the first writer who uses the name Trinacria. 2 Od. xii. 351. 3 Od. xii. 261. 4 Calypso signifies the conceuled. Ogygia is a word of the same family with Oceanus or Ogenius, Ogyges, gean, Achelous, acqua, &c.,—all relating to water. CALYPSO. PHEACIANS. 251 with a command from Zeus, she was obliged to consent to his departure. She gave the hero tools to build a raft or light vessel, supplied him with provisions, and reluctantly took a final leave of him. Calypso is called by Homer’ the daughter of Atlas : Hesiod* makes her an Oceanide, and Apollodorus* a Ne- reide. Like Circe she was a human-speaking goddess, and dwelt in solitary state with her attendant nymphs ; but her abode was a cavern, while the daughter of Helius possessed a mansion of cut stone. Her isle presented such a scene of sylvan beauty as charmed even Hermes, one of the dwellers of Olympus’. The poet seems to have conceived Ogygia to lie in the north-western part of the West-sea, far remote from all the other isles and coasts; and he thus brought his hero into all parts of that sea, and informed his auditors of all its wonders. A south-east wind carried Odysseus thither on his mast in nine days and nights from Charybdis. When he left Ogygia, sailing on his raft, as directed by Calypso, with the constellation of the Bear on his left, that is in an easterly or south-easterly direction, he came on the eighteenth day within sight of Scheria, the country of the Phzacians. Ot Painkec év Zyepin. The Pheacians in Scheria. The Pheeacians dwelt originally in Hypereia, near the Cyclopes”* ; but being oppressed by that savage race, they migrated to the isle of Scheria. They were led thither by their king Nausithoiis, the son of Poseidon by Peribcea the youngest daughter of Euryrmnedon ( Wide-ruler) king of the Gigantes®. They were, like the Cyclopes and Gi- gantes, a people akin to the gods, who appeared mani- festly, and feasted among them when they offered sacri- SS ey we eee eae ame rae eae eh eR ee ais ae ee 1 Od. vil. 245. * Theog. 359. 3 Apollod. i. 2. * Od. v. 72, et seq. > Od. vi. 4, et seq. 6 Od. vii. 201, e¢ seq. 252 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. fices, and did not conceal themselves from solitary way- farers when they met them’. They had abundance of wealth, and lived in luxury undisturbed by the alarms of war; for as they ‘‘ dwelt remote from inventive man,” no enemy ever approached their shores: they did not even make use of bows and quivers’. Their chief employment was navigation: their ships were, like Argo, endued with reason: they knew every port, and needed no pilot when impelled by the rowers. As Odysseus sailed on his raft from Ogygia, the isle of Scheria appeared to him on the eighteenth day “‘ like a shield in the dark sea;” and when the storm by which Poseidon destroyed his raft had subsided, he was car- ried along, as he swam, by a strong northerly wind for two days and nights, and on the third day he got on shore in Scheria. The princess Nausicaa, reproving the false alarm of her maids at the sight of him, says, ‘‘ Do you think he is an enemy? There is not a living mortal, nor will there be, who will come bearing war to the land of the Pheeacians ; for they are very dear to the Immor- tals. We dwell apart in the wave-full sea, the last; nor does any other mortal mingle with us: but this is some unfortunate wanderer who has come hither.” In another place, when noticing the occasion for scandal which her appearance in company with Odysseus might give, she supposes some one to say, ‘‘ Is it some stranger who has strayed from his ship that she has taken under her care, since there are no people near us?” This would seem to indicate some very remote position ; and a passage in which Alcinots says, that the Pheacians had conveyed Rhadamanthus to Eubcea® and returned on the same day, might lead to the supposition of Scheria being to the west of Ithaca; for the abode of Rhadamanthus was the Ely- 1 Od. vi. 8. 2 Od. vi. 270. ° Od. vil. $21, e¢ seg. Payne Knight pronounces the whole passage 311-—333 to be spurious, and we think his reasons satisfactory. Ari- starchus suspected the first six lines. PHASACIANS. 253 sian Plain on the shore of Ocean'. It was on the west side of Ithaca that the Pheacians landed Odysseus ; and if we are right in placing the Cyclopes on the coast of Libya, Scheria most probably lay in the sea somewhere to the north of it. The truth is, the Pheacians and their island are altogether as imaginary as any of the isles and tribes which we have already noticed,—all as ideal as those visited by Sindbad or Gulliver,—a circumstance which in reality gives additional charms to this delightful poem. The place determined by both ancients and moderns to be Scheria is the island of Corcyra, the modern Corfu, which lies at a very short distance from the coast of Epi- rus. It would not perhaps be allowable to urge, that the circumstances of the preceding paragraph do not by any means apply to Corcyra, for we know not what the Ionian Singer’s idea of it may have been. All we will say 1s, that his language respecting it accords much better with some imaginary western isle than with Corcyra; and if the Cyclopes were on the coast of Libya, Corcyra could not have been Scheria. The firm persuasion of the identity of these two islands seems to have been produced by the fictitious narrative of Odysseus to Penelope*; in which, speaking in an assumed character, he says, that Odysseus when shipwrecked after leaving Thrinakia had reached Scheria, and had gone thence to Thesprotia, which was consequently supposed to be near it; and as Corcyra was the only island in that direction, it was at once inferred to be that of the Pheacians. Volcker lays great stress on the circumstance of Penelope seeing nothing incon- gruous in the narrative ; but it surely does not follow that she knew anything of either Thrinakia or Scheria, and Odysseus may have taken the liberty of assigning a false position to this last place. He had already in his narra- tive to Eumzus ventured on the bold declaration, that when he was wrecked on leaving Crete he floated along the sea to Thesprotia. We finally think, that if pers operat leh Sy le a on ely 1 Od. iv. 564. > Od, xix. 271, et seq. 254 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Thesprotia and its oracle at Dodona were so well known to the poet as they seem to have been, he never could have described the Phzacians, if Corcyra was their island, as dwelling so remote. Two islands remain to be considered, in order to finish our view of the isles and coasts of the Homeric West- sea. These are ‘Oprvyia kat Xupia. Ortygia and Syria. Calypso says’ to Hermes, that ‘‘ rose-fingered’” Eos took Orion, and that ‘‘ gold-seated” Artemis slew him with her gentle darts in Ortygia. Eumeeus’, describing his native isle Syria, says that it lies beyond (kaBumepOev) Ortygia where are the turnings (rpo7at) of the sun. Sy- ria, he proceeds, is not large, but it is fruitful, abounding in sheep, in pasturage, in vines, and in corn: it is never visited by famine or by any disease ; but when the people grow old, ‘‘ silver-bowed Apollo comes with Artemis and kills them with his gentle darts.” It contained two towns ; between the inhabitants of which, who were governed by one king, all things in it were divided. The Pheenicians and Taphians visited it for the sake of trade. It is almost impossible not to recognise in Ortygia and Syria two happy isles of the West-sea, apparently sacred to Apollo and Artemis; and we must marvel at those ancients and moderns who place them in the Aigean, making the one the same as Delos, and the other identical with Syros one of the Cyclades. The Pheenicians, be it observed, who stole away Eumeus, sailed with a favour- able wind homewards during six days: on the seventh Eumeus’ nurse died, and ‘‘ wind and water” carried them on to Ithaca, where they sold him to Laertes. Their course was therefore evidently from the west or north- west towards Sidon, as Ithaca lay in their way. When the Greeks settled in Sicily, they named the islet before 1 Od.sv.e121. 2 Od. xv. 403, et seq. ORTYGIA AND SYRIA. 255 the port of Syracuse Ortygia; and the tongue of land op- posite to it, which was in some measure insulated by the rivulets Syraco and Anapus, was pronounced to be Syria, which probably gave name to both Syraco and Syracuse. The turnings of the sun seems merely to denote a westerly position, and to be an expression of the same nature with that of the risings of the sun being in Mea. Miiller’ sees in it a reference to the sun-dial of Phere- cydes of Syros, and regards the verse which mentions it as the interpolation of a rhapsodist. The narrative of Eumeus may serve to throw some light on the trade of the Phcenicians in those early ages. Supposing Syria to have lain to the west of Greece, it fol- lows that the Sidonians were known to make commercial voyages in that direction ; and we may also collect from it that it was chiefly ornamental articles (a0tpyara) which they offered for sale. The ship whose crew carried off Eumeeus continued an entire year at Syria, to dispose of her cargo and lay in one in return,—a circumstance which may tend to explain the three years’ voyages of the fleets of king Solomon, which in all probability were like what are now called bartering voyages. It also appears that the Greeks made voyages to both the East and the West ; for the nurse of Eumeus was daughter of Arybas a wealthy Sidonian, who had been carried away from her native country by Taphian pirates, and sold to the father of Eumezus. That however the Ionian Singer had no correct knowledge of the West is manifest; for every people whom he places there, except the Lotus-eaters, was in some way, chiefly by a greater degree of the divine fa- vour, distinguished from the ordinary race of man. If we are right in the positions which we assign to Scheria and Syria, it must follow that the poet conceived the country of the Sikeli (Italy, or Italy and Sicily) to ex- tend much less to the South than it actually does, leaving an open sea to the west of Ithaca to contain the various 1 Orchomenos und die Minyer, p. 326. 256 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. isles which he notices. It is also probable, that accord- ing to his geographical ideas the coast of Libya extended very much to the north of its real position. We have now completed our survey of the magic isles and coasts, the mild and savage tribes, the gentle or per- nicious goddesses, with which poetic imagination, working probably on the ‘* shipman’s tale ” of marvellous adven- ture and frequent peril, had filled the little-explored waters of the Mediterranean. While presenting our own hypothe- sis respecting them, we wish not to conceal those of others, or dogmatically demand assent to what we advance’. Our object has been to endeavour by these elucidations to © enhance the delight which every person of taste must feel when perusing one of the most charming monuments of human genius,——the Odyssey of Homer. We take our leave of the West-sea and its wonders in the beautiful words of the poetic geographer * :— Farewell ye continents, and of the deep Ye isles and Ocean’s waters, and the sea’s Great streams, ye springs and rivers, and ye hills Wood-hung; for I have now gone o’er the whole Flood of the sea, and all the winding track Of continents. But may the blissful gods Themselves the meed due to my song bestow. 1 We recommend to the reader particularly the work of Volcker so frequently referred to. 2 Dionysius, Periegesis, 1181, e¢ seq. MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Part Il.—THE HEROES. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Origin and First State of Man. THE origi of mankind, like that of the earth their abode, is a subject which will be found to have engaged the thoughts of almost every race that occupies its surface. The mind feels itself invincibly impelled to this reflection, from observing the changes and revolutions which conti- nually take place around it. Each revolving year brings to the vegetable world the seasons of decay and of revi- viscence ; mankind are born, flourish, and die; a new generation is ever filling up the vacancies caused by death; races migrate : where population once flourished, there is desolation; where once the wilderness spread, is heard the busy hum of men, and commerce and agriculture display their stores. Has it always been so? is the question man naturally asks himself. Has the world ever gone on thus decaying and renewing ?—and he carries back his thoughts through ages and generations, till for very wea- riness he is obliged to stop somewhere and suppose a beginning. The evident appearances of the violent convulsions of nature indicate a time of turmoil and confusion antecedent to the establishment of the present regular course of na- ture. This state, personified in all its parts, gave rise to theogonies, of which systems we have already produced a s 258 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. specimen. But mankind for their well-being required a more tranquil state of inanimate matter, and the date of their creation is in all systems posterior to the great con- flicts of nature. A remnant of original tradition, or the natural operation of the mind itself, has led almost all races to conceive the original state of men to have been one of peace and hap- piness. At all periods of his life man looks back to the gay and careless days of childhood with pleasure and re- gret. Then, while his faculties were new and unworn, each part of nature was a source of bliss; then suns shone more brightly, plants diffused more fragrance, the melody of groves was poured forth more rapturously, the day closed in joy, the morning awoke to renewed delight. It was easy and it was natural to transfer these ideas to the race of man; to suppose them alsoto have commenced in bliss- ful infancy amid the abundant wealth and careless ease of nature, and to have progressively passed through dif- ferent stages, deteriorating in each successive stage as unhappily the greater part of mankind do, and from the innocence of childhood, advancing to the selfishness and hardened vice of mature and declining age. Most mythic systems therefore have their golden age. Ages of the World. Homer nowhere speaks of cosmogony or of the ages of the world. Hesiod, who is the first who treats of them, gives in his didactic poem the following venerable mythus. The gods’, he says, first made the golden race of men, who were in the time when Kronus ruled in heaven. They lived like gods, free from toils and care, and death was to them a sinking into gentle slumber ; and when earth had covered this race, they became good terrestrial demons, the guardians of mortal men, to mark their just and unjust deeds. They move along the earth shrouded in darkness, 1 Works and Days, 108. See above p. 50. AGES OF THE WORLD. 259 and are the bestowers of wealth. Such, he adds, is their regal honour. The gods made a second far inferior race, called the silver-race, resembling the golden neither in appearance nor in disposition. A hundred years each child spent in ignorant simplicity with its mother, and when they at- tained to youth they lived but. a short time, for they would not abstain from mutual injury, nor pay the service due to the gods. Zeus,in indignation put a period to the race. Zeus now made a third, the brazen race of men, unlike thesilverrace. These were formed from ash-trees, their de- light was in war and deeds of violence. They ate not corn, but they had souls of steel, and prodigious strength. Their arms were brass, their houses brass, with brass they wrought, “ for black iron was not yet.” At length slain by each other’s hands, they went down to the ‘ mouldy house of cold Aides,” and left no fame behind them. A fourth and better race was next placed on the earth by Zeus, namely the divine race of heroes, in former times called Semigods. These also were carried off by war and combat. They fought at Thebes, on account of the sheep of GEdipus, and sailed to Troy for well-haired Helen. When they died, Zeus removed them to the ends of the earth, where they dwell, away from man, in the Islands of the Blest, and live in bliss, earth producing for them “‘ ho- ney-sweet fruit ”’ thrice in each revolving year. The poet draws a dismal picture of the fifth or iron race of men; a picture often since his time re-drawn by moralists -and poets inevery region of the earth, for this is the race who still possess it. This race, says Hesiod, will never cease day or night from toil and misery ; the gods will give them grievous cares, yet good will still.be mixed with the evil. Zeus will destroy this race also, when they become ““hoary-templed.” Fathers will not be at unity with their children, nor brethren with each other; friends and guests will be discordant, children will not honour their aged pa- tents. Club-law will prevail, faith and justice will be in no repute, the evil-doer and the violent will be most esteemed ; gia 260 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ‘evil-loving Envy” will accompany wretched man. Shame and Aversion (Nemesis) will wrap themselves in their ‘‘ white mantles” and depart to the gods, leaving misery to man; and there will be no defence against evil. Aratus' is the next in order of time who mentions the ages of the world. He speaks of but three races of men, —the golden, the silver, and the brazen. Justice (dixn), he says, dwelt familiarly among the first, teaching them what was right and good. When the silver race succeeded she retired to the mountains, whence she occasionally came down in the evening-time, and approaching their abodes upbraided them with their evil doings. Unable to endure the third race, who first forged arms and fed on the flesh of the labouring ox, she flew up to heaven and became the constellation of the Virgin. Ovid? makes the races of men four in number,— golden, silver, brazen, and iron. The first enjoyed a per- petual spring, the earth producing everything sponta- neously for them: in the time of the second the division of the seasons took place: the third were martial, but not yet utterly wicked: the fourth gave way to every species of vice and crime, and Zeus destroyed them by a deluge of water. In all these accounts it is to be observed that it is races of men, not ages of the world, which are spoken of. Hesiod makes these races separate creations: the two first, he says, were made by the gods, the three last by Zeus, who attained the supremacy of heaven in the time ~ of the second or silver race. Earth covers each race be- fore its successor is made. Aratus expressly says that the golden were the parents of the silver, and these of the brazen race of men. Ovid would appear to view the sub- ject in the same light. To dispel the gloomy prospect presented by the de-— lineation of the vices and miseries of man in the last stage of the progression, it was asserted, that as the four seasons — Eee Sei bo fh ee eee 1 Phenomena, 100, e¢ seq. 2 Met. i. 89, et seq. ? q ’ q AGES OF THE WORLD. 261 commencing with a bright golden spring and ending with a gloomy iron winter make the solar year, which is con- tinually renewed ; so the four ages of the world compose a mundane year which will also be renewed, and the iron race be succeeded by a new one of gold, when Kronus will once more resume the government, and the former innocent and happy state return’. A mythologist®, of whom even when we dissent from his opinions we must always admire the sound learning, ingenious reasoning, and high moral feeling, gives the following view of the mythus of the races of man, This mythus is an oriental one, derived from the same source with the narrative in the first chapters of Genesis, and introduced into Grecian literature by Hesiod, who may be regarded as the Plato of his age. It originally, as it is given by Aratus, contained but the three first ages. Its object was not to give a view of the gradual deterio- ration of mankind, but to exhibit the relation of the deity to the wickedness of the human race, and particularly to impress the belief that when evil has attained its maximum . the gods will destroy mankind. To this intent it was necessary to commence with a state of innocence ; and the original framer of the mythus probably made the silver and brazen races, instead of successively following that of gold, exist simultaneously after it,—effeminacy and vio- lence, the two vices into which virtue is most apt to degene- rate, being their characters,—and feigned that the former was gradually extirpated by the latter, which was then destroyed by the gods; but this was misunderstood by Hesiod. The account of the fourth and fifth races was an application of the ancient mythus to the actual world, and from a moral it became a continuation of the narrative. As the working of iron was regarded as a later invention than that of brass or copper, and as it is a harder metal, it was naturally selected to express the last and worst race of men; but as tradition spake distinctly of the He- 1 Virg. Ecl. iv. ? Buttmann, Mythologus, ii. 1, e¢ seq. 262 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. roic race who fought at Thebes and Troy, it was necessary to distinguish it from the iron one: hence the cyclus is as it were repeated; but the latter one being founded on reality consists of only two parts. The heroes who cor- respond to the golden race are like them rewarded after death, but in an inferior degree: the iron are menaced with utter destruction like the brazen. This critic is further of opmion that in the original narrative the three races were represented as becoming after death three different classes of spirits, the golden celestial, the silver terrestrial, and the brazen infernal ; answering to the good and evil angels of the religions of the East; but that as the Grecian religion acknowledged no evil spirits, the poet found it necessary to cut away this last part of the original mythus. Volcker’ on the other hand considers the Heroic race to have been an essential part of the original mythus, which he regards chiefly on that account as being a post- Homeric composition, framed with a regard to the Homeric and other contemporary poems. He also thinks that the lines in which Hesiod describes the deification of the golden race are an interpolation, inserted at the time when the intercourse prevailed with Egypt, and Grecian philoso- phers visited that country. As we do not esteem the no- tion of a community of mythology between Greece and Asia and Egypt in the ante-Homeric times to rest on any solid foundation, though we freely acknowledge the sub- limity of that theory, we feel disposed to acquiesce to a certain extent in this last opinion, and to reject the inge- nious theory stated above. Ilavéwpa. Pandora. All-gift. One of the many attempts which have been made to account for the introduction of evil into the world is pre- sented to us by the mythus of Pandora. It is related at 1 Myth. des Jap. Geschl. p. 250, et seq. PANDORA. 263 length in the Works and Days of Hesiod, and alluded to in the Theogony, and in our opinion has been most happily explained by Buttmann. His exposition presents an ad- mirable illustration of the justness of the principle laid down by him, namely, that of explaining each mythus separately, disjoined from all that ancient system-mongers may have mingled with it. The following is the view of it given by him’. According to some very ancient mythus the first of mankind were two brothers, Prometheus and Epimetheus, that is, Fore-thought and After-thought. These first men lived in intimate relation with the gods: but, as the pre- ceding part of this work has abundantly shown, the deities of the Greeks were not beings of pure benevolence; on the contrary, they and mankind were to one another somewhat like patrons and clients, lords and vassals. The latter recognized the power of the former, who on their part could not well dispense with the gifts and respect of men ;. and men, like the tenants of griping landlords, were obliged to be very circumspect, that is, to use a good deal of forethought m their actions, to get every advan- tage they could in their dealings with the gods. This is intimated in the transaction respecting the fire of which Zeus is said to have deprived men, and which Prometheus stole and brought back to earth. Zeus then, the mythus goes on to relate, was incensed at this daring deed, and resolved to punish the men for it. He therefore directed Hephestus to knead earth and water, to give it human voice and strength, and to make the fair form of a virgin like the immortal goddesses: he desired Athena to endow her with artist-knowledge, Aphrodite to give her beauty and desire, and Hermes to inspire her with an artful and thievish disposition. When formed she was attired by the Hore and Charites ; each of the deities gave the commanded gifts; and she was named Pandora, Adl-gift. Thus furnished she was ! Mythologus, 1. 48, e¢ seg. 264 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. brought by Hermes to the dwelling of Epimetheus ; who, though his brother had warned him to be upon his guard and to receive no gifts from Zeus, dazzled with her charms took her to his house and made her his wife. The evil effects of this imprudent act were speedily felt. In the house of these first men stood a closed jar, which they had been forbidden to open. Fore-thought it may be supposed had rigidly obeyed this direction, and had hitherto kept his brother also from transgressing it. But the case was now altered: a woman, whose chief attribute is curtosity, was come into the house; dying to know what the jar contained she raised the lid, and all the evils hitherto unknown to man poured out and spread over the earth. In terror at the sight of these monsters she clapped down the lid just in time to prevent the escape of Hope, who thus remained with man, his chief support and comfort. Such appears to have been the original form of the mythus, resembling so much the Hebrew narrative of Eve and the forbidden fruit, that we might almost pronounce it a rivulet derived from the original source of tradition. But it is perhaps only an ebullition of that spleen against the female sex which distinguished so many of the old Grecian bards, and of which Simonides' has left us a notable instance. The fable of Pandora is certainly not capable of being reconciled with many other Hellenic mythi of the origin of mankind, such as the one which we have given above ; but incongruities little discomposed those ancient - bards, and if a mythus contained a moral that pleased them, they were indifferent about its harmonising with others. Contradictions however becoming apparent, Prometheus and his brother ceased to be looked on as the first men, but Pandora still kept her place as the first woman. Pro- metheus and Epimetheus were soon regarded as the sym- bols of Prudence and Folly, and were held to be gods. ee ' Frag. cexxx. Gaisford, Poete Minores Greci, vol. i. p- 410. PANDORA. 265 From the remote period in which the legends placed them they could only be regarded as Titans, and accordingly by Hesiod and /schylus they are placed among that ante- Kronide race. Prometheus was also speedily raised to the rank of creator of mankind, to whom he gave the fire which he had stolen from heaven’. Yet even so late as the times of Augustus some vestige of the old sense of the mythus seems to have remained ; for Horace classes Pro- metheus with Dedalus and Hercules, and speaks of him asaman*. It is remarkable however that A‘schylus re- presents him only as the benefactor and instructor of mankind. The next step in the corruption of the mythus was, to change the jar (7i8oc)° in which the evils were inclosed, and which lay in the house of the men, into a box brought with her from heaven by Pandora. It is rather strange how this notion could have prevailed when the species of vessel was so expressly stated by Hesiod, who also men- tions its great lid (uéya wwpa), a phrase that does not at all accord with such a box as Pandora could have carried with her. Further it is said that ‘‘ Hope alone remained 4.99 in the infrangible house within the jar ;” where, though a 1 Apollod. i. 7. Ovid. Met. i. 80. 2 Audax omnia perpeti Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas. Audax Iapeti genus Ignem fraude mala gentibus intulit : cg *- # Eo * % Nil mortalibus arduum est. GCarmt 1:35.25; The Epicurean poet was however disposed to regard all the popular gods as having been originally mere men. 3 ziQos, akin to the Latin vas, the German fass, and our words butt and vuse, was a kind of large pitcher or jar with a wide mouth and a close-fitting lid. It was usually earthern, and was mostly employed for holding wine. Perhaps it was not unlike a grape-jar. 4 uduvn Cavrd0e’EAmis év apphxrocot Sdporoe évoov Epipve iBov v0 xeiAeoty, ove OvpaZe cLéxrn mpdabey yap éréuPore Tapa 7iBovo. Works and Days, ver. 96. 266 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. interpreters in general have understood the word house to signify the jar, yet an unprejudiced reader will rather conceive the passage to denote that a house was the scene of the event, and that Hope alone stayed in the dwel- ling of man. A similar mode of speaking in Homer will further ex- plain this matter. That poet says that “in the house of Zeus stand two jars of the gifts which he gives, the one of evils the other of blessings.” The allegories of the two poets are distinct ;—the one representing evils as being now at darge; the other placing them in the power of Zeus, who is in Homer a more elevated being than in Hesiod. Yet some critics in their rage for harmony might fancy that Zeus gave Pandora the jar of evils to take down to earth,—an idea which would however only in- crease the difficulties. When higher notions of the Deity prevailed, this mythus underwent a further change, and it was fabled that Zeus had inclosed all blessings in a jar, which he set in the abode of man. But, tormented with curiosity, man raised the lid, and all the blessings flew away to heaven, where they abide shunning the earth. Hope alone re- mained, as he let down the lid before she had escaped ’*. On the story of Prometheus has been founded the fol- lowing very pretty fable, which adds another instance to the many legends we have already given, invented to account for properties and relations of animals. When Prometheus had stolen fire from heaven for the good of mankind, they were so ungrateful as to betray him to Zeus. For their treachery they got in reward a remedy against the evils of old-age ; but not duly con- sidering the value of the gift, instead of carrying it them- selves, they put it on the back of an ass, and let him trot 1 Aowi yap re 7B0i Karaxeiarae év Acos ovder Aopwy, oia bi€wot, KaKOY, Erepos Oe Edw. Il. xxiv. 527. * Babrius. See Tyrwhitt, Diss. de Babrio. PANDORA. DEUGALION AND PYRRHA. 267 on before them. It was summer-time, and the ass quite overcome by thirst went up to a fountain to drink; but a snake forbade all approach. The ass ready to faint most earnestly implored relief: the cunning snake, who knew the value of the burden which the ass bore, de- manded it as the price of access to the fount. The ass was forced to comply, and the snake obtained possession of the gift of Zeus, but with it as a punishment for his art he got the thirst of the ass. Hence it is that the snake by casting his skin annually renews his youth, while man is borne down by the weight of the evils of old-age. The malignant snakes moreover, when they have an oppor- tunity, communicate their thirst to mankind by biting them’. AcvkaXiwy kai [ltppa. Deucalion et Pyrrha. Deucalion, say the mythologists*, was the son of Pro- metheus, and he was married to Pyrrha the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora: he reigned over the country about Phthia. When Zeus designed to destroy the brazen race of men*, Deucalion by the advice of his father made himself an ark (Adpvaxa), and putting provisions into it entered it with his wife Pyrrha. Zeus then poured rain from heaven and inundated the greater part of Greece, so that all the people, except a few who escaped to the neighbouring lofty mountains, perished in the waves. At that time the mountains of Thessaly were burst, and all Greece without the Isthmus and Peloponnesus was over- flowed. Deucalion was carried along this sea in his ark for nine days and nights until he reached Mount Par- nassus. By this time the rain had ceased, and he got out and sacrificed to Zeus, flight-giving (pvéioc), who 1 Mythologus, 1. p. 147. from A-lian and the scholiast of Nicander, who gives it from a lost play of Sophocles. 2 Apollod. i. 7. ° This is plainly an attempt at connecting the mythus of Deuca- lion’s flood with that of Hesiod’s ages of the world. 268 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. © sent Hermes desiring him to ask what he would. His request was to have the earth replenished with men. By the direction of Zeus he and his wife flung stones behind them; and those which Deucalion cast became men, those thrown by Pyrrha women; and from this cir- -cumstance, says our author, came the Greek name for people’. According to Ovid*, who relates this legend in a very agreeable manner, Deucalion and Pyrrha after their escape to Parnassus consulted the oracle which was then possessed by Themis, how the human race was to be restored. The response given was,— From the fane depart, And veil your heads, and loose your girded clothes, And cast behind you your great parent’s bones: which Deucalion understood to mean stones, the bones of the earth, the great parent of all. Deucalion and Pyrrha are evidently pure beings of fiction, probably personifications of water and fire*® meant to indicate, that when the passage through which the Peneius carries off the waters that run into the vale of Thessaly, which is on all sides shut in by lofty mountains, had been closed by some accident, they overflowed the whole of its surface, till the action of subterranean fire opened for them a way to the south or west. We are not by any means to assert that this inundation was a real event, of which the memory had been preserved by tradition from times long anterior to Homer and Hesiod, who make no mention of it; neither should we perhaps be too for- ward to maintain that a tradition of the great deluge was preserved by the early inhabitants of Greece. Where there are not letters to fix it, tradition is, as abundant instances prove, remarkably fleeting and unstable; and we should 1 See above, p- 6. 2 Ovid. Met. 1. 367. 3 Pyrrha is evidently derived from zvp. Deucalion probably comes from devw (whence devxns) to wet, and perhaps éAs the sea. -DEUCALION AND PYRRHA. 269 perhaps come nearest to the truth if we were to say, that those tribes who appear to have retained a recollection of that great event, have inferred it from the evident tokens of inundation which are to be seen on various parts of the earth’s surface ;—a circumstance which, so far from invali- dating, tends rather to confirm the truth of the Mosaic account of the Deluge. Another Grecian tradition’ made Ozyges—also a per- sonification of water°—to be the person who was saved at the time of the deluge which overflowed Greece, but the accounts remaining of him are very scanty. The histo- rians made him a king of Attica or Beotia. Deucalion was regarded as the great patriarch of Greece, or the progenitor of those races which derived their origin from Thessaly, and were believed to have advanced south- wards, conquering and displacing the tribes which previ- ously occupied the more southern parts. This flood, we may observe, did not extend to the Peloponnesus, and the traditions of that country spoke of a different progenitor of the human race. Early Inhabitants of Greece. The Homeric poems exhibit to us the people of Greece at the time of the Trojan war as a race very far removed from the savage state, as being well acquainted with agriculture, commerce, and navigation, though probably ignorant of money and letters, and Aehihiena in all their | institutions a considerable degree of cipieaaent They had not yet any common name, and seem to have had but little previous intercourse with foreign nations. Nothing can be collected from these poems respecting the origin of the people. As most nations of Asia were under the system of castes and the direction of the sacerdotal caste, and as eR 1 Euseb. Prep. Ev. x.10. Syncellus, p. 60. Nonnus, iii. 204. 2 See above p. 250. note. 270 MYTHOLOGY Of GREECE. some of the early tribes of Europe seem to have been similarly situated, some modern writers assume such to have been the early state of Greece, and even fancy that they discern in some places of the Ilias, such for example as the quarrel between Agamemnon and Calchas, traces of the conflict between the temporal and the -sacerdotal power. The gigantic buildings which still exist in the Peloponnesus and elsewhere, and which are alluded to in the Homeric poems, also seem to them to indicate a state ‘of society resembling that of Egypt or India, where huge pyramids and temples were raised by serfs, beneath the direction of a caste of priests, whom they were bound to obey. But unfortunately for this hypothesis, the various huge monuments of this kind which Egypt, India, and “‘ the Celtic’ present, are works of show rather than of real utility, being almost all temples, tombs, gr obelisks ; while those of Greece are massive walls and strong treasuries, evidently designed to preserve the wealth of an industrious civilised people from the rapacity of invaders by sea or by land. The evidence in effect of sacerdotal dominion hay- ing ever prevailed in Greece is so slight, that it hardly needs an examination. Language, manners, religion, and monuments, indicate that Greece and Italy, anda part of Lesser Asia, were at an early period the abode of one race of men, who were de- voted to the arts of peace and eminently skilled in agri- culture. This people are generally called the Pelasgi or Pelargi ', a name which was probably given to a portion of them by more warlike tribes, from their favourite occu- pation of cultivating the land, but which we have no reason to suppose was ever common to the whole race. The name Pelasgian occurs in Homer. Later writers speak of Lele- ges, Carians, and other tribes as dwelling in Greece. in the ante-Hellenic period. 1 The latter part of the word Pelargus is a&ypos land; the former is probably akin to €\Any, and derived from €Xos a marsh. The Pelasgians were fond of cultivating the rich soil on the banks of streams. See Volcker, Myth. des Jap. Geschl. EARLY INHABITANTS OF GREECE. 271 Whether the Acheans', the race whose exploits the Homeric poems record, were this Pelasgian race, or one which had conquered them, is what we have no means of determining. The poems give not a hint on the subject, and conjecture will yield but little that is satisfactory. No traces occur in them of previous invasions and conquests, and it is not at all improbable that the martial character of the race who fought at Thebes and Troy may have been developed by peculiar circumstances from the peace- ful one which is usually supposed to have epi the Pelasgians’. Previous to the Dorian migration, which is an un- doubted historic event, there would appear to have been some commotion in Thessaly, produced probably by the ir- ruption of a Thesprotian or Illyrian tribe into that country, which caused a portion of the former inhabitants to emi- grate into Boeotia and expel some of those whom they found there’. But it was the Dorian migration which caused the greatest changes in Greece, and sent so many colonies to the East and the West. It was probably at this time that the word Hellenes came into use; for the Greeks, finding themselves to differ in language and man- ners from the tribes with which they now came in contact, adopted a common name by which to distinguish them- selves *. It would therefore seem to be the most probable hypo- ! Also called Danaans and Argeians. ’Ayatds would seem to belong to the same family with acgua, and to relate to agriculture also. 2 See Wachsmuth, Hellenische Alterthumskunde, 1. p.44. Thus the people of Scandinavia, who afterwards became so terrible to more southern countries, are described by Tacitus (Germ.c. 44.) as being of rather a mild and peaceful character. 3 These are said to have been the Beeotians, who conquered and ex- pelled the Cadmeians from Thebes. This event is a mere conjecture, and it would rather seem to have been the Epigoni who destroyed the Cadmeian power. The word Beotians occurs in Homer in the Cata- logue, and in II. v. 709, and xiii. 687 ; which last however is considered spurious. See also Il. xiv. 476. 4 Hesiod first employed the term Hellenes to designate the whole people. Strabo, viii. 272 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. thesis on this subject, to suppose the Greeks to have been always one people, under different denominations, with that diversity of character and manners among the various por- tions of them which will be produced by local situation and. other accidental circumstances, and which should cause no greater surprise than the diversity of dialects of the one language which prevailed in ancient Greece as in modern Italy. Religion will always vary with modes of life, and there is therefore no improbability in the supposition of that of the Pelasgians, that is of the people of Greece before the Achean period, having been chiefly of a rural character, such as it continued to be in Arcadia to a late period; and that as we have seen in the case of Hermes, when the Achean and Hellenic characters prevailed, the deities like the people put off the rustic character, their attri- butes changed, and offices dissimilar to their original ones were assigned them. The original meaning also of many mythi may have gone out of use; what had been symbo- lical and allegorical may have been understood literally and regarded as a real event, purely imaginary beings have been esteemed actual personages, and the legends re- lating to them been treated as genuine history; and hence have arisen many of the mythic persons, whose names in- dicate them to have been personifications of natural ob- jects, or epithets of the divinity in whose mythology they became actors. There is further a good deal of probabi- lity in the hypothesis that what afterwards became my- steries were ancient Pelasgian forms of worship, preserved in particular places, and jealously confined to a par- ticular people, but which were gradually communicated to others’. In short it would appear, that the religion, manners, genius, and national character of the Greeks of the historic times had their roots in those of the ante- historic and even ante-mythic inhabitants of the coun- try, whom we denominate Pelasgians. We have already ' See above p. 142. See also Miller, Orchomenos, p. 453. EARLY INHABITANTS. 273 pointed out the incredibility of the hypothesis of the coming of foreign colonists to Greece. The various sup- posed instances will be examined as they occur. In Grecian history we are to distinguish three periods, the Pelasgian, the Achzan, and the Hellenic. The first is ante-historic and even ante-mythic, and its existence is only to be inferred from a few feeble traces: the second is the mythic, which is rich in events, though the greater part are but the creations of fancy: the third, commencing with the Dorian migration, and being for some space of time mytho-historic or history mingled with fable, assumes towards the time of Solon the lineaments of truth, and becomes real history. It is this last period alone which presents materials for the historian. The mythic history of Greece, to which the present por- tion of our work is devoted, will present numerous instances of the practice of embodying tribes, institutions, religious ceremonies, Xc.,in the person of some fabled individual ;— the personification of their name—a practice by no means confined to Grecian mythology, as it will be found to per- vade that of almost every other people. The names of rivers, mountains, and other natural objects, made persons, also largely contribute to swell the amount of our mythic array ; to which when we add those noticed in a preceding paragraph, but few will remain to which we can venture to assign an actual and real existence. These mythic personages are usually denominated He- roes (npwec),—a word in Homer only indicative of civil rank and preeminence’. It afterwards became significative of beings of a class superior to common men; and many of those to whom Homer and Hesiod apply the term hero, in its primary sense, were in after times honoured as deities, with temples, sacrifices, and prayers,—becoming in fact the Saints of heathen Greece. Many of them, however, only resumed their pristine rank ; for the hero of one period ' The Greek fpws is plainly the Latin herus, German herr, i.e. master :—ijpwiva, and the German herrinn, mistress, are nearly the same. oh 274 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. was not unfrequently the god of a preceding one, and thus became a god once more in the eyes of posterity. The whole mythic history of Greece is genealogical ; all the personifications which we have just noticed are woven through one another in a most marvellous manner, and the gods also bear a conspicuous part in the history as pro-_ genitors of various Heroic families. Any attempt at in- troducing chronology into such a chaos is absurd in the extreme; and it is only with the glimmer of the dawn of real Grecian history,—of which the first or mytho- historic portion commences with the Dorian migration,— that the regular succession of events can be traced with any appearance of probability. The mythic portion of a nation’s annals must be always regarded as a world in it- self, the creation of fancy, where the real assumes the garb of the imaginary, and becomes indistinguishable from it; where no event can be pronounced absolutely true; where fancy and ingenuity are ever at liberty to sport and lead the inquirer an eager and delightful chase after the forms which float before him in the distance, but fade into mist when he attempts to grasp them. It is aregion of sunshine and fragrance, in which the song of the bard evermore re- sounds, pleasant to view and curious to explore; where the search after truth is rewarded by insight into the powers and operations of the human mind, and the fancy is conti- nually nourished and inspired by gay and magnificent imagery. Two courses present themselves to the narrator of the mythic history of Greece. He may either take the genea- logical one, and relate the history of each mythic family consecutively ; or he may pursue the subject geographi- cally, and distribute the legends according to the regions which are assigned as the scenes of them. Without ven- turing to assert that it is the best, we have given the preference to the latter mode, and shall eommence at Thessaly, the most northerly portion of Greece. 3 It must be previously stated, that the genealogists make Deucalion the father of Hellen (Greek), who was EARLY INHABITANTS. 275 the father of Dorus, Aolus, and Xuthus, which last had two sons, Achzus and Ion. Deucalion had also a son named Amphictyon, and a daughter Protogeneia (First- born), who was by Zeus the mother of Endymion, the father of Adtolus ;—all personifications of races, countries, and institutions *. 1 See, on the subjects discussed in this section, Muller’s Orchomenos, Wachsinuth’s Hellenische Alterthumskunde, Volcker, Myth. der Jap. Geschl. The present writer has in his Outlines of History given a different view of the early history of Greece; but he had not at the time that work was written carefully considered the subject, and he followed too implicitly the guidance of others. 276 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaprer II. LEGENDS OF THESSALY. Tuoucu the Greeks regarded Thessaly as in a great mea- sure their parent-land, yet the legends of which it is the Scene are comparatively few. The cause perhaps is, that the Thessalians of the historic times were an unpo- lished race, and eminent poets did not appear among them. If it be true, as is supposed, that they were of Illyrian descent, they may have suffered the legends of their pre- decessors to fall into oblivion. Knv& cat AAkvovn. Ceijx et Halcyone. Ceyx was the son of Morning-star (Ewoddpoc), and king of Trachis. He married Halcy one the daughter of Enarete and AMolus the son of Deucalion. Pride caused the ruin of both. He called his wife Hera, and was by her styled Zeus in return. Zeus indignant at their impiety turned them both into birds; making hima sea-gull (Knut), and her a king-fisher (aXxvov)'. Another version of this legend’ says, that Ceyx going to Claros to consult the oracle of Apollo perished by ship- wreck, and that his wife on finding his lifeless body on the strand, cast herself into the sea. The gods out of com- passion changed them both into the birds called Halcyons. During seven days of winter the Halcyon sits on her ego's on the surface of the sea, which then is calm and free from storm, and these are called the Halcyon-days. eee 1 Apollod.i.7. As this writer, who closely followed Pherecydes, will be in future our principal guide, we shall not always make refe- rence to him. Whenever no reference is given, he is to be regarded as the authority. 2 Ovid, Met. xi. 410, e¢ seg. ADMETUS AND ALCESTIS. JASON. PAL Ceyx is introduced into the mythus of Hercules, whose friend he was said to have been. The splendid robe, which when poisoned by Deianeira caused the death of that hero, was the gift of Ceyx. The fable of Ceyx and Halcyone is evidently one of those legends of which we have seen so many examples, devised to account for the names, habits, and properties of animals, "Aduntrog kat ”"AXkcnortc. Admetus et Alcestis. Cretheus the son of /Kolus married Tyro the daughter of his brother Salmoneus. His children by her were /Eson the father of Jason, Amythaon, Pheres and Hippo- lyta. Pheres built the city of Phere: his son Admetus married Alcestis the daughter of Pelias, who was son of Tyro by Poseidon". The story of Admetus has been al- ready noticed *. ‘Taowv. Jason. Eson succeeded his father Cretheus in the dominion over Iolcos, which the latter had built. On his death, leaving his son Jason an infant, his half-brother Pelias became possessed of the supreme power. According to other accounts Auson was dethroned by Pelias, and his wife Polymeda, the daughter of Autolycus, committed his infant son Jason to the care of the centaur Cheiron. Pelias having inquired of the oracle respecting the duration of his kingdom, the god warned him to beware of “the one-sandaled man.” The oracle was long obscure. At length as Pelias was one day about to sacrifice on the sea- shore to Poseidon, he invited to it among others Jason, who from his love of agriculture mostly abode in the coun- try. As Jason was crossing the river Anauros on his way to the feast, he lost one of his sandals in the stream. 1 See p. 67. 2 See p. 93. 278 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Pelias perceiving’ him, went up and asked him what he would do, if he had the power, had it been predicted to him that he should be slain by one of his. citizens. Jason replied, that he would order him to go and fetch the Golden Fleece. Pelias took him at his word, and imposed this task on himself ’. Another and more poetical version of the legend * re- lates, that when Jason had attained the age of twenty, he proceeded unknown to Cheiron to Lolcos, to claim the rights of his family. He bore, says the Theban poet, two spears ; he wore the close-fitting Magnesian dress, and a pard- skin to throw off the rain, and_ his long unshorn locks waved on his back. He entered the market-place, and the people, who knew him not, marvelled if he were Apollo or the “‘brazen-carred spouse of Aphrodite” (Ares). Pelias came just then in his mule-car ; and the moment he looked on him, perceiving he had but one sandal, he shuddered. He asked him who he was, and Jason mildly answered his question, telling him that he was come to demand the kingdom of his fathers which Zeus had given to AZolus. He then went into the house of his father, by whom he was joyfully recognised. On the intelligence_of the arrival of Jason, his uncles Pheres and Amythaon, and his cousins Admetus and Melampus, hastened to Iolcos. Five days they feasted and enjoyed themselves: onthe sixth Jason disclosed to them his wishes, and went accompanied by them to the dwelling of Pelias, who at once proposed to resign the kingdom, retaining the herds and pastures, at the same time stimulating Jason to the expedition of the Golden Fleece. Jason proclaimed his enterprise throughout Greece, and the bravest heroes hastened to share in the glory. The fleece was gained by the aid of Medea the daughter of the king of Colchis, and the Argo returned to Iolcos in safety”. But during the absence of Jason, Pelias had TE SOME ' Apollod. i. 9. > Pindar, Pyth. iy, ° The particulars of this voyage will be related below. JASON. PELEUS. 279 driven his father and mother to self-destruction, and put to death their remaining child. Desirous of vengeance, Jason, after he had delivered the fleece to Pelias, entreated Medea to exercise her art in his behalf. He sailed with his companions to the Isthmus, and there dedicated Argo to Poseidon; and Medea shortly afterwards ingratiated herself with the daughters of Pelias,and by vaunting her art of restoring youth, and proving it by cutting up an old ram, and putting him into a pot whence issued a bleating lamb, persuaded them to treat their father in the same manner. Pelias was buried by his son Acastus, who drove Jason and Medea from Iolcos. They retired to Corinth, where they lived happily for ten years; till Jason, marrying Glauce or Creusa, the daughter of Creon king of that place, put away Medea. The Colchian princess, enraged at the ingratitude of her husband, called on the gods for vengeance, sent a poisoned robe as a gift to the bride, and then killing her own children mounted a chariot drawn by winged serpents, and fled to Athens, where she married /Egeus, by whom she had a son named Medus. Being detected in an attempt to destroy Theseus, she fled with her son. Medus conquered several barbarous tribes, and the country which he named after himself, and finally fell in battle against the Indians. Medea returning un- known to Colchis, found that her father AZetes had been robbed of his throne by her brother Persus: she restored him, and deprived the usurper of life’. The legend relates nothing further of either Jason or Medea. The story of Medea has furnished a subject for one of the finest tragedies of Euripides. TInAectc. Peleus. By Agina the daughter of the Achzan river-god Asopus Zeus was the father of Auacus, who dwelt in the island ! Apollod. i. 9. 280. MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. named from his mother. ‘The children of fiacus were, Peleus, Telamon, and Phocus. The last having been slain by his brothers outof jealousy, Avacus banished them from the island. Peleus fled to Phthia, and was there puri- fied of the murder by Eurytion the son of Actor, whose daughter Polymela he married. Being so unfortunate as to kill his father-in-law by accident at the Calydonian hunt, he fled to Iolcos, where he was purified by Acastus. the son of Pelias. At the funeral games of Pelias he contended with Atalanta: Astydameia the wife of Acastus. beholding fell in love with him, and solicited him by letters, but in vain, to gratify her passion. Out of revenge, she sent to inform his wife that he was going to marry Ste- rope the daughter of Acastus; and without inquiring into the truth of the tale, the credulous Polymela strangled herself. Astydameia, with the usual artifice of a disap- pointed woman, next accused Peleus to her husband of an attempt on her honour. Acastus believed the charge, but not thinking that he could lawfully put to death one whom he had purified, invited him to join in a hunt on Mount Pelion. A dispute arising there among the hunters about their respective success, Peleus cut out the tongues of all the beasts which he killed and put them into his pouch. The companions of Acastus getting all these beasts, de- rided Peleus for having killed no game; but pulling out the tongues, he declared that he had killed just so many. He fell asleep on Mount Pelion, and Acastus taking his sword and hiding it under the cow-dung went away, leaving him there’, When he awoke, he sought for his sword, but in vain; and the Centaurs coming on him would have put him to death, but for Cheiron, who saved him, and then looked for and returned him his sword. - The sea-nymph Thetis had been wooed by Zeus and Poseidon, but an oracle having declared that her child would be greater than his sire, the gods withdrew. Others say, that she was courted by Zeus alone, till he was in-. Narre een ee I a Hesiod, Frag. xxxi. PELEUS. 281 formed by Prometheus that her son would dethrone him. Others again will have it that Thetis, who was reared by Hera, would not assent to the wishes of Zeus, and that the god in his anger condemned her to espouse a mortal. Cheiron knowing this, advised Peleus to aspire to the bed of the nymph of the sea, and instructed him how to win her. He therefore lay in wait, and seized and held her fast, though she changed herself into every variety of form, becoming fire, water, and a salvage beast’. The wedding was solemnized on Pelion: the gods all honoured it with their presence, and bestowed their respective gifts on the bridegroom. Cheiron gave him an ashen spear, Poseidon the Harpy-born steeds Balius and Xanthus, He- phestus a sword, the other gods other gifts, and all their presents were immortal. The Muses sang, the Nereides danced to celebrate the wedding, and Ganymedes poured forth nectar for the guests”. When the celebrated son of Peleus and Thetis was born, his mother wished to make him immortal. She therefore placed him unknown to Peleus each night in the fire, to purge away what he had inherited of mortal from his father’; and by day she anointed him with ambrosia. But Peleus watched, and seeing the child panting in the fire cried out. Thetis thus frustrated in her design left her babe, and returned to her sister-Nereides. Peleus conveyed the infant to Cheiron, who reared him on the entrails of lions and on the marrow of bears and wild boars, and named him Achilles, because he never applied his “ips (yetAn) toa breast. Peleus joining with Jason and the Dioscuri, took Iolcos and slew Astydameia. He divided her body, and marched his army into the town between her severed members’. | This seems to have been a property of the sea-gods. See above, Nereus and Proteus. 2 Eurip. Iph.in Aul. 1025. Catullus, Nuptie Pel. et Thet. 3 Apollod. ili. 13. 282 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Keévravpo cai Aamia. Centauri et Lapithe. The Centaurs and Lapithe are two mythic tribes which are always mentioned together. The former are spoken of twice in the Ilias under the name of Wild-beasts (pn- pec)’, and once under their proper name*. We also find the name Centaurs in the Odyssey. They seem to have been a rude mountain tribe, dwelling on and about Mount Pelion. There is no ground for supposing that Homer and Hesiod conceived them to be of a mingled form, as they were subsequently represented. Pindar is the earliest poet extant who thus describes them. According to this poet *, Ixion son of Phlegyas and king of Thessaly was admitted to the society of the gods in Olympus. He here fell in love with Hera; and Zeus on learning his audacity sent a cloud in the form of his queen, which Ixion embraced, and the cloud bore him a son named Centaurus. Ixion was precipitated by Zeus to the under- world, and fixed to an ever-revolving four-spoked wheel. Centaurus when grown up wandered about the foot of Pe- lion, where he copulated with the Magnesian mares, who brought forth the Centaurs, a race partaking of the form of both parents, their lower parts resembling their dams, the upper their sire. By his wife Dia, the daughter of Deioneus (which latter he treacherously murdered), Ixion had a son named Pei- rithous, who married Hippodameia daughter of Adrastus king of Argos. The chiefs of his own tribe, the Lapi- the, were all invited to the wedding, as were also the Centaurs, who dwelt in the neighbouring Pelion; Theseus, Nestor, and other strangers, were likewise present. At the feast, Eurytion one of the Centaurs becoming intoxi- cated with the wine, attempted to offer violence to the bride, but was severely punished by the Lapithe. The other Centaurs took his part, and a dreadful conflict arose, 1 Tl, 1. 268. il. 742. 2 Tl. xi, 882. 3 Pyth. il, 78, e¢ seq. CENTAURS AND LAPITH®. 283 in which several of them were slain by the Lapithe. The Centaurs were finally driven from Pelion, and obliged to retire to other regions’. When Hercules was on his way to hunt the Eryman- thian boar, he was entertained by the Centaur Pholus ; and this gave rise toa conflict between him and the other Centaurs, which ended in the total discomfiture of the latter.—We shall reserve this legend till we are narrating the exploits of this hero. The most celebrated of the Centaurs was Cheiron, the son of Kronus by the nymph Philyra*. He is called by Homer ° “‘ the most upright of the Centaurs.” He reared Hercules, Asclepius, and Achilles; and was famous for his skill in surgery, which he taught the two last heroes. But having been accidentally wounded with a poisoned arrow by Hercules, he suffered extreme pain, till, on his prayer to Zeus to be deprived of his immortality, he was raised to the sky and made the constellation of the Bow- man :—a late fable manifestly. It is by no means easy to say at what time the idea of the semi-ferine form of the Centaurs first prevailed. Ho- 1 Diodorus, iv. In Od. xxi. 295. there is no mention of Hippoda- meia. It is only said of Eurytion Mauyépevos Kak’ épece ddpov kara IerpeO0ar0" and that the heroes dragging him to the door cut off his ears and nose; that he departed bewailing his misfortune, and that “ from that time discord arose between the Centaurs and men.” In II. ii. 742, it is said that Hippodameia bore to Peirithous (whom Homer makes a son of Zeus) Polypeetes “ on the day when he punished the shaggy wild beasts, and drove them from Pelion, and made them retire to the A‘thicans.” And Nestor says (I].i. 269), that he came from Pylos, “ from afar,” to aid Peirithous and his friends, at their own invitation, as was usual in the heroic ages. So that it would appear that the ill-conduct of Eu- rytion, whatever it was, gave cause to a war between the rude Centaurs and the more civilised Lapithe, which ended in the expulsion of the former. Those who are acquainted with the fondness of later poets for making definite whatever was left unexplained by Homer, will easily see why violence attempted on Hippodameia is the cause as- signed for the war. 2 See p. 49. 3 Il. xi. 832. 284 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. mer appears not to have known anything of it. Hesiod’, in describing the contest between them and the Lapithe, represents the latter fighting with spears, and the former with pine-clubs, which only proves the greater rudeness of the Centaurs ; but Pindar is clear on the subject, so that in his time they were become half-horses. The appella- tion (pipes) given them by Homer probably led the poets to describe them in this manner. It is the opinion of Buttmann* that the Centaurs and the Lapithe are two purely poetic names, used to desig- nate two opposite races of men ;-—the former, the rude horse-riding tribes which tradition records to have been spread overthe north of Greece; the latter, the more civilised race, which founded towns, and gradually drove their wild neighbours back into the mountains. He therefore thinks the exposition of Centaurs as Air-piercers (from Kevrety Tv avpav) not an improbable one, for that very idea is suggested by the figure of a Cossack leaning forward with his protruded lance as he gallops along. But he regards the idea of xévravpog having been in its origin simply Kév- Twp as much more probable. Lapithe may, he thinks, have signified Stone-persuaders* (from aac metOew), a poetic appellation for the builders of towns. He supposes Hippodameia to have been a Centauress, married to the prince of the Lapithz, and thus accounts for the Centaurs having been at the wedding. Miiller” regards the Lapithe as being the same people with the Phlegyans, shortly to be described. It is certainly not a little strange that a rude mountain- race like the Centaurs should be viewed as horsemen ; eee oe ! Shield of Herc., 178. 2 Mythologus, ii. p. 22. $ Like dvaxropos, &daaropos. He holds the word Adoraupos, which he regards as a corruption of Adorwp (from Ady to desire), to be per- fectly parallel to xéyraupos. * The Dioscuri were for an opposite reason called Aarépoa (Frag. Soph. apud Stob.). » Orchomenos, p. 195. CENTAURS AND LAPITH®. 285 and the legend * which ascribes the perfecting of the art of horsemanship to the Lapithe is unquestionably the more probable one. The name Centaur which so much resembles the Greek verb xevréw to spur, we fancy gave origin to the fiction. This derivation of it is however rather dubious. | Virg. Geor. iii. 114. 286 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuapter III. LEGENDS OF ATOLIA. Owetc. Cneus. Tut hero-princes of Calydon in AXtolia derived their ori- gin from Zeus by Protogeneia the daughter of Deucalion. Her son was named Aithlius: he married Calyce the daughter of AXolus, and was father of Endymion, who enjoyed the love of the goddess Selena. Aétolus, one of the sons of Endymion by a Nais, having killed Apis the son of Jason, fled to Curetis, which he named after himself Axtolia. His sons were Pleuron and Calydon. Agenor the son of Pleuron had by Epicaste, the daughter of Calydon, Porthaon and Demonica; and Porthaon was by Euryta (grand-daughter of the river-god Acheloiis) father of Gineus, who married Althea the daughter of Thestius, by whom he had Meleager, Deianeira, and other children. CEneus was devoted to agriculture and planting. A legend, evidently founded on his name, says that he was the first who received the vine from Dionysus. At one of the annual feasts given by him at the conclusion of harvest to all the gods, through inadvertence or design he omit- ted to notice Artemis. The offended goddess immediately sent a wild boar of huge size and strength to ravage the lands of Calydon, and destroy the cattle and people. A general hunt was proclaimed, and the boar was slain; but — the death of Meleager the brave son of Cineus was the consequence. Althza did not long survive her son, whose death she had caused. After her death Gineus married Periboea the daughter of Hipponotis, by whom he had Tydeus'; who, having slain either his uncle, his cousins, 1 Tydeus is called an A‘tolian by Homer,—Il. iv. 399. C(2NEUS. MELEAGER. Piss or his brother (for writers differ), fled to Adrastus at Ar- gos. The sons of his brother Agrius dispossessed Gineus of his kingdom, and kept him in prison. But Diomedes the son of Tydeus coming secretly to Calydon slew all the sons of Agrius but two, who escaped to Peloponnesus ; and as his grandfather was now too old to reign, he gave the kingdom to Andremon, who had married a daughter of Gineus. He took-the old man with him to Pelopon- nesus; but the two surviving sons of Agrius, watching their opportunity, killed the aged prince at the house of Telephus in Arcadia. Diomedes brought his body to Argos, and buried it where the town called from him Cinoe was afterwards built. MeXéaypoc. Meleager. The tale of the Calydonian Hunt is a legend of great antiquity. In the Ilias’, when Pheenix joins his entreaties to those of Odysseus to prevail on Achilles to lay aside his wrath and aid the Achzans, he quotes the case of Meleager as an instance of the impolicy of not yielding readily and in time: ‘‘ 1 remember this event,” says he, ““long ago, not lately, how it was; and I will tell it to you all my friends.” He relates the circumstance of the neglect of Artemis by CEneus at his harvest-home feast (@aAvoi), and her vengeance. Hunters and dogs were collected from all sides, and the boar was, with the loss of several lives, at length destroyed. A quarrel arose between the Curetes and the AXtolians about the head and hide, and a war was TL. ix. 527. We know not what may be the feeling of others, but for our part we never read this tale of old Phoenix or Nestor’s narrative ({l. xi. 670.) of the war of the Pylians and Eleans without a peculiar degree of pleasure. They carry us back from the remote age of the war of Troy into a period removed still further in gray antiquity. The pleasure is, to our apprehension, something akin to that inspired by the contemplation of very ancient ruins. 288 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the consequence. As long as Meleager fought, the Cu- retes had the worst of it, and could not keep the field ; but when enraged at his mother Althea he remained with his wife the fair Cleopatra’ and abstained from the war, noise and clamour rose about the gates, and the towers of Calydon were shaken by the victorious Curetes: for Al- thea, grieved at the fate of her brother who had fallen in the fight, had with tears invoked Aides and Persephoneia to send death to her son. The elders of the Aitolians supplicated Meleager: they sent the priests of the gods to entreat him to come forth and defend them: they offered him a piece of land (ré- pevoc), at his own selection, of fifty gyas*, half arable, half vine-land. His aged father Gineus ascended his chamber and implored him ; his sisters and his mother supplicated him, but in vain. He remained inexorable, till his very chamber was shaken, when the Curetes had mounted the towers and set fire to the town. Then his wife besought him with tears,—picturig to him the evils of a captured town, the slaughter of the men, the burning of the town, the dragging away into captivity of the women and children. Moved by these circumstances, he clad himself in arms, went forth, and repelled the enemy ; but not having done it out of regard to them, the AXtolians did not give him the proffered recompense. Such is the more ancient form of the legend. In gsuc- ceeding ages it underwent various modifications. Meleager, it is said*, invited all the heroes of Greece to the hunt, proposing the hide of the boar as the prize of whoever should slay him. Numbers of the AZtolians came: 1 Cleopatra, Phoenix says, was the daughter of Marpessa by Idas, the bravest man of his time; for he ventured to take arms against Apollo when he carried off his bride: ‘‘ Her father and honoured mother called her then in their house Halcyone, because her mother had wept, having the lot of the grief-full Halcyone, when far-shooting Pheebus-Apollo carried her off.” 2 “< reyrnkovtéyvorv.” The size of the yva is not known. 3 Apollod. 1.8. Ovid, Met. viil. 270. MELEAGER. 289 there was besides Meleager, Dryas the son of Ares; of the Curetes, the sons of Thestius ; Idas and Lynceus the sons of Aphareus came from Messene; Castor and Poly- deukes the sons of Zeus, from Laconia; Theseus the son of AXgeus, from Athens ; Admetus the son of Pheres, from Phere ; Anczus and Cepheus the sons of Lycurgus, from Arcadia ; Jason the son of Ason, from Iolecos ; Iphicles the son of Amphitryon, from Thebes; Peirithotis the son of Ixion, from Larissa; Peleus the son of AZacus, and Eurytion the son of Actor, from Phthia; Atalanta the daughter of Jasus, from Arcadia; Telamon the son of fHacus, from Salamis; Amphiaraiis the son of Oicles, from Argos. These chiefs were entertained during nine days in the house of Gineus. On the tenth, Cepheus and Anceus and some others refused to hunt in company with a maiden ; but Meleager, who was in love with Atalanta, obliged them to give over their opposition. The hunt began : Anceeus and Cepheus speedily met their fate from the tusks of the boar: Peleus accidentally killed Eury- tion: Atalanta with an arrow gave the monster his first wound : Amphiaraiis shot him in the eye; and Meleager ran him through the flanks and killed him. He presented the skin and head to Atalanta. The sons of Thestius, offended at this preference of a woman, took from Atalanta the skin, which, they said, fell to them of right, on account of their family, if Meleager resigned his claim to it. But Meleager in a rage killed the sons of Thestius, and re- stored the skin to Atalanta. When Meleager was seven days old, the Meera, it was said, came, and declared that when the billet which was burning on the hearth should be consumed the babe would die. Althea hearing this, snatched the billet, and laid it up carefully in a chest. But now her love for her son giving way to resentment for the death of her bro- thers, she took the billet from its place of concealment, and cast it once more into the flames. As it consumed, the vigour of Meleager wasted away, and when it was reduced U 290 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. to ashes, his life terminated. Repenting when too late of what she had done, Althea put an end to her life by a cord. Her exumple was followed by Cleopatra ; and his sisters, who would not be comforted in their affliction, were by the compassion of the gods changed into the birds called Meleagrides. The names CGineus and Meleager we may perceive are derived from agriculture, and have consequently a Pelas- gian alr. CADMUS. 29) Cuarter IV. LEGENDS OF BQkOTIA. Kaduoc. Cadmus. THERE was a tradition, that in the time of Ogyges a flood overwhelmed Beeotia, which continued under water for two hundred years. When the water had run off, the land lay desert, or very thinly peopled, till a colony from Pheenicia, led by Cadmus, came and built the city of Thebes. Poseidon, says the ordinary legend’, was by Libya the father of two sons, Belus and Agenor; the former of whom reigned in Egypt. Agenor having gone to Europe, there married Telephassa, by whom he had three sons, Cadmus, Phcenix, and Cilix, and one daughter, Europa. Zeus becoming enamoured of Europa carried her away to Crete; and Agenor, grieving for the loss of his only daughter, ordered his sons to go in quest of her, and not to return till they had found her. They were accompanied by their mother and by Thasus a son of Poseidon. Their long search was to no purpose: they could get no intelli- gence of their sister; and fearing the indignation of their father, they resolved to settle in various countries. Phoe- nix therefore established himself in Phoenicia, Cilix in Cilicia; Cadmus and his mother went to Thrace, where Thasus founded a town also named from himself. After the death of his mother, Cadmus went to Delphi to inquire of the oracle respecting Europa. The god de- sired him to cease troubling himself about her, but to follow a cow as his guide, and to build a city where she should lie down. On leaving the temple he went through Phocis, and meeting a cow belonging to the herds of ' Apollod. iii, 1. u 2 292 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Pelagon, he followed her. She went through Beeotia’ till she came to where Thebes now stands, and there lay down. Wishing to sacrifice her to Athena, he sent his companions to fetch water from the fount of Ares; but the fount was guarded by a serpent, who killed the greater part of them. Cadmus engaged with and destroyed the serpent : by the direction of Athena he sowed its teeth, and immediately a crop of armed men sprang up, who slew each other, either quarrelling or through ignorance : for it is said that when Cadmus saw them rising he flung stones at them ; and thinking it was done by some of themselves, they fell upon and slew each other. Five only survived; Echion (Viper), Udeus (Groundly), Chthonius (Earthly), Hy- perénor (Mighty), and Pelor (Monster). These were called the Sown (oraprou”) ; and they joined with Cad- mus to build the city. For killing the sacred serpent, Cadmus had to spend an entire year in servitude to Ares*. The year at that time contained eight of the later years. At the expira- tion of that period, Athena herself prepared him a palace, and Zeus gave him Harmonia the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite in marriage. All the gods, quitting heaven, cele- brated the marriage in the Cadmeia, the palace of Cad- mus. The bridegroom presented his bride with a peplus and a collar, the work of Hephestus, given to him, it is said, by the divine artist himself. Harmonia became the mother of four daughters, Semele, Autonoe, Ino, and Agave; and of one son, Polydorus. After the various misfortunes which befel their chil- dren, Cadmus and his wife quitted Thebes, now erown odious to them, and migrated to the country of the Enchelians ; who, being harassed by the incursions of the Illyrians, were told by the oracle that if they made ' It is plain that the legend arose from the similarity between Beeotia and the Greek for cow, Gous. ? If Sparti was the name of a tribe or family in Thebes, we have the origin of this legend also. 5 See above, p. 94. CADMUS. 293 Cadmus and Harmonia their leaders they should be suc- cessful. They obeyed the god, and his prediction was verified. Cadmus became king of the Illyrians, and had a son named Illyrius. Shortly afterwards he and Har- monia were changed into serpents, and sent by Zeus to the Elysian Plain’. There does not occur any mention whatever of Cadmus in the Ilias, and the name appears but once in the Odys- sey®. Hesiod® enumerates him among the mortals who were honoured with the love of goddesses. Pindar * places him in the Island of the Blest, along with the heroes Peleus and Achilles. Hence we might infer that Cadmus was in the times of these poets regarded as one of the genuine Grecian heroes. Yet we find that the Greeks adopted the theory (pro- bably a coinage of the Pheenicians) of the ancient Theban hero being son to the king of Sidon, who led a colony into Beeotia and founded Thebes. It never entered their minds to reflect that Thebes, situated at a distance from the sea, in a rich fertile valley only adapted for agricul- ture, and which never had any trade, was the very last place that a commercial people like the Pheenicians would have selected to colonise, and that no traces of Phoenician influence were remaining in the Theban language or in- stitutions. There prevailed, in fact, all over Greece a sort of infatuation on the subject of early colonies from Asia, and no lie was too improbable for all orders of the people to swallow. | The real state of the case seems to have been this. The people who in Homer and Hesiod inhabit Thebes were called Cadmeians, and their citadel the Cadmeia. Cad- mus was then either a personification of the name of the people, or the name of the tutelar deity worshiped by aera 1 Apollod. iii. Ovid, Met. iil. 2 Od. v. 333. 3 Theog. 937, 975. 4 Ol. ii, 142. 294 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE, them. The Pheenicians having learned this name, and finding it similar in sound to their own word Kedem, signi- fying the East, probably took occasion to frame the fable of his Sidonian origin, which the Greeks then connected with the legend of Europa the daughter of Phoenix, here- after to be noticed. There was a being named Cadmilus worshiped in the Samothracian mysteries, whom some critics regard as the same with Cadmus ; but as appears to us, with little more grounds than the unstable one of similarity of name. Welcker' makes the name Cadmus identical with the Cretan xoopoc, and interprets it chief or leader. If this etymology be correct, it offers an easy explanation of the marriage of Cadmus with Harmonia, which word is derived from a verb signifying to regulate. Zeuérn. Semele. Sémele the daughter of Cadmus enjoyed the fatal ho- nour of the love of Zeus. The jealousy of Hera sug- gested to the unfortunate fair-one the imprudent request which cost her her life. Her offspring was Dionysus, who became the god presiding over the vintage.—-The story of Semele and her son will be found in the preceding part of this volume. 5) > a Wrst * ° Avrovon, Aptoratoc, kat “Axraiwy. Autonoe, Aristeus, et Actgon. Autonoe was married to Aristzus, and was by him mo- ther of Actzon. Aristeeus was the son of Apollo by the nymph Cyréne, the daughter of Hypseus son of the river- god Peneius by Creiisa the daughter of Earth, and he was king of the Lapithe of Thessaly. Cyrene was averse from all feminine occupations, and passed her days in hunting the wild beasts, and thus protecting the cattle of her father. One day as she was engaged in combat with * Ueber eine Kretische Kolonie, p. 22. On the subject of Cadmus, see, besides this work, Miiller’s Orchomenos, p. 113, et seq. Se ee eee AUTONOE, ARISTEUS, AND ACTEON. 295 a lion, Apollo beheld her, and filled with admiration of her beauty and her courage, called out to Cheiron to quit his cave and come to look at her. To the questions of the god respecting her, the Centaur replied by informing him that he was to be her spouse, and to carry her in his golden car over the sea to the rich garden of Zeus, where Libya would joyfully receive her in a golden abode; that there she would bear a son whom Hermes would take to the “well-seated Seasons and Earth,” who would feed him with nectar and ambrosia, and render him immortal; and that he should be called Zeus, and holy Apollo, Agreus (Hunter), and Nomius (Herdsman), and Aristeus. Apollo lost no time ; he conveyed the nymph to the part of Libya named from her, and ‘‘ silver-footed Aphrodite” received them on their arrival, and spread the bridal couch’. Aristeus was placed in the number of the rural deities ; the invention of the culture of the olive and of the art of managing bees was ascribed to him. He was particularly worshiped in the isle of Ceos ; for tradition said that one time when that island was afflicted by a drought, the inha- bitants invited Aristeus thither from Thessaly, and on his erecting an altar to Zeus Icmeeus (Moistener), the Etesian breezes breathed over the isle, and the evil departed. The Latin poet Virgil* has elegantly related the story of the love of Aristeus for Eurydice the wife of Orpheus ; his pursuit of her, and her unfortunate death; on which the Napzan nymphs, her companions, destroyed all his bees; and the mode adopted by him on the advice of his mother to stock once more his hives. Actzon was the offspring of the marriage of Aristzeus with Autonoe the daughter of Cadmus. He was reared by Cheiron, and becoming passionately devoted to the chase, passed his days chiefly in pursuit of the wild beasts that haunted Mount Citheron. One sultry day as he rambled alone he chanced to surprise Artemis and her nymphs as they were bathing. The goddess, incensed at Cee ee ee ee car ge crt Pet SRE Seat: 1 Pindar, Pyth. ix. 2 Geor. lv. 296 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECR. his intrusion, flung some water upon him and turned him into a stag’. She also inspired with madness the fifty dogs who were with him, and they ran down and devoured their unhappy master. They then went about whining in quest of him, till they came at last to the cave of Cheiron, who appeased their grief by making an image of Acteon®. The following very probable origin ig assigned to the mythus of Aristzeus and Acteon®. The two are the same god, Zeus Aristos or Acteus *,—the same with Apollo Nomius, who presided over bees, olives, vines, and agri- culture in general, and was worshiped in Arcadia, Thes- saly, Boeotia, and the colonies from these countries. ‘It was a custom for a priest, accompanied by some noble youths, all clad in fresh-stript sheep-skins, to ascend at the beginning of the dog-days to the temple of Zeus Ac- tus, on one of the summits of Pelion, to sacrifice to this god. The cave of Cheiron was also on this mountain. Hence the stories of Aristeus and his son admit of an easy explication :—from the two names of the one Pelas- gian god were made two heroes. ‘Te Kai ’ABépac. Ino et Athamas. Ino was married to A’thamas, a prince of Beeotia and son of AKolus. Athamas had been already married to N €phele (Cloud), by whom he had two children, Phrixus and Helle. Onthe © death of Nephele he espoused Ino the daughter of Cad-_ mus, by whom he had two sons, Learchus and Melicerta. Ino feeling the usual jealousy of a step-mother, resolyed to destroy the children of Nephele. For this purpose she * Stesichorus of Himera (Pausanias, ix. 2.) Says she threw over him a stag’s hide and caused him to be torn by his dogs, that he might not marry Semele. 2 Apollod. iii. 4, Ovid, Met. iii. 3 Muller, Orchomenos, 248, 348. * dpraros, i.e. best » yet may it not havecome from some word akin to the Latin arista? Acteus probably from QKTI, corn. INO AND ATHAMAS. 297 persuaded the women to parch the seed-corn unknown to their husbands. They did as she desired, and the lands consequently yielded no crop. Athamas sent to Delphi to consult the oracle how the threatening famine might be averted. Ino persuaded the messengers to say that Apollo directed Phrixus to be sacrificed to Zeus. Com- pelled by his people Athamas reluctantly placed his son before the altar ; but Nephele snatched away both her son and her daughter, and gave them a gold-fleeced ram which she had obtained from Hermes, which carried them through the air over sea and land. They proceeded safely till they came to the sea between Sigeeum and the Chersonesus, into which Helle fell, and it was named from her Hellespontus (Helle’s Sea)’. Phrixus went on 10 Colchis to AZetes the son of Helius, who received him kindly, and gave him in marriage Chalciope his daughter. He there sacrificed his ram to Zeus Phyxius, and gave the golden fleece to Metes, who nailed it to an oak in the grove of Ares. Athamas, through the enmity of Hera to Ino, who had suckled the infant Dionysus, was afterwards seized with madness. In his phrensy he shot his son Learchus with an arrow ; or as others say, dashed him to pieces against a rock. Ino fled with her other son; and being closely pur- sued by her furious husband, sprang with her child from the cliff of Moluris near Corinth into the sea. The gods took pity on her and made her a sea-goddess under the name of Leucothea, and Melicerta a sea-god under that of Palsmon ’*. See iy 6 a ee 1 The Hellespont, i.e. the Sea of Hellas, is mentioned by Homer (Il. vii.86.), and the epithet Aarvs, broad, there given to it, has not a little perplexed the critics, who understand by Hellespont merely the strait. But that supposition infers a greater degree of intercourse be- tween Greece and the shores of the Euxine, than the general tenour of the Ilias and Odyssey allows us to suppose; and we think it more pro- bable that the Hellespont originally was a portion of the northern part of the Hgean. This is also called the Thracian Sea (Il. xxiii. 230.). If Wolf’s opinion (see above p. 25.) be correct, the two names of the same sea are easily to be accounted for. 2 See p. 220. 298 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Athamas, being obliged to leave Beeotia, inquired of the god where he should settle. He was told to establish him- self in the place where he should be entertained by the wild beasts. Having wandered over many lands, he came one day to where some wolves were devouring the thighs of sheep. At the sight of him they fled, abandoning their prey. Judging this to be the fulfilment of the oracle, he settled in this place, built a town which he named from himself Athamantia; and martryine Themisto the daugh- ter of Hypseus had by her four children, Leucon, Ery- throe, Schceneus, and Ptoiis'. ‘Ayaun kat IevOedbc. Agave et Pentheus. Agave, the remaining daughter of Cadmus, was married to Echion, one of the Sparti. Her son Pentheus suc- ceeded his grandfather in the government over Thebes. While he was reigning, Dionysus came from the East and sought to introduce his orgies into his native city. The women all gave enthusiastically into the new religion, and Mount Citheron rang to the frantic yells of the Bac- chantes. Pentheus sought to check the phrensy ; but, deceived by the god, he went secretly and ascended a tree on Citheron to be an ocular witness of the revels. While here, he was descried by his mother and aunts, to whom Bacchus made him appear to be a wild beast, and was torn to pieces by them. This adventure of Pentheus has furnished the groundwork of one of the finest dramas of Euripides,—his Bacchee?. ZnGoc cai Audiwy. Zethus et Amphion. After the death of Pentheus, Thebes was governed by Polydorus the son of Cadmus, who married Nycteis the daughter of Nycteus. Their son was Labdacus, who on Ne 0s ‘ Apollod. i. 9. * Apollod. iii. Ovid, Met. iii, 5) aw: SOY ZETHUS AND AMPHION. 299 succeeding his father opposed himself like Pentheus to the religion of Dionysus, and underwent a similar fate. As his son Laius was but a year old, the throne was oc- cupied by Lycus the brother of Nycteus. Both Lycus and his brother had fled from Eubcea for killing Phlegyas the son of Ares ; and as they were re- lated to Pentheus, he enrolled them among the citizens of Thebes. Lycus on the death of Labdacus was chosen polemarch by the Thebans; and he seized the regal power, which he occupied for twenty years, till he was killed by Zethus and Amphion. Zeus had had a love-affair with Antiope the daughter of Nycteus. Terrified at the threats of her father on the consequences of it becoming apparent, Antiope fled to Sicyon, where she married Epopeus. Nycteus out of grief put an end to himself, having previously charged his brother Lycus to punish Epopeus and Antiope. Lycus accordingly marched an army against Sicyon, took it, slew Epopeus, and led Antiope away captive. On the way to Thebes she brought forth twins at Eleuthere. The unhappy babes were exposed on the mountain; but a neatherd having found them, reared them, calling the one Zethus, the other Amphion. The former devoted himself to the care of cattle; Amphion passed his time in the practice of music, having been presented with a lyre by Hermes. Meantime Lycus had put Antiope in bonds, and she “was treated with the utmost cruelty by him and his wife Dirce. But her chains loosed of themselves, and she fled to the dwelling of her sons in search of shelter and pro- tection. Having recognised her, they resolved to avenge her wrongs: they attacked and slew Lycus, and tying Dirce by the hair to a bull let him drag her till she was dead: they then cast her body into the fount which was named from her. They expelled Laius, seized on the government, and walled-in the town; for which purpose the stones are said to have moved in obedience to the lyre of Amphion. 300 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Zethus married Theba, who gave name to the city. Amphion espoused Niobe the daughter of Tantalus, by whom he had, according to most testimonies, an equal number of sons and daughters ; but all are not agreed as to the number,—Homer saying six, Hesiod ten, others Seven. Elated with her numerous progeny, Niobe ven- tured to set herself above Leto, who had borne but two children. The gentle goddess called on her son and daughter to avenge the insult offered to her; and Apollo slew in Citheron the sons of Niobe, while her daughters fell by the arrows of Artemis. “ N ine days,” says Ho- mer’, ‘‘ their bodies lay unburied,—for Zeus had turned the people to stones: on the tenth, the Celestials them- selves buried them. Then worn with grief the hapless mother thought of food. Now amid the rocks in the lonely hills in Sipylus, where are, they say, the beds of the goddess-nymphs who rush along the Acheloiis, though a stone, she broods over the affliction sent by the gods.” It was said that one son, and Chloris, one of the daugh- ters, who was married to Neleus, escaped. Zethus and Amphion also fell by the arrows of the Letoides?. From the passage of Homer just noticed, it would seem that in his time Niobe had not yet been made a Phrygian. It is however doubtful what Acheloiis is meant by the poet. Acheloiis (cognate to acqua) was a general name for water or ariver. Pausanias® enumerates three rivers of this name,—one in Arcadia, another in Acarnania and /Etolia, and a third, this one flowing from Mount Sipylus, without however saying where Sipylus was. Adtoc. Laitus. Laius, when driven from Thebes by Zethus and Amphi- on, retired to the Peloponnesus, where he was entertained by Pelops, whose son Chrysippus he instructed in the art of driving a chariot. On the death of Amphion he suc- ' TL xxivi'610, * Apollod. iii. Ovid, Met. vi. 3 Paus. ix. 34. LAIUS. .G2DIPUS AND JOCASTA. 301 ceeded to the throne of Thebes; and he matried the daughter of Meneeceus, called by Homer Epicasta, by most others Jocasta. The oracle however warned him against having children, declaring that he would meet his death by means of his offspring. Laius long abstained from his wife : at length, having one time drunk too much wine on a solemn occasion, his love overcame his pru- dence, and Jocasta gave birth to a son, whom his father - delivered to his herdsman to expose on Mount Citheron. The herdsman, moved to compassion according to one account’, gave the babe to a neatherd belonging to Poly- bus king of Corinth; or, as others say, the neatherds of Polybus found the infant after it had been exposed, and brought it to Periboea the wife of Polybus, who being childless reared it as her own, and named it Cidipus on account of its swollen feet*; for Laius previous to ex- posure had pierced its heels. Many years afterwards Laius, being on his way to Delphi accompanied by his herald Polyphontes, met in a narrow road in Phocis a young man also driving in a chariot. On his refusal to leave the way at their command, the herald killed one of his horses; and the stranger, filled with rage, slew both Laius and his herald, and then pursued his journey. The body of Laius was found and honourably buried by Da- masistratus king of Plata; and Creon the son of Mence- ceus occupied the throne of Thebes. OiSlaove kat loxaorn. Cidipus et Jocasta. (Edipus was brought up by Polybus as his heir. Hap- pening to be reproached by some one at a banquet one day with being a supposititious child, he besought Peri- bea to inform him of the truth; but unable to get any satisfaction from her, he went to Delphi and consulted the oracle. The god directed him to shun his native country, or he should be the slayer of his father and the jie A Ue See ee ee are i TP 1 Soph, Cid. Tyr. 2 From oidéw fo swell, and rovs a foot. 302 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. sharer of his mother’s bed. He therefore resolved never to return to Corinth, where so much crime as he thought awaited him, and took his road through Phocis. He it was who encountered Laius, and unwittingly accom- plished the former part of the oracle. Immediately after the death of Laius, Hera, always hostile to the city of Dionysus, sent to afflict Thebes a monster named the Sphinx’, sprung from Typhon and Echidna. She had the face of a woman; the breast, feet, and tail of a lion; and the wings of a bird. She had been taught riddles by the Muses, and she sat on the Phicean Hill and propounded one to the Thebans. It was this : ‘* What is that which has one voice, is four-footed, two- footed, and at last three-footed 2?” The oracle told the Thebans that they would not be delivered from the Sphinx until they had solved her riddle. They often met to try their skill; and when they failed, the Sphinx carried off and devoured one of their number. At length his son Hemon becoming her victim, Creon offered by public pro- clamation his throne and the hand of his sister Jocasta to whoever should solve the riddle of the Sphinx. CEdipus, who was then at Thebes, hearing this, came forward and answered the Sphinx, that it was a Man; who when an infant creeps on all fours, when a man goes on two feet, and when old uses a staff,—a third foot. The Sphinx flung ee ' The Sphinx is not mentioned by Homer ; but the legend is no- ticed by Hesiod in his Theogony (v. 326.), where he calls her Dé. The wings were of course an addition of later poets and artists: the mingled form of the Sphinx would appear to have come from Asia. The arabesque figures on the garments, &c. imported into Greece by the Pheenicians, seem to have given occasion to some of the Grecian legends. Though the legend of the Sphinx is probably older than the time of the first intercourse with Egypt, the Theban monster bears a great resemblance to the symbolical statues placed before the temples of that land of mystery. In the pragmatising days it was said (Paus. ix. 26.) that the Sphinx was a female pirate, who used to land at Anthedon and advance to the Phicean Hill, whence she spread her ravages over the country. (CEdi- pus came from Corinth with a numerous army, and defeated and slew her, G:DIPUS. 303 herself down from the Acropolis and perished ; and Cidi- pus now unknowingly accomplished the remainder of the oracle. He had by his mother two sons, Etéocles and Polyneices, and two daughters, Antigone and Isméne. After some years Thebes was afflicted with famine and pestilence ; and the oracle being consulted, desired the land to be purified of the blood which defiled it. In- quiry was set on foot after the murderer of Laius, and a variety of concurring circumstances brought the guilt home to CAdipus. Jocasta, on the discovery being made, ended her days by a cord, and her unhappy son and hus- band in his grief and despair put out his eyes. He was banished from Thebes; and accompanied by his daugh- ters, who faithfully adhered to him, after a tedious period of miserable wandering he arrived at the grove of the Eumenides, at Colénos, a village not far from Athens, and there found the period of his wretched life’. The misfortunes of CEdipus have furnished subjects for numerous dramas to the Attic tragedians ; and the two of Sophocles on his story rank among the highest efforts of the Grecian tragic muse. The wonderful art displayed by the poet in the construction of the plot in his “ King Qkdi- pus” is almost without equal ; and the soft pensive melan- choly and resigned piety of the “Cidipus at Colonos” will ever assert their claims over the human heart. But the dramatists allowed themselves every liberty with their subjects, and the original legend suffered many changes at their hands. According to the more ancient one, fol- lowed by Homer”, CEdipus, after Epicasta had terminated her days, continued to reign at Thebes, though plagued by her Erinnyes ; and when he died was buried by his sons, and splendid funeral games celebrated in his ho- nour, at which several of the greatest heroes of Greece 1 Apollod. iii. Sophocles, 2d. at Col. 2 Od, xi. 271. Il. xxiii. 679. 304 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. assisted. Some accounts say that he had no children by Epicasta ; others, that her sons were named Phrestor and Laonytus, who perished in the war between the Thebans and the Minyans; and that after her death he married Kurygeneia the daughter of Periphas, by whom he had his well-known sons and daughters '. The remainder of the history of the family of Laius will come under the head of the Theban Wars. Tewpeciac. Tiresias. In all the unhappy history of the Labdacide at Thebes this celebrated soothsayer occupies a distinguished place ; and whenever the tale of Thebes was presented on the Athenian stage, the character of Teiresias was rarely omitted. The fame of Teiresias must have been widely extended in the most ancient times. He is first spoken of in the Odyssey. Circe tells the hero of that poem, when anxious to return to Ithaca, that he must previously ‘‘ seek the dwelling of Aides and awful Persephoneia, to consult the soul of the Theban Teiresias, the blind prophet, whose mental powers are perfect ; to whom, though dead, Perse- phoneia has granted reason, that he alone should have sense while others flit about mere shades *.”” When Odys- seus afterwards goes to the abode of Aides, Teiresias approaches him bearing his golden staff ; and he alone of the dead recognises the mortal hero before he has tasted the blood; of which, however, he drinks previous to re- vealing to him the future’. | Teiresias is said to have been the son of Eueres and the nymph Chariclo, of the race of Udeeus, one of the Sparti (Sown). Various accounts are given as to the cause of his blindness: one, already noticed *, ascribes it to his having seen Athena bathing; another, to his having di- Se ' Apollod. iii, Paus. ix. 5, ? Od. x. 490. 5 Od. 517,00. * See above, p. 122, TEIRESTIAS, 305 vulged to mankind the secrets of the gods. Hesiod! re- lates, that Teiresias happening to see two serpents copu- lating on Mount Cyllene, or more probably Citheron, struck them with his staff, and was suddenly changed into a woman. In this state he continued seven years; at the end of which period, observing the same serpents similarly engaged, he struck them once more, and re- turned to his pristine state. On some occasion Zeus and Hera fell into a dispute, whether the greater portion of the pleasures of love fall to man or woman. Unable to settle it to their satisfaction, they agreed to refer the matter to Teiresias, who had known either state. He gave his opinion, that supposing the sum total to be represented by the number nineteen,—of these, nine fall to man and ten to woman. Hera incensed deprived the guiltless arbitrator of the power of vision. Zeus, as one god cannot undo the acts of another, gave him in com- pensation the power of foreseeing coming events. Teiresias lived to a great age at Thebes. He was con- temporary with all the events of the times of Laius and CEdipus, and lived through the two Theban wars. At the conclusion of the last he recommended the Thebans to abandon their city, and he was the companion of their flight. It was still night when they arrived at the foun- tain of Tilphussa. Teiresias drank of its waters, and im- mediately died. The victorious Argives sent his daughter Manto along with a portion of the spoil to Delphi, ac- 1 Apud Apollod. iii. 6. Ovid, Met. iii. 323. * Milton enumerates Teiresias among those “ equalled with him in fate,” whom he would fain be “ equalled with in renown :” And Tiresias and Phineus prophets old. Does not this line afford a presumption that Milton, like Ben Jonson, read Greek by accent? Nothing can be more inharmonious than it is, if Teiresias be pronounced in the Latin manner with the accent on the antepenultimate : few lines are more harmonious if, as in the Greek, it be laid on the penultimate. If he did not read by accent, the line would probably have been, And Phineus and Tiresias prophets old. x 306 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. cording to their vow. In obedience to the command of the oracle, Manto was afterwards conveyed to the coast of Asia, where Rhakios the Cretan, the founder of the town and oracle of Claros, espoused her, and had by her- a son named Mopsus, a celebrated prophet’. Muvat kat DAcyvar. Minye et Phlegye. These two mythic races seem to have borne to each other nearly the same relation as the Lapithe and Cen- taurs ;_ the former being a wealthy commercial people, the latter an impious race of robbers and plunderers. No names, however, are more completely buried in the ob- scurest depths of mythology than they are. Even to Homer but a slight breath of their fame seems to have come *. Pausanias® relates, that the country about Orchome- nus in Beeotia was first possessed by Andreus the son of the river Peneius, who named it from himself Andreis. He was succeeded by his son Eteocles, who is said to have been the first who sacrificed to the Graces. Eteo- cles gave a portion of his territory to Halmus the son of Sisyphus, to whose posterity, on Eteocles dying child- less, the kingdom came: for Halmus had two daughters, Chrysogeneia and Chryse; the former of whom was by Ares mother of Phlegyas ; the latter bore to Poseidon a son named Minyas*. Phlegyas obtained the dominion 1 Pausanias, vii. 3. The legend (Virg. Ain. x. 199.) which makes Manto the founder of Mantua in Italy evidently owes its origin to similarity of name. 2 Homer never mentions the Minyans; but he uses the adjective Minyan as an appellative of the wealthy city Orchomenus in Beeotia to distinguish it from that in Arcadia, and he also (II. xi. 722.) applies it to a stream in the Peloponnesus. He speaks (Il. xili. 302.) of the Phlegyans. 3 Paus. ix. 34, et seq. -* According to Pausanias, the son of Chryse was Chryses the father of Minyas; but the authors followed by the scholiast in Apollonius (iii. 1094.) give the more probable genealogy of the text. MINYANS AND PHLEGYANS. 307 after Eteocles, and named the country Phlegyantis. He also built a city called Phlegya, into which he collected the bravest warriors of Greece. These separated them- selves from the other people of the country, and took to robbing and plundering. They even ventured to assail and burn the temple of Delphi; and Zeus, on account of their impiety, finally destroyed them with lightning and pestilence. A few only escaped to Phocis. Minyas reigned next, and was wealthier than any of his predecessors. He built the first treasury, similar to that of Atreus at Mycene. Pausanias saw the ruins of it, and describes it as being of great size and strength. The son of Minyas was Orchomenus, who gave name to the town; and with him the race of Halmus ended, and the territory fell to the descendants of Athamas and Phri- xus. Clymenus, one of these, having been slain in a quarrel with the Thebans at the feast of Poseidon at On- chestus, his son Erginus made war on them, and reduced them to an annual tribute, which they paid till relieved from it by Hercules. Erginus was father of the celebrated architects Agamedes and Trophonius. Two of this family, Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, were at the siege of Troy, and with them ends the mythic history of Orchomenus. The Argonauts were called Minyans, according to the mythologists, because the greater part of them were de- scended from Minyas on the female side ; and the daugh- ters of Minyas are celebrated in the mythus of Dionysus, on account of their contempt for his rites, and their con- sequent punishment’. The subject of the Minyans has been treated at great length by Muller in his Orchomenus and the Minyans, and also by Buttmann in his Mythologus. The result of their inquiries is as follows. The Minyans was the mythic name of one of the early races of Greece, probably a portion of the AKolian. They inhabited the northern part of Boeotia and the southern ' Ovid, Met. iv. i. bey 308 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. of Thessaly, and practised and acquired considerable wealth by commerce and navigation ; this is denoted by the names derived from go/d which occur im their gene- alogy, by Poseidon forming a part of it, and by the tra- dition of the great wealth of Orchomenus. Their port was Iaolcus, and their dock-yard Pagase. The Argonautic expedition was one undertaken by them into the Euxine; and the assemblage of the heroes from all parts. of Greece was the addition of later times, which also assigned the wrong origin of the name Minyans given to the heroes, which we have just mentioned. It is a remarkable fact, that Orchomenus was one of the seven cities which had a share in the Amphictyonic assembly on the Argolic island Calauria. The remaining six were states in the neigh- bourhood ; and nothing but superior wealth and novel power could have induced them to admit the distant. Or- chomenus into their association. Every thing conspires to prove, that the whole of the Augean coast of Greece, especially that possessed by the Minyans, carried on an active commerce by sea at a period long anterior to history. The Phlegyans, whose name corresponds with their fate, are by Buttmann regarded as belonging to the universal tradition of an impious people being destroyed by fire from heaven,—the well-known history of the origin of the Dead Sea, which, as the legend of Baucis and Philemon might seem to show, early made its way into Greece. Muller regards the Phlegyans as being the military class of the Minyans. It was probably their name which gave occasion to the legend of their de- struction. Tpopwmog kat Ayaundnc. Trophonius et Agamedes. When Erginus, king of Orchomenus, had been over- come by Hercules, his affairs fell into such a reduced state, that in order to retrieve them he abstained from matrimony. When he grew rich and old, he wished to TROPHONIUS AND AGAMEDES. 309 have children ; and going to Delphi, consulted the god, who gave him in oracular phrase the prudent advice to marry a young wife. Erginus accordingly, following the counsel of the Py- thia, married, and had two sons, Trophonius and Aga- médes ; though some said Apollo was the father of the former. They became distinguished architects ; and built the temple of Apollo at Delphi’, and a treasury for king Hyrieus. In the wall of this last they placed a stone in such a manner that it could be taken out; and by this means from time to time purloined the treasure. This amazed Hyrieus ; for his locks and seals were un- touched, and yet his wealth continually diminished. At length he set a trap for the thief, and Agamedes was caught. Trophonius, unable to extricate him, and fearing that when found he would be compelled by torture to discover his accomplice, cut off his head*. Trophonius himself is said to have been shortly afterwards swallowed up by the earth. The preceding is the account given by Pausanias. Plutarch, who loved a moral tale, relates the death of the brothers in a manner similar to that of Cleobis and Biton. According to him*, when they had finished the temple of ! Hom. Hymn to the Pythian Apollo. 2 The same trick is also said (Schol. Aristoph. Clouds, 509.) to have been played on Augeas, king of Elis, by Trophonius the step-son of Agamedes the Arcadian architect. The reader will observe the similarity between this legend and that related by Herodotus (ii. 121.) of the Egyptian king Rhampsinitus. Buttmann and Muller think the supposition of the story being taken from Herodotus, and told of persons and places in Greece, too absurd to deserve refutation. But these ingenious writers should have known that no practice is more common, and that abundant instances of it are to be found in all times and countries. The celebrated tale, for instance, of William Tell shooting the apple on the head of his son, is to be found in Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish historian, who wrote long before Tell was born. We are, however, disposed to regard this as one of the tales which the Egyptians (who, by the way, seem never to have been an inventive people,) borrowed from the Greeks. 3 De Cons, ad Apoll. 310 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Delphi, they asked a reward of the god. The priestess desired them to wait for eight days, and during that period to live cheerful and happy. | On the eighth day the brothers were found dead in their beds. There was a celebrated oracle of Trophonius at Leba- deia in Beotia. During a great drought the Beeotians were, it was said, directed by the god at Delphi to seek aid of Trophonius in Lebadeia, They came thither, but could find no oracle: one of them however happening to see a swarm of bees, they followed them to a chasm in the earth, which proved to be the place sought. The mode of consulting this oracle is related at length by Pausanias’, who inquired of it himself. ‘HpakAne. Hercules*. Electryon the son of Perseus king of Mycene had given his daughter Alemena in marriage to his nephew Amphitryon. Having had the misfortune to kill his father-in-law, Amphitryon was forced to fly from Myce- ne. Alcmena and her brother Licymnius accompanied his flight, and he was kindly received at Thebes by Creon, who purified him from the guilt of bloodshed. | While Amphitryon was absent on an expedition against t Paus. 1x. $9, 40. ? In compliance with established usage we place this hero here, though there is little reason for regarding him as an original Theban hero. (See end of this article; and Miller, Dorians, i. 429). For the same reason also, and because it makes no confusion, we employ the Latin form of his name. It is remarkable that it is only in the mythic names that the Latin form varies from the Greek ; those of his- torical personages are nearly the same in both languages. Thus Peri- cles, Pindarus, Aristides, Pisander, scarcely differ from the Greek originals ; while for Persephone, Heracles, Polydeukes, Odysseus,—we have Proserpina, Hercules, Pollux, and Ulysses. Does not this indi- cate that a knowledge of the Grecian mythology reached Latium long before the Latins had any intimacy with the Greek language? We al- ways find that foreign names undergo alteration in proportion to the ignorance of the language to which they belong. This is particularly to be observed in Oriental names, which are now spelt far more cor- rectly than they were before we were become so familiar with Asia. HERCULES. 311 the Teleboans, Zeus who had become enamoured of Alc- mena, assumed the form of her husband, and was admitted by her without suspicion to all his privileges. He related to her all the events of the war, and by his power extended the night to three times its usual duration. Amphitryon on his return was surprised at the indifference with which he was received by his wife, but on coming to an expla- nation with her, and consulting Teiresias, he learned that it was no less a personage than Zeus himself who had assumed his form. Alemena brought forth twins, Hercules the son of Zeus, the elder by one night, and Iphicles, the progeny of her mortal lord. The children were but eight months old, when Hera sent two. huge serpents into the chamber to destroy them. Alcmena in terror called to her husband, but Hercules raised himself up on his feet, caught the two monsters by the throat and strangled them. When come to a proper age, Hercules was instructed in the management of a chariot by Amphitryon himself; he was taught wrestling by Autolycus, archery by Eurytus, the use of arms by Castor, to play on the lyre by Linus the brother of Orpheus, whose services were however but ill rewarded by the young hero, as he killed him with a blow of the lyre when he struck him. He was called to account for this deed, and justified himself by citing a law of Rhadamanthus, which said that ‘‘ whoever defends himself against any one who makes an unjust assault on him is guiltless,” and he was acquitted. Amphitryon however, to prevent the recurrence of such an event, sent him away to where his herds were feeding, where he grew up to great strength and size. His look was terrible, for he was the son of Zeus ; his stature was four ells; fire flashed from his eyes; his arrow and his dart never missed. In his eighteenth year, while he was still with his father’s herds, he slew the Citheronian lion. This animal lay in Mount Cithzron, whence he used to attack the herds of Amphitryon and of Thestius king of the Thespians. Hercules when going to engage the lion 342 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. was hospitably entertained by Thestius for fifty days. Each night one of the fifty daughters of his host ascended the couch of the hero, for Thestius was desirous to propa- gate the race of the son of Zeus. But Hercules, unaware of this design, fancied that but one of the maidens had enjoyed his embraces. Revolving time, however, beheld fifty of his progeny. He slew the lion, whose hide he ever after wore on his shoulders, and made the skin of his head serve him as a helmet’. As he was returning from this hunt, he met the heralds sent by Erginus to receive tribute from the Thebans. The cause of the payment of this tribute was as follows: The - charioteer of Mencecius, whose name was Periéres, had wounded Clymenus king of the Minyans with a stone in Onchestus the sacred field of Poseidon. | Being brought in a dying state to Orchomenus, he charged his son Er- ginus to avenge his death. Erginus in consequence led an army against the Thebans, and having slain a number of them concluded peace on condition of their paying him for twenty years an annual tribute of a hundred oxen. It was for this tribute that the heralds were going to Thebes when they were met by Hercules, who cutting off their ears and noses, and tying their hands to their necks with cords, bade them take that tribute to Erginus and the Minyans. Incensed at this insult offered to his heralds, Erginus made war anew on Thebes ; but Hercules having been furnished with arms by Athena, and being appointed their general by the Thebans, slew Erginus and routed the Minyans, on whom he imposed a tribute double of what the Thebans used to pay. In this battle Amphitryon fell valiantly fighting. Creon gave his daughter Megara in marriage to Hercules, and her younger sister to Iphicles. Alcmena the mother of the hero also married Rhadaman- thus the son of Zeus, who was then living in Ocaleia of ea stn a TIS ‘ Homer arms Hercules with a bow and arrows (II. v. 393. Od. viii. 224. xi. 600.). Hesiod describes him with shield and spear. Pisan- der and Stesichorus were the first who gave him the club and lion- skin. HERCULES. 3tS Beeotia’. Hercules was given a sword by Hermes, a bow by Apollo, and a golden breast-plate by Hephestus. He had himself cut his club in the Nemean wood. Some time after his war with the Minyans he fell into madness, owing to the envy of Hera, and flung his own three children by Megara, and the two of his brother Iphicles, into the fire. As a punishment for this deed he went into voluntary exile, and was purified by Thestius. He then went to Delphi, and inquired of the god where he should settle. The Pythia then first named him Her- cules, for hitherto he had been called Alceides from his grandfather, and she desired him to settle at Tiryns, and serve Kurystheus twelve years, and perform the twelve tasks to be imposed by him. She added that when these tasks were all accomplished, he would be made immortal. The hero obeyed, went to Tiryns, and there served Eurystheus. The cause of Eurystheus obtaining this power was as follows: The day on which Alcmena was to be delivered in Thebes, Zeus, in exultation, announced to the gods that a man of his race was that day to see the light, who would rule over all his neighbours. Hera pretending in- credulity, exacted from him an oath that what he had said should be accomplished. Zeus, unsuspicious of guile, swore, and Hera hastened down to Argos, where the wife of Sthenelus the son of Perseus was seven months gone ofason. The goddess brought on a premature labour, and Eurystheus came to light that day, while she checked the parturition of Alemena, and kept back the Eileithyiz. The oath of Zeus was not to be recalled, and his son was fated to serve Eurystheus’. 1 According to Pherecydes(apud Ant. Lib. 33.), when Alcmena, who long survived her son, died, and the Heracleides were about to bury her at Thebes, Zeus directed Hermes to steal her away and convey her to the Isles of the Blest, where she should espouse Rhadamanthus. Hermes obeyed, and placed a stone instead of her in the coffin. When the Heracleides went to carry her forth to be buried, they were surprised at the weight, and opening the coffin found the stone, which they took out, and set it up in the grove where her Herowm stood at Thebes. 2 Hom, I. xix, 198. 314 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The first task imposed by Eurystheus was to bring him the skin of the Nemean lion. This animal was the pro- geny of Typhon, and invulnerable. On his way to engage him Hercules arrived at Cleone, where he was hospitably entertained by a labouring man named Molorchus. His host being desirous to offer a sacrifice, Hercules begged of him to reserve it till the thirtieth day, saying that if he should then return victorious he might offer it to Zeus the Saver ; but if he fell in the conflict, to make it a funeral offering to himself as a hero. When he came to the Ne- mean wood and had discovered the lion, he began to ply him with his arrows, but when he found that he was invul- nerable, he grasped his club and pursued him to his den, which was pervious. He then built up one of the en- trances, and going in at the other, and grasping the lion’s throat in his hands, held him till he was suffocated. Then taking him on his shoulders, he proceeded towards My- cen, and coming on the last day of the appointed period to Molorchus, he found him just on the point of offering the victim for him as being dead. Having offered the sacrifice to Zeus the Saver, he brought the lion to Myce- ne. But when Eurystheus saw this proof of the won- derful strength of Hercules, he prohibited his entrance in future into the city, and ordered him to announce the performance of his tasks before the gates. Some even say that the terror of Eurystheus was so great, that he had a brazen jar made, in which he used to hide himself under ground, and employ the herald Copreus, the son of Pelops the Elean, to set him his tasks. This Copreus having slain Iphitus, had fled to Mycenz, and abode there with Eurys- theus who had purified him. The second task was to destroy the Lidia Hydra or Water-snake, which abode in the marsh of Lerna, whence she used to come out on the land, and destroy the cattle and ravage the country. This hydra had a huge body with nine heads, eight of them mortal, and one in the middle immortal. Hercules mounted his chariot, which was driven by Iolatis, and on coming to Lerna, he stopped the HERCULES. 315 horses and went in quest of the hydra, which he found on a rising ground near the springs of Amymdéne where her hole was. He shot at her with fiery darts till he made her come out; and he then grasped and held her, while she twined herself about his legs. The hero erushed her heads with his club, but to no purpose, for when one was crushed two sprang up in its stead. A huge crab also aided the hydra, and bit the feet of Her- cules. He killed the crab, and then he called upon Io- las to come to his assistance. Ilolatis immediately set fire to the neighbouring wood, and with the flaming brands searing the heads of the hydra as they grew, effectually checked their growth. Having thus got rid of the mortal heads, Hercules cut off the immortal one and buried it, setting a heavy stone on the top of it, in the road leading from Lerna to Eleiis. He cut the body of the hydra up into pieces, and dipped his arrowsin her gall. Eurystheus, however, denied that this was to be reckoned among the twelve tasks, since he had not destroyed the hydra alone, but had had the assistance of Iolatis. The third task was to fetch the Horned Hind alive to Mycene. This hind haunted CEnoe, had golden horns, and was sacred to Artemis’. Hercules, not wishing to kill or wound her, pursued her for an entire year *. When the animal was tired with the chase, she took refuge in Mount Artemisium, then fled to the river Ladon, and as she was about to cross that stream, Hercules struck her with an arrow, caught her, put her on his shoulder, and was going with his burden through Arcadia, when he met Artemis and her brother Apollo. The goddess took the hind from him, and reproached him for violating her sacred animal. But the hero excusing himself on the plea of necessity, and laying the blame on Eurystheus, Arterais was molli- fied, and allowed him to take the hind alive to Mycene. The fourth task imposed by Eurystheus was to bring J mee po 102. 2 Pindar (OL. iii. 55.) makes the hind lead the hero a chase to the country of the Hyperboreans. 316 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. him the Erymanthian boar also alive. This animal fre- quented Mount Erymanthus, and thence laid waste the region of Psophis. Hercules took his road through Pholoe, where he was hospitably entertained by Pholus the Centaur, the son of Silenus and the nymph Melia. The Centaur set before his guest roast meat, though he himself fared on it raw. Hercules asking for wine, his host said he feared to open the jar, which was the common property of the Centaurs; but when pressed by the hero he consented to unclose it for him. The fragrance of the wine spread over the mountain, and soon brought all the Cen- taurs armed with stones and pine-sticks to the cave of Pho- lus. Anchius and Agrius, the first who ventured to enter, were driven back by Hercules with burning brands: he hunted the remainder with his arrows to Malea. They fled there to Cheiron, who having been expelled from Pe- lion by the Lapithe was dwelling at that place. As Hercules was here shooting at the Centaurs, one of his arrows went through the arm of Elatus and stuck in the knee of Chei- ron. Grieved at this unhappy event, Hercules ran up, drew out the arrow, and applied to the wound the remedy given by Cheiron himself; but in vain, the venom of the hydra was not to be overcome. Cheiron retired into his cave, longing todie, but unable on account of his immor- tality, till Zeus permitting Prometheus to take his immor- tality, he was released by death from his misery. The other Centaurs fled to different places ; some remained at Malea; Eurytion went to Pholoe, Nessus to the river Evenus; Poseidon took the rest and sheltered them in Mount Eleusis. When Hercules returned to Pholoe, he found Pholus lying dead along with several others; for, having drawn the arrow out of the body of one of them, while he was wondering how so small a thing could destroy such large beings, it dropped out of his hand and stuck in his foot, and he died immediately. Hercules buried him, and then set out to hunt the boar, and driving him from his lair with loud cries, chased him into a snow-drift, where he caught and bound him, and then took him to Mycene. HERCULRS. 317 To clear out in one day all the dung in the stables of Augeas king of Elis, the son of Poseidon, or according to others of the Sun, was the jifth task imposed by the relentless Kurystheus’. When Hercules came to Augeas, he said nothing to him of the commands of Eurystheus, but offered for a tenth of his herds to clean out his stables in one day. Augeas agreed, not thinking the thing possi- ble; and Hercules took Phyleus, the son of Augeas, to witness of the agreement. He then broke down a part of the wall, and turning in the rivers Peneius and Alpheius by a canal, let them run out at the other side. Augeas, on learning that this was one of the tasks imposed by Eurystheus, not only refused to stand to his agreement, but denied that he had promised anything, and offered to lay the matter before judges. When the cause was tried, Phyleus honestly gave testimony against his father; and Augeas in a rage, even before the votes had been given, ordered both his son and Hercules to depart out of Elis. Phyleus retired to Dulichium: Hercules went to Dexa- menus at Olenus, whom he found on the point of being compelled to give his daughter in marriage to the Centaur Eurytion. Dexamenus.imploring his aid, he killed the Centaur as he was coming for his bride. Eurystheus, however, refused to count this also among the twelve tasks, saying that he had done it for hire. The stxth task was to drive away the Stymphalide birds. These were water-fowl, which, afraid of the wolves, fled to Lake Stymphalis, which lay embosomed in wood near the Arcadian town Stymphalus. While Hercules was deliberating how he should scare them, Athena brought him from Hephestus brazen clappers. He stood under a neighbouring hill, and rattled them: the birds, terrified, rose in the air, and he then shot them with his arrows. His seventh task was to fetch the Cretan bull. This animal had been sent by Poseidon up out of the sea, 1 See the beautiful poem of Theocritus on this subject, Idyll. 25. . 318 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. when Minos had vowed to sacrifice whatever should ap- pear from the sea. Struck with the beauty and size of the animal, Minos substituted another, and put him among his herds. Poseidon in anger made the bull run wild and furious. When Hercules arrived, Minos gave him per- mission to take him if he could. The hero succeeded, and brought and showed him to Eurystheus. He then let him go: and the bull roved over Sparta and Arcadia, and crossing the Isthmus came to Marathon in Attica, where he did great mischief to the inhabitants. For his eighth task he was enjoined to bring to Mycenze the mares of Diomedes of Thrace. This was a son of Ares and Cyrene, and king of the Bistonians. His mares were androphagous. Hercules sailed thither with some volunteers, and having overcome the grooms, led the mares to the sea. The Bistonians pursued with arms. Hercules, leaving the mares in charge of Abderus, his favourite, the son of Hermes, a Locrian of Opus, went to engage them. Meantime the mares tore Abderus to pieces ; and the hero, having defeated the Bistonians and slain Diomedes, built a city by the tomb of Abderus, and named it after him. He brought the mares to Eurystheus, who turned them loose; and they strayed on to Mount Olympus, where they were destroyed by the wild beasts. The ninth task was to bring to his master the girdle of Hippdlyta queen of the Amazons’, who dwelt about the river Thermodon. ‘This nation was composed of women, who were renowned for their valour. When they bore children, they reared the females alone. They cut off their right breasts, that they might not impede them in drawing the bow. Hippolyta was mistress of the belt of Ares, as a token of her exceeding all the Amazons in 1 A good deal of obscurity hangs over the Amazons. They are twice mentioned by Homer (II. iii. 189. vi. 186.), and called Man-like (ay7- aveipas). It is not impossible that the circumstance of women fight- ing among some Asiatic troops may have given rise to the fable. Their name probably gave origin to the notion of their cutting off their breasts, HERCULES. 319 valour. This girdle Eurystheus coveted for his daughter Admeta, and he ordered Hercules to bring it to him. Having drawn together some volunteers, among whom were Theseus and Castor and Polydeukes, he sailed to the isle of Paros, where four sons of Minos dwelt. Two of the ship’s company happening to be slain by them, Hercules killed several of the Parians, and besieged the rest, till they offered to give him any two he chose in the place of the companions he had lost. He chose Alceus and Sthenelus, the sons of Androgeiis, and then sailed on to Mysia, where he was hospitably entertained by Lycus, king of the Mariandynians, whom he aided against the Bebrycians, and slew their king Mygdon, the brother of Amycus. He took a large portion of their territory and gave it to Lycus, who named it Heracleia. 4 Hercules at length reached the haven of Themiscyra. Hippolyta came to inquire the cause of his arrival, and on hearing it promised to give him her girdle. But Hera, taking the form of an Amazon, went and persuaded the rest that the strangers were carrying off their queen. They instantly armed, mounted their horses, and came down to the ship. Hercules thinking that Hippolyta had acted treacherously, slew her, aad taking her girdle made sail homewards. He stopped at Troy, then in great distress from the wrath of Poseidon and Apollo. These gods had con- tracted with Laomedon to build a wall round the town; but when the wall was completed, Laomedon refused to pay the wages agreed on, and dismissed them, threatening to cut off their ears. He even menaced to tie Apollo hand and foot and transport him to the distant islands’. ‘ J]. xxi. 441. Homer says the gods were sent by Zeus to serve Laomedon for a year. They were to have certain wages, and he was to impose, it would appear, what tasks he pleased. He set Poseidon to build the city wall, and Apollo to keep his oxen in Ida. The poet (Il. xx. 145.) mentions the combat of Hercules with the sea-monster. He tells (v. 640.) of the taking of Troy by Hercules, on account of the horses relating to which, Laomedon had broken his word. 320 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. To punish him Apollo sent a pestilence, and Poseidon a flood bearing a huge sea-monster, who carried off all the people to be found in the plain. The oracle being con- sulted, declared that there would be no end of the evil till Laomedon had given his daughter Hesione for food. to the monster. He therefore exposed her, fastened to a rock which overhung the sea. Hercules having seen her, offered to deliver her if Laomedon would give him the mares which Zeus had given to Tros, in exchange for his son Ganymedes. Laomedon assented ; Hercules slew the monster, and delivered Hesione. But the faithless Trojan refused to keep his word, and Hercules sailed away, threatening to return and make war on Troy. He went then to AAnus, where he was entertained by Poltys; but as he was sailing thence, Sarpedon the son of Poseidon and brother of Poltys, a violent and insolent man, was slain by his arrows. He conquered the Thracians, who dwelt in Thasus, and set the sons of Androgeiis over that island. At Torone he was challenged to wrestle by Polygonus and Telegonus, the sons of Proteus, and grandsons of Poseidon, and he killed them in the struggle. He finally delivered the girdle to Eurystheus. His tenth task was to bring the oxen of Geryon from the island of Erytheia (Iuddy-isle), which lay near the Ocean *, and was inhabited by Geryon the son of Chrysaor (Gold-sword), and Callirrhoe (Fair-flowing), an Oceanide. He had the bodies of three men united: they cohered above, but below the loins they were divided into three. His oxen were of a purple hue; his herdsman, named Eu- rytion, and Orthrus the two-headed dog, the progeny of Echidna and Typhon, watched them. Hercules took his road through Libya, and when he 1 Apollodorus says “ which is now called Gadeira,” but that island has surely no river or mountain in it. Hesiod (Theog. 290, e¢ seq.) clearly places Erytheia beyond the Ocean, that is towards its further coast. It was probably the temple of the Pheenician Meleart (who was identified with Hercules) at Gades, which gave occasion to this locali- sation of Erytheia, and also to the legend of the pillars. HERCULES. Bs 9) | came to the verge of Europe and Libya, he erected two pillars, one on each side of the strait, as monuments of his journey. Being scorched with the burning rays of the sun, he had the hardihood to bend his bow against the Sun-god ; who, admiring his courage, gave him his golden cup, inwhich he crossed the Ocean ‘ and came to Erytheia, where he passed the night on Mount Abas. The dog Orthrus discovering him flew at him, but Hercules killed him with his club, as also his master Eurytion who came up to his aid. Mencetius, who kept in the same place the oxen of Hades, informing Geryon of what had befallen, he pursued and overtook Hercules, as he was driving the cattle along the river Anthemus. He at- tacked him, but was slain by his arrows; and Hercules placing the oxen in the cup, sailed with them to Tartessus, where he returned his vessel to the Sun-god. He drove his cattle through Iberia, and came to Lygia, where Alebion and Dercinus, the sons of Poseidon, at- tempted to carry off his oxen. These he slew, and then went on through Tyrrhenia. At Rhegium one of his bulls broke away’, ran through the country, thence called Italia, (for the Tyrrhenians call an ox Italus,) swam over to Si- cily, and came to the lands of Eryx the son of Poseidon, who ruled over the Elymeans. Eryx put the bull among his herds ; and Hercules, committing the care of his other cattle to Hephestus, went in quest of the stray one. When he found him, he required Eryx to give him up; but he refused, unless he would wrestle with him. Her- cules accepted the challenge, and flinging him three times ' Pherecydes says, that as he was crossing, Oceanus appeared to him, and by agitating his waters, and tossing the cup in which he was sailing, endeavoured to frighten him ; but on the hero’s bending his bow at him he ceased, and called to him to hold his hand.—The whole of this tenth task is a fine fiction. * “aroppyyvve.” The name Italia was anciently restricted to the southern part of the peninsula. Italus is Vitulus. The present is an example of the names of places giving occasion to legends, $8 322 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. to the ground killed him. He then drove on his cattle till he came to the Ionian Sea. When he came to the “‘ recess of the sea’’ (i.e. the head of the gulf), Hera drove the oxen mad, and they ran raging through the hills of Thrace. Hercules pursued them; and having overtaken a part of them at the Helles- pont, drove them towards the Peloponnesus, leaving the others to run wild. When he came to the Strymon, he in anger with that river filled its bed with stones, so that it became no longer navigable. He finally brought the oxen to Eurystheus, who sacrificed them to Hera. The preceding tasks had been performed in the space of eight years and a month; but Eurystheus refused to allow for those of killing the hydra and cleansing the stables of Augeas. He now imposed the eleventh task,— that of bringing him the apples of the Hesperides. These were not in Libya, but in the country of the Hyperbo- . reans. They were given by Earth to Hera on her wed- ding-day, and were guarded by an immortal dragon, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and by the Hesperides or Western Maids’. Hercules came to the river Echedérus, where he was challenged to a single combat by Cycnus the son of Ares and Pyréne. Ares defended his son; and Zeus ended the conflict by casting a thunderbolt between the com- batants. Hercules passed on through Illyria, thence to the Eridanus, and came to the nymphs, the daughters of Zeus and Themis. These directed him to Nereus, whom he found asleep ; and, in spite of his numerous changes of form, bound and held him fast, and never let him go till he had told him where the golden apples were. Having gotten this information, he went on through Libya where Antezus the son of Poseidon reigned, who was wont to kill all strangers by forcing them to wrestle with him. Hercules engaged him; and finding that every time he 1 See above, p. 224. HERCULES. 326 threw him to the ground he rose with renewed strength, held him in his arms till he died. Antzus, on account of this property, was said to be the son of the Earth’. From Libya he went to Egypt, where Busiris*, another son of Poseidon, reigned. This king, in consequence of an oracle, offered up strangers on the altar of Zeus: for Egypt having been afflicted with a dearth for nine years, a Cyprian named Phrasius, a great soothsayer, came thither, and said that it would cease if they sacrificed a stranger every year to Zeus. Busiris sacrificed the pro- phet himself first, and then continued the practice. Her- cules on his arrival was seized and dragged to the altar ; but he burst his bonds, and slew Busiris, his son Am- phidamas, and his herald Chalbes. He then roamed through Arabia, where he killed ‘Emathion the son of Tithonus ; and having arrived on the eastern coast of Libya, he was once more given the use of the Sun-god’s radiant cup, in which he crossed over the Ocean to the opposite continent, and came to Cauca- sus*, where with his arrows he shot the eagle, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, which preyed on the liver of Pro- metheus as he lay chained on his rock. He freed the sufferer, bound him with olive-twigs, and led him to Zeus; who bestowed on him the immortality which Cheiron longed to part with. At length the hero came to the Hyperboreans and At- 1 This legend was perhaps invented after the Greeks had settled in Libya, and was designed to express the incessant opposition which they experienced from the original inhabitants. * The conjecture of Muller, that Busiris is Osiris with the Egyp- tian article pe prefixed, is highly probable. The legend was probably framed when the Greeks first began to have intercourse with Egypt, and expresses their idea of the former inhospitable character of the people of that country. 5 There is sad geographical confusion here. Could the Poets have supposed that, like Geryon’s isle, the rock of Prometheus was on the further side of the Ocean, in the region unvisited by man? Or was it on the eastern verge of the earth, on the north side? and was the hero carried thither in the cup of the Sun up the Ocean-stream? ¥2 324 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. las. Prometheus had warned him not to go himself to take the golden apples, but to send Atlas for them, and in the mean time to support the heaven in his stead. Atlas went, pulled the fruit, and brought it. Hercules having no mind to bear the weight any longer, pretended that he wanted to make a pad to set on his head. Atlas threw down the apples, and to give him an opportunity of so doing resumed his burden; but Hercules picked up the apples, and went away. Other accounts say that he gathered them himself, after he had slain the dragon. He brought them to Eurystheus, who returned them to him; and he gave them to Athena, who brought them back to where they were taken from,—which was their only proper place. The twelfth and last task imposed by Eurystheus was to bring Cerberus from the under-world. This animal had three dog’s-heads, a dragon-tail, and heads of all kinds of serpents along his back. When preparing for this expedition, Hercules went to Eumolpus at Eleusis, desirous to be initiated ; but was not able to see the mysteries, since he had not been purified of the blood of the Centaur. Eumolpus however purified him, and he was admitted to initiation. He then proceeded to Tenarus in Laconia, where the entrance to the under-world was, and went down it. The moment the shades saw him they fled away in terror,—all but Meleager and Medusa the Gorgon. He was drawing his sword on the latter, when Hermes re- minded him that she was a mere phantom. At the gates of Hades he found Theseus and Peirithots, who had sought the hand of Persephone, and had in consequence been bound there. When they saw Hercules they stretched forth their hands, hoping to be relieved by his might. He took Theseus by the hand, and raised him up; but when he would do the same for Peirithoiis, the earth quaked, and he left him. He then rolled off Ascalaphus, the son of Acheron and Gorgyra, the rock which Demeter had cast on his body. Wishing to give the shades blood HERCULES. 325 to drink, he took one of the oxen of Hades, and killed it. Mencetius the son of Keuthonymus, the herdsman of Hades, immediately challenged him to wrestle. Hercules laid hold on him, broke his ribs, and but for the prayers of Persephone would have killed him on the spot. The hero asked Pluto to give him Cerberus ; and the god consented, provided he could take him without using his weapons. He found him at the gate of Acheron; and protected only by his corslet and lion’s skin, flung his arms about his head, and grasping him by the neck, made him submit, though the dragon in his tail bit him se- verely. He brought him through Treezene to Eurystheus ; and when he had shown him, took him back to the un- der-world. Ascalaphus was changed by Demeter into an owl’. Having now performed all his tasks, he returned to Thebes, where he gave Megara in marriage to [olaiis. Wishing himself to marry again, and hearing that Eury- tus, king of C&chalia, in Eubea, had declared that he would give his daughter I’ola to him who should overcome himself and his sons in shooting with the bow, he went thi- ther, and won the victory, but did not obtain the promised prize. Iphitus, the eldest son, was for giving his sister to Hercules ; but Eurytus and his other sons refused, lest he should destroy her children, if she had any, as he had done those of Megara. Shortly afterwards the oxen of Eurytus were stolen by Autolycus, and his suspicions fell upon Hercules. Iphitus, who gave no credit to this charge, betook himself to Hercules ; and meeting him on the road from Phere, where he had delivered Alcestis*, | The descent of Hercules to the under-world is noticed by Homer (II. viii. 367.). Athena tells how she aided him when sent by Eury- stheus to fetch the dog of Aides from Erebus. See also Od. xi. 623, and Il. v. 395,-—if wvAw in this place is to be rendered gate. 2 See p. 93. Euripides places this event much earlier. He makes Hercules arrive at Phere, on his way to Thrace for the mares of Dio- medes. Discrepancies in legends are however not to be minded, —each poet working up the stuff as best suited his own design. 326 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. he besought him to join in search of the lost oxen. Hercules promised to do so, and entertained him; but falling again into madness, he precipitated Iphitus from the walls of Tiryns. In order to be purified of this mur- der he went to Neleus, who being a friend of EKurytus refused to comply with his desire. Hercules then went to Amycle, where he was purified by Deiphobus the son of Hippolytus. But he fell notwithstanding into a severe sickness on account of the murder of Iphitus ; and going to Delphi to seek relief, he was refused a response by the Pythia. In his rage at her denial he went to plunder the | temple ; and taking the tripod, was about establishing an oracle for himself. Apollo came to oppose him; but Zeus hurled a thunderbolt between the combatants, and put an end to their contest. Hercules now received a response, that his malady would be removed if he let himself be sold for three years as a slave, and gave the purchase-money to Eurytus as a compensation for the loss of his son. In consequence of this response, Hermes sold him as a slave to Omphale, daughter of Jardanus, queen of Lydia, which kingdom had been left her by her hus- band Tmolus. Eurytus, however, refused to receive the purchase-money. While Hercules was in the service of Omphale, he took and fettered the Cercopes* who dwelt near Ephesus. Syleus was a man who forced all strangers to dig for him: Hercules dug up his vines by the roots, and slew him and his daughter Xenodice. As he came near the isle of Doliche, he found the body of Icarus floating in the waves ; and burying it in the island, named it after him Icaria. Dedalus in gratitude erected at Pisa a statue, a perfect resemblance of the hero; who, however, coming to it by night, and taking it to be alive, shattered it with a stone. During the time that Hercules was thus serving the Lydian queen, the Calydonian hunt, the Ar- 1 See above p. 236, and Lobeck’s Aglaophamus, Part III. HERCULES. bey gonautic expedition, and the arrival of Theseus at Athens, occurred’. When the term of his servitude was arrived, being now relieved of his disease, he prepared to take his long- threatened vengeance on Laomedon, He accordingly prepared a fleet of eighteen” fifty-oared vessels, manned by a valiant band of volunteer warriors, and sailed for Ilion. Leaving there the fleet, under the charge of Oicles, he led his men against the town; but while he was ad- vancing towards Ilion, Laomedon fell on the ships, and Oicles was slain in the attack. Laomedon was however driven back, and besieged in the town. Telamon succeeded in making a breach in the walls, and entered the town. Hercules followed him; and seeing Telamon take the lead im rushing into Ilion, he drew his sword and ran on him ; for he would have no one thought his superior. When Telamon saw this, he began to collect the stones which were lying near him; and on Hercules asking him what he was doing, said that he was raising an altar to Her- cules Callinicos (Glorious Victor). Hercules applauded him. He then slew with his arrows Laomedon and all his sons but Podarkes, gave Hesione to Telamon as a reward of his valour, and allowed her to choose one among the captives to be set at liberty. When she had fixed on her brother Podarkes, Hercules replied, that he must first be made a slave, and then she might give something for him and redeem him. She took her golden veil off her head, and with it bought him; and hence he was afterwards named Priamus instead of Podarkes. As he was sailing homewards from Troy, he was as- sailed by a furious storm, sent by Hera*, which drove ‘ This legend had its origin in the identification of the Grecian Hercules with Sandon a popular hero of the Lydians (Lydus de Ma- gist. 11. 64.). Omphale is said to have clad him in a bright-coloured robe, dyed with sandyx. The fable first occurs in Pherecydes and Hellanicus; and was of course invented after the colonisation of the coasts of Asia. ® Homer (II. v. 641.) says six ships. 3 I). xv. 18. 328 MYTHOLOGY OF GBEECE. him to the isle of Cos. For this act Zeus suspended Hera by a golden chain in the air, with two anvils at her feet ; and when her son Hephestus attempted to aid her, flung him from Olympus. When Hercules and his company came to Cos, the people of that island taking them for pirates assailed them with stones, and endeavoured to prevent their landing. He, however, took the island, and slew their king Eurypylus, the son of Poseidon and Asty- palea. Hercules was himself wounded in the fight by Chalcodon; but Zeus saved him. Having ravaged Cos, he went at the call of Athena to Phlegra, where he fought with the Gods against the Giants. Not long afterwards he collected an army of Arcadians and volunteers from most of the towns of Greece, and marched against Augeas ; who put his Eleans under the command. of his nephews Eurytus and Cteatus, the sons of Molione and Actor, who excelled all men of that time in strength. Hercules happening to fall sick, made a truce with the Molionides ; but when they heard of his illness, they attacked his army, and killed several of his men. Hercules retired at that time; but in the third Isthmiad afterwards, when the Eleans sent the Molio- nides to Cleone to offer sacrifice, he waylaid and killed them. He then led an army into Elis, took the city, slew Augeas and his sons, and set Phyleus on the throne. He also established the Olympic games, raised an altar to Pelops, and built altars to the twelve gods in order. After the capture of Elis he marched against Pylus, and took the city. He here killed Periclymenus, the bravest of the sons of Neleus, whohad the power of changing him- self into a variety of forms; and likewise Neleus himself, and his other sons, except Nestor, who was living with the Gereneans. He was also said to have wounded Hades as he was aiding the Pylians'. Having taken Pylus, 1 The line, Il. v. 397, "Ey wido év vexveoor Darwr, odvrvyno Edwke, would seem to allude to this event. There is to our apprehension HERCULES. 329 he marched to Lacedemon, to punish the sons of Hippé- coon, who had sent troops to the aid of the Pylians, and especially for their having slain Gkonus the son of Licym- nius. For as this youth was gazing on the palace of Hippo- coon, a Molossian dog flew at him: he flung a stone at the dog ; which so enraged the sons of Hippocoon, that they rushed out with sticks and beat him to death. Hercules therefore, to avenge his death, collected an army. Coming to Arcadia, he asked Cepheus, who had twenty sons, to join in the expedition : but Cepheus, afraid lest during his absence the Argives might make an attempt on Tegea, de- clined the proposal. Hercules, who had in a water-urn a brazen ringlet of the Gorgon, which Athena had given him, presented it to rope the daughter of Cepheus, and told her, that if when a hostile army should approach, she would show it three times from the walls without looking at it herself, they would take to flight. Cepheus and his sons now joined Hercules; but they all fell in battle, and with them Iphicles the brother of the hero. Hippocoon: himself was slain in the engagement, his sons were taken prisoners, and his kingdom given to Tynda- reus. Returning through Tegea, Hercules violated, without knowing her, Auge the daughter of Aleiis. She secretly brought forth a son, whom she laid in the sacred inclosure (réuevoc) of Athena. A famine coming on the land, Aleiis went into the temenus of the goddess; and searching about, found his daughter’s infant, which he exposed on Mount Parthenius. But the babe was protected by the care of the gods ; fora hind, which had just calved, came and suckled him; and the shepherds finding him, named him Telephus from that circumstance’. Aleiis gave his daugh- ter Auge to Nauplius the son of Poseidon, to sell her out something suspicious in almost all the passages in which this hero is mentioned in the Homeric poems. Of the genuineness however of Il. v. 638, et seg. there can be no doubt. | Thregos, from éXados a hind,—the name, as usual, giving occa- sion to the legend. 300 - MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. of the country ; and he disposed of her to Teuthras king of Teuthrania on the Cayster in Mysia, who made her his wife. Telephus having, when grown up, consulted the oracle respecting his parents, came to Mysia, where he was kindly received by Teuthras, whom he succeeded in his kingdom. Hercules went afterwards to Calydon, where he sought the hand of Deianeira the daughter of Gineus. He had to contend for her with the river-god Achelous, who turned himself into a bull; in which form one of his horns was broken off by the victorious hero. Achelous gave him in exchange for it the horn of Amalthea. This was a daughter of Heman, or, according to other legends, of Oceanus, who possessed an ox-horn which had the property. of furnishing in abundance whatever its possessor wished to eat or drink’. Hercules assisted the Calydonians against the Thes- protians, and took the city of Ephyra, over which Phylas reigned, by whose daughter Artyoche he became the father of Tlepolemus. While he abode among the Thes- protians, he sent to Thestius directing him to keep at home with him seven of his sons, to send three of them to Thebes, and the remaining forty as colonists to the island of Sardinia’. One day at the table of Gineus (probably after his return from Thesprotia), as Eunomus the son of Archi- teles was, according to custom, pouring water on the hands of the guests, Hercules happening unawares to swing his hand suddenly, struck the boy and killed 1 The explication usually given of this fable is perhaps not an im- probable one; namely, that it relates to a new direction given to one of the arms, i.e. horns, of the Achelous, in order to water an unpro- ductive piece of land; which becoming in consequence fruitful, gave occasion to the fiction of the exchange of the horn of Achelous for the horn of plenty. Amalthea’s horn is apparently a very ancient fiction, and out of the same mint probably with the wishing-caps, &c. of Asiatic and European romance. 2 The lateness of this legend is apparent. It arose from the iden- tification of Hercules with the Phcenician Melcart. HERCULES. Son him’. As it was evidently an accident, the father forgave the death of his son; but Hercules resolved to banish him- self, agreeably to the law in such cases, and he deter- mined to go to Ceyx, king of Trachis. He and Deianeira accordingly proceeded thither. On their way they came to the river Evénus, where Nessus the Centaur had taken his abode, and carried over travellers, saying he had received this office from the gods, as a reward for his uprightness. Hercules went across through the water himself, and hav- ing agreed on the price, let Deianeira go into the boat to be ferried over. But on the passage, Nessus attempted to offer violence to his fair freight. She resisted, and cried out loudly ; and Hercules, hearing her screams, shot Nessus through the heart as he came on shore. The dying _ Centaur thought on revenge: he called Deianeira to him, and told her if she would possess a philtre, or means of securing the love of Hercules, to keep carefully the blood which flowed from his wound,—an advice with which she incautiously complied. As they were going through the country of the Dry- opes, Hercules became extremely hungry, and meeting Theiodamas driving a wain with two oxen, he unyoked one of them, and killed, dressed, and ate it. He took with him Hylas the son of Theiodamas, who became his especial favourite. Being kindly received by Ceyx, he while there made war on the Dryopes. He also aided /Egimius, king of the Dorians, against whom the Lapi- the, under the command of Corénus, had made war, on account of a dispute respecting their boundaries, and had besieged him in his town. Aigimius called on Hercules to relieve him; and that hero slew Coronus, and put him in possession of the whole country that had been in dispute. Hercules afterwards killed Ladgoras king of the Dry- opes and his children, as he was feasting in the sacred ground of Apollo, on account of his violence and his aid of ' See Fairy Mythology, vol. i. p. 206. note, for a somewhat similar proof of the strength of Holger Dansk. Doe MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the Lapithe. As he was passing through Itona, Cycnus, the son of Ares and Pelopia, challenged him to a single combat. Hercules accepted it, and the challenger fell. At Ormenion, Amyntor came forth with arms to oppose his passage, but he also fell beneath the blows of the hero. Returning to Trachis, he collected an army of Arca- dians, Melians who dwelt about Trachis, and Epicnemi- dian Locrians, and made war on Eurytus king of Cicha- lia, whom he killed, together with his sons; and having buried those of his own men who had fallen, among whom were Hippasus the son of Ceyx, and Argeius and Melas the sons of Licymnius, he plundered the town, and led Iola away captive. Touching then at the Eubcean pro- montory Ceneus, he raised an altar to the Cenean Zeus; and wishing to offer a sacrifice there, sent to Ceyx for a splendid robe to wear. Deianeira hearing about Iola from the messenger, and fearing the effect of her charms _on the not very steady heart of her husband, resolved to try the efficacy of the philtre of Nessus, and tinged with it. the tunic which was sent. Hercules, suspecting nothing, put on the fatal garment and prepared to offer sacrifice. At first he felt no effect from it, but when it warmed, the venom of the hydra began to consume his flesh. In his fury he caught Lichas, the ill-fated bearer of the poisoned tunic, by the foot and hurled him into the sea, He at- tempted to tear off the tunic, but it adhered closely to his skin, and the flesh came away with it. In this wretched state he got on shipboard, and returned to Trachis ; where Deianeira, on learning the consequence of what she had done, hanged herself: and Hercules, charging Hyllus his eldest son by her to marry Iola when he was of sufficient age, had himself carried to Mount Cita, and there causing a pyre to be constructed, ascended it, and directed his followers to set it on fire. But no one would venture to obey; till Pceas, happening to arrive there in search of his stray cattle, complied with the desire of the hero, and received his bow and arrows as his reward. While the pyre was flaming, a thunder-cloud conveyed the sufferer HERCULES. 333 to heaven, where he was endowed with immortality; and being reconciled to Hera, espoused her daughter Hebe (Youth), by whom he had two children, Alexiares ( War- averter), and Anicétus (Invincible). In the preceding history of Hercules, we have closely followed Apollodorus; but the adventures of this hero have been the theme of numerous poets, both Greek and Latin’. These last, as they always did, kept close to their Grecian originals ; but the former set little bounds to their fertile invention, and the attentive reader will be at no loss to discern the different ages of the legends of this hero. Various theories have been formed respecting the my- thus of Hercules. It is evidently one of very remote anti- quity, long perhaps anterior to the times of Homer. We certainly confess that, for our parts, we cannot see any very valid reason for supposing no such real person- age to have existed; for it will perhaps be found, that mythology not unfrequently prefers to absolute fiction, the assuming of some real historic character *, and making it the object of the marvels devised by lively and exube- rant imagination, in order thereby to obtain more ready credence for the strange events which it creates. Such, then, may the real Hercules have been,—a Dorian, a The- ban, or an Argive hero, whose feats of strength lived in the traditions of the people, and whom national vanity raised to the rank of a son of Zeus, and poetic fancy, as geogra- phic knowledge extended, sent on journeys throughout the known world, and accumulated in his person the fabled exploits of similar heroes of other regions ’®. terrence nee eee oN Ee a Os ee es ie ' Pindar, Sophocles, Euripides, Theocritus, Ovid, &c. See also Diodorus. ? Arthur and Charlemagne,—certainly the last,—are historic charac- ters, and yet they are the heroes of as large acycle of fictionas Hercules or Theseus. The same is the case with Theodoricand Attila, the heroes of the German romances of the Suabian period. * Though we thus suppose the possibility of Hercules having been a real person, we still can only regard him as mythic, that is a per- sonage, no one of whose actions can be pronounced to be true. Jat MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. We may perceive by the twelve tasks, that the astrono- mical theory was applied to the mythus of this hero, and that he was regarded as a personification of the sun, which passes through the twelve signs of the zodiac. ‘This pro- bably took place during the Alexandrine period. Some resemblance between his attributes and those of the deity with whom the Egyptian priests were pleased to identify him, may have given occasion to this notion; and he also bore some similitude to the god whom the Pheenicians chiefly worshiped, and who itis probable was thesun. But we must steadily bear in mind, that Hercules was a hero in the popular legend long before any intercourse was opened between Greece and Egypt, and that however (which is certainly not very likely) a god might be introduced from Pheenicia, the same could hardly be the case with a po- pular hero. We have already shown that the Phoenician origin of Thebes was a groundless fiction. Popular le- gends lose, in fact, a great portion of their charms by the attempts made to extract physical, moral, or historical truth from them: the only truth to be sought justly in them is that of nature,—the degree of culture of the hu- man mind at the time when they were invented, its ideas of the world and the state of society. A very ingenious theory on the mythus of Hercules is given by a writer’ whom we have often had occasion to quote and to praise. Though acknowledging that Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules, may have been real persons, he is disposed, from an attentive consideration of all the cireum- stances in the mythus of the last, to regard him as one of those poetical persons or personifications, who, as he says, have obtained such firm footing in the dark periods of antiquity, as to have acquired the complete air of historic personages. In his view of the life of Hercules, it is a mythus of extreme antiquity and great beauty, setting forth the ideal of human perfection, consecrated to the weal of mankind or rather in its original form to that of his own nation. This 1 Buttmann, Mythologus, vol. i. p. 246. HERCULES. 330 perfection, according to the ideas of the heroic age, con- sists in the greatest bodily strength united with the advan- tages of mind and soul recognised by that age. Such a hero is, he says, a man; but those noble qua- lities in him are of divine origin. He is, therefore, the son of the king of the gods, by a mortal mother. To render his perfection the more manifest, the poet makes him to have a twin-brother, the child of a mortal sire. As virtue is not to be learned, Hercules exhibits his strength and courage in infancy; he strangles the snakes which fill his brother with terror. The character of the hero throughout life, as that of the avenger of injustice and punisher of evil, must exhibit itself in the boy as the wild instinct of nature; and the mythus makes him kill his tutor Linus with a blow of the lyre. When sent away by Amphitryon, he pre- pares himself, in the stillness and solitude of the shep- herd’s life, by feats of strength and courage, for his future task of purifying the earth of violence. The beautiful mythus of Prodicus, on the choice of Her- cules between virtue and effeminacy, is by Buttmann re- garded as a component part of the original mythus to which it suits so accurately. For if the virtue of Her- cules was to be of any value, it must be the result of choice, and he must be tempted and resist the temptation. It was also necessary for the perfection of virtue, that it should encounter continued opposition ; and Grecian my- thology, which contained no being of pure and unmixed evil, but gods of mingled character like men, furnished in the jealous Hera a deity to oppose and afflict the son of Zeus. But if the object of the persecution of one power, he must be—in conformity to all analogy—under the pro- tection of another ; and Pallas Athena, the goddess of wis- dom and mental energy, appears throughout the ancient form of the mythus as the constant guardian of the hero’. The number of tasks may not have been originally twelve, though most accounts agree in that number; but | J]. viii. 362, 336 | MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. they were all of a nature agreeable to the ideas of an heroic age,—the destruction of monsters, and bringing home to his own country the valuable productions of other regions’. These are, however, regarded by Buttmann as being chiefly allegorical. The Hydra, for instance, he takes to have been meant to represent the evils of democratic anarchy, with its numerous heads, against which, though one may not be able to effect anything, yet the union of even two may suffice to become dominant over it. The toils of the hero conclude with the greatest and most rare of all in the heroic age,—the conquest over death. This is represented by his descent into the under- world, and dragging Cerberus to light, as a proof of his victory. In the old mythus he was made to engage with and wound Aides; and the Alcestis of Euripides exhibits him in conflict with Death. But virtue, to be a useful example, must occasionally succumb to human weakness and the power of the evil principle. Hence Hercules falls into fits of madness, sent on him by Hera; and hence, like the Rinaldo and Ruggiero of romance, he becomes the willing slave of Omphale, the fair queen of Lydia, and changes his club and lion’s skin for the distaff and the female robe. The mythus concludes most nobly with the assumption of the hero into Olympus. His protecting deity abandons him to the power of his persevering enemy*; his mortal part is consumed by fire, the purest of elements; his shade or image (etdwAov)’, like those of othermen, descends to the ' As Homer does not seem to have known anything of the Hyper- boreans, the task of going for the apples of the Hesperides is proba- bly a fiction as late as the time of Hesiod, or even later. » > ?AdAA € Moip’ éddpacce kal dpyadéos yoXos “Hpns. I]. xviii, 119. ° Od. xi. 602. It is not unworthy of notice, that in the Tlias (i. 3.) itis said that the souls (Wuyas) of the heroes were sent to Ais, them- selves (abrovs) were made a prey for dogs and birds; while, in this place of the Odyssey, the image (eidwdov) of Hercules was in the house of Ais, himself (abros) was on Olympus. Two diametrically opposed species of psychology ! HERCULES. | ood realms of Hades; while the divine portion himself (avroc) mounts from the pyre in a thunder-cloud, and, the object of Hera’s persecution being now accomplished, espouses Youth, the daughter of his reconciled foe. Miiller’ is also disposed to view in Hercules a personifi- cation of the highest powers of man in the heroic age. He regards him as having been the national hero of the Dorian race, and appropriates to him all the exploits of the hero in Thessaly, A2tolia, and Epirus ; which last place he supposes to have been the original scene of the Geryoneia, which was afterwards transferred to the western stream of Ocean. He thinks, however, that the Argives had an ancient hero of perhaps the same name, to whom the Peloponnesian adventures belong, and whom the Dorians combined with their own hero. The servitude to Eury- stheus, and the enmity of Hera, he looks on as inventions of the Dorians, to justify their own invasion of the Pelo- ponnesus. This critic also proves that the Theban Her- cules had nothing to do with the gods and traditions of the Cadmeians; and he thinks that it was the Dorian Heracleides who introduced the knowledge of him into Thebes, or that he came from Delphi with the worship of Apollo, a deity with whom, as the tutelar god of the Do- rians, he supposes their national hero to have been closely connected. de ae eee ee ERE ee ee 1 Dorians, vol. i. part 2, ch. 11, 12. 338 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHAPTER V. LEGENDS OF ATTICA. Kéxpo. Cecrops. OcyceEs, in whose time the Beotic flood is placed, is said by some to have been the first who reigned over Attica and Beotia: his son Eleusinus was the founder of Eleusis. But in general, Cecrops is held to have been the first who ruled over the country called Cecropia from him, and Attica from its peninsular form, He is said by mytho- logists to have been an Autochthon, i.e. one who came from no foreign country, but was born in, and as it were from, the land; and, like Autochthones in general, to have had a body composed of those of a man and a snake. In his time the gods began to choose cities for themselves; and Poseidon and Athena contended for Athens. The former struck the middle of the future Acropolis with his trident, and formed the pool called that of Erechtheus; Athena making Cecrops witness of her taking possession, planted the olive which stood in the Pandrosium. Twelve gods sat to decide the cause; and on the testimony of Cecrops, they adjudged the place to Athena. She named the city from herself, and Poseidon testified his anger by lay- ing the Thriasian plain under water. Cecrops married Agraulos the daughter of Actzus, who bore him ason Erysichthon, and three daughters, Agraulos, Herse, and Pandrosos. Erysichthon died without child- ren; Agraulos had by Ares a daughter named Alcippe, who being violated by Halirrhothius the son of Poseidon and the nymph Euryte, her father killed the ravisher. Ares was prosecuted for this act by Poseidon: he was CECROPS. 339 tried before the twelve gods on the Hill of Ares, and acquitted. The fable of Cecrops having been an Egyptian of Sais, who led a colony out of Egypt, and brought civilisation, religion, and corn to the wild horde who roamed over At- tica, is so palpably absurd, as hardly to be deserving of mention ; it may not, however, be needless briefly to trace its origin and growth. Neither Homer, nor Hesiod, nor any of the succeeding poets or mythographers, nor the tragedians, nor even the Egyptising Herodotus, says one word of Cecrops being an Egyptian. Plato speaks of an ancient intimacy between the Athenians and the people of Sais, whose goddess Neith was identified with Pallas Athena. Theopompus is the first who brings Cecrops from Sais to Athens, but only ironically in the opinion of Voss. Callisthenes and others made Sais to be colonised. from Athens. In the time of the Ptolemies it became the fashion to make the Egyptians the colonisers and civili- sers of the whole world ; and, as would appear from Dio- dorus, Cecrops was placed in the number of the colonists. Still, the story never gained general credit among either Greeks or Romans; and it is only by scholiasts and the Alexandrine chronologists that we find it maintained. Such then are the grounds on which rests the tale of Cecrops, coming from Egypt, which has been admitted into so many histories of Greece’! Cecrops has every appearance of being, like Dolops and Dryops, the personification of a people. We may observe, that the names of his family all refer to agricul- ture or the physical character of Attica”; the same is the case with many of the personages who follow. 1 Voss, Myth. Briefe, iii. 180. Muller, Orchomenos, 106. 2 Miller regards Pallas Athena as having been originally a deity presiding over agriculture and fertility. Hence, he says, she is sur- rounded by the maidens Feld-dwelling, Dew, and All-dew, and their brother Harth-cutter. zZ 2 340 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Kpavadc. Cranais. Cecrops was succeeded by Cranatis, another Auto- chthon, in whose time the flood of Deucalion is said to have happened. He married Pedias the daughter of Me- nytes; and from his daughter Atthis, who died a maid, he called the country Atthis. Cranatis was expelled by Am- phictyon, another Autochthon, who after a reign of twelve years was in his turn expelled by "Epvy Porc. Erichthonius. Erichthénius was by some said to be the son of He- phestus by Atthis the daughter of Cranaus. Others relate, that Athena coming one day to the workshop of He- phestus to get some arms, the artist was filled by Aphro- dite with desire, and attempted to offer violence to the maiden-goddess. She fled; he pursued, and though lame overtook her, but was unable to overcome her resistance. The legend proceeds to relate the birth of Erichthonius after a manner which gives no very high idea of Athe- nian delicacy’. The goddess resolved to bestow immor- tality on the babe. She laid him therefore in a coffer, which she gave in charge to Pandrosos the daughter of Cecrops, with an injunction not to open it. Pan- drosos was obedient; but the curiosity of her sisters made them unclose the coffer, in which they beheld the babe, who terminated in a snake. As a punishment Athena struck them with madness, and they precipitated themselves from the Acropolis. Erichthonius was reared by Athena in her temenus; and when he was grown up he expelled Amphictyon, and reigned over Athens. He set up the statue of Athena in the Acropolis, and insti- tuted the festival of the Panathenea. He is said to have. been the first who used the four-horsed chariot. He had ! Apollod. iii. The name ’Epry6dr0s gave origin to the legend. PANDION. PROCNE, PHILOMELA, AND TEREUS. 341 by the Nais Pasithea a son named Pandion, who suc- ceeded him. Erichthonius when he died was buried in the temenus of Athena by his son; or, according to others, by the goddess herself, whose favourite he had been, and - whom in life she had often visited. Another account of the birth of Erichthonius says, that Hephestus having made golden seats for Zeus and the other gods, Hera when she sat in hers was unable to rise. Hephestus was called to set his mother free; but he, who had done it through malice for her having flung him out of heaven, replied that he had no mother. Dionysus con- trived to make him drunk, and while in that state he re- leased the goddess. Zeus then desired him to demand a reward ; and Poseidon, who bore a grudge to Athena, per- suaded him to ask her in marriage. Zeus granted his desire, but recommended his daughter to stand on her defence.—The remainder of the legend is nearly the same as the former one. Tlavdiwv. Pandion. Pandion succeeded his father in the kingdom. In his reign Demeter and Dionysus came to Attica. The former was entertained by Keleus, the latter by Icarius. Pan- dion married Zeuxippa, the sister of his mother, by whom he had twosons, Erechtheus and Butes, and two daughters, Procne and Philomela. TIpéxvn, DiropnAa, kat Tnpevc. Procne, Philomela, et Tereus. Pandion being at war about boundaries with Labdacus king of Thebes, called to his aid Tereus the son of Ares out of Thrace’. Having with his assistance come off vic- torious in the contest, he gave him his daughter Procne in a a a ee 1 According to Thucydides (ii. 29.) he dwelt in Daulis. 342 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. marriage, by whom Tereus had a son named Itys. Not long afterwards he conceived a passion for Philoméla; and pretending that Procne was dead, obtained her in mar- riage. He had, however, only concealed his wife; and fearing that the truth might be discovered, ht cut out the tongue of Philomela; but learning the truth, she contrived to communicate her story to her sister by means of cha- racters woven into a peplus. Procne sought out and re- leased her sister; and then killing her son Itys, served his flesh up to his father. The two sisters fled away; and Te- reus discovering the truth, pursued them with an axe. When they were in Daulia of Phocis, finding themselves nearly overtaken by Tereus, they prayed to the gods to change them into birds; Procne immediately became a Nightingale (andor), and Philomela a Swallow (yeAtder) ; Tereus was also changed, and became a Hoopoo (érow)’. This is, perhaps, only one of the many legends invented to explain the origin of peculiar animals. A somewhat different account of that of the nightingale is given by Homer’ : As when Pandareus’ daughter, green Aédon, Sings lovely in the opening of the spring, Seated amidst the dense leaves of the trees, She, frequent changing, poureth forth her voice Tone-full, lamenting her son Itylus, King Zethus’ child, whom erst with ruthless brass - She in her folly slew. The daughters of Pandareiis are said in the following book’? to have been carried away by the Harpies. We have no clue to the knowledge of this legend, but it was ' Apollod. iii. 13. Ovid, Met. vi. 424, e¢ sey. relates the story some- what differently. See also Hyginus, 45. According to others, Philo- mela was the nightingale. ° Od. xix. 518. The passage is, we think, an interpolation. > Od. xx. 66. See above p. 225. ERECHTHEUS. 343: plainly different from, and probably more beautiful than, that narrated above’. It is a strange idea, by the way, though a very general one, especially with poets, that the note of the nightingale is melancholy : it is in reality cheerfulness itself. The passage of Homer just quoted seems to have given origin to it; and Coleridge is the first, we believe, who called at- tention to its fallacy. "EpeyOetc. Erechtheus. On the death of Pandion his sons Erechtheus and Butes divided his offices between them, the former taking the kingdom, the latter the priesthood of Athena and Poseidon Erechthonius. Butes married Chthonia the daughter of his brother, and the sacerdotal family of the Butades deduced their lineage from him. Erechtheus married Praxithea, a grand-daughter of Cephisus, and had by her five sons, Cecrops, Pandorus, Metion, Orneus, and Thespius; and four daughters, Procris, Creiisa, Chthonia, and Oreithyia. Being engaged in a war with the Eleusinians, he consulted the god about the event; and received for answer, that victory would fall to him who should sacrifice one of his daughters. Erech- theus offered up his youngest daughter Chthonia; and her sisters, as they had entered into a resolution that when one lost her life the others would end theirs, all volun- tarily put an end to themselves. Erechtheus was victo- rious, and slew Eumolpus the son of Poseidon and ally of the Eleusinians, but was himself destroyed afterwards by that god. The legend, as far as it respects the daughters of Erechtheus, is different from those which we shall pre- sently recite, which assign them other destinies. The account of Erechtheus himself, as given by Homer’, cor- Te iminiunnteensasmsiipeien saa seems eins pene and ne OES 1 For another account, see Anton. Lib, xi. 2 Il. it. 547. 344 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. responds pretty exactly with what we have above related of Erichthonius. He is by that poet called the son of Earth, an idea probably suggested by his name’. IIpoxpic cai Kédbadoc. Procris et Cephalus. Procris, the eldest daughter of Erechtheus, was mar- ried to Céphalus the son of Deion the son of Aolus. They dwelt at Thoricus in Attica, and were happy, till curiosity to try the fidelity of his wife entered the mind of Cephalus. Feigning a journey of eight years he dis- guised himself, and went to Procris with a splendid jewel, which he offered to her as the price of her favours. Af- ter much hesitation her virtue yielded; and she was on the point of dishonouring him, when her husband disco- vered himself and reproached her. She fled from him in shame, but soon after they were reconciled. Cephalus went constantly to the chase; and Procris, suspicious, as she had failed herself, fancied he was attracted by the charms of some other fair-one. She questioned the slave who used to accompany him; and he told her that his master frequently ascended the summit of a hill, and cried “Come, Nephela, come!” Procris went to the designated hill, and concealed herself in a thicket ; and on Cephalus crying ‘‘ Come, Nephela, come !”’ she rushed forwards to her husband, who, in astonishment, going to embrace her, happening to push his hand against his bent bow, the arrow went off and pierced her heart’. Another version of the legend says, that after Procris was married, Ptelion by the gift of a golden garland gained her favour. The lovers were caught in the em- braces of each other by Cephalus, and Procris ashamed and terrified fled to Minos in Crete. Her love was soli- cited by Minos ; but the danger of consent was great ; for his wife Pasiphae had so enchanted him, that any woman ERAN Aalst eerscaenme et Ona 1 €pa, earth. * Pherecydes, Frag. xxv. ° oh PROCRIS AND CEPHALUS. 345 who lay in his embraces was attacked by vipers and de- stroyed. Procris, however, by means of a Circwean root, escaped the danger; and Minos gave her the dog Lelaps (Whirlwind), which Zeus had given to Europa, and which no beast could escape, and with him an unfailing dart. With these she returned to Attica; and disguised as a huntress made the acquaintance of Cephalus, and chal- lenged him to a hunting-match. She came off easily victorious ; and Cephalus, aware of the virtues of the dog and dart, became eager to possess them. His embraces were the only condition, and he consented. Procris then discovered herself, and they thenceforth lived in harmony. Cephalus frequented the woods ; and Procris, grown jealous, hid herself in a thicket. He cried, “‘ Nephela, come, O come !” Procris made a rustling : thinking it was a wild beast, he threw the never-failing dart, and killed his beloved wife. Cephalus was for this involuntary crime sentenced by the Areopagus to perpetual banishment. He went to Thebes, which was at that time ravaged by a fox which nothing could overtake, and joined Amphitryon in the chase of it: his dog Lelaps ran it down; but just as he was catching it, Zeus turned them both to stone. Ce- phalus then aided Amphitryon against the Teleboans ; and on their conquest settled in the island named from him Cephalonia’. The story of Cephalus and Procris is told with consi- derable variations. Cephalus is by some confounded with Cephalus the son of Hermes by Herse the daughter of Cecrops, who was carried off by Eos, who had by him Tithonus the father of Phaéthon; which last was taken, on account of his beauty, by Aphrodite, and set over her temple’. 1 For Procris and Cephalus see Avollod. iit. 15. Ovid, Met. vil. Hygin. 189. Anton. Lib. 41. 2 Hes. Theog. 986. Paus. i. 3. 346 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Kpéovoa, Sov0oc xat”"lwv. Cretisa, Xuthus, et Ion. Xuthus, the son of Hellen, having been assigned the Peloponnesus by his father, came to Attica from Thessaly, and married Creusa the daughter of Erechtheus, by whom he had Ion and Acheus; and a daughter, Diomeda, who was married to Deion’. According to the tradition followed by Euripides in his beautiful drama named from him, Ion was the fruit of the secret love of Creusa with Apollo, and was laid by his mother in the cavern where she had met the god. Hermes, at the desire of Apollo, conveyed the infant to Delphi, where he was brought up at the temple of his father. His recognition by Cretisa, when she and Xuthus came to consult the god about having offspring, is highly pleasing and interesting. Ion acquired such influence at Athens, that the people were named after him. In the war with the Eleusinians he so distinguished himself, that but for the jealousy of the sons of Erechtheus he would have been made king. He then went with a colony of Ionians to the Peloponne- sus, and took possession of Mgialus, the future Achea’. ‘Opebvia. Oreithyia. Oreithyia, the daughter of Erechtheus, as she was crossing the Ilyssus, or was carrying with other maidens the sacred baskets in the solemn procession in honour of Athena Polias, was beheld by the wind-god Boreas. Enamoured of her beauty, he seized and carried her away to Thrace, where she bore him the winged youths Zetes and Calais ; and two daughters, Cleopatra and Chione. ' Here we find, as in every mythic cycle except that of Argos, the posterity of Deucalion brought into connection with the ancient legendary heroes of the country. ® Athenian vanity is perceptible in this as in so many other legends ; for the Ionians first came to Attica from the Peloponnesus after the Dorian migration. OREITHYIA. PANDION Il. 347 Cleopatra was married to Phineus, to whom she bore two sons. He afterwards espoused Idea the daughter of Dardanus; who calumniating her stepsons to him, he blinded them, and was himself as a punishment afflicted with blindness by the gods. Chione was loved by Poseidon. Their offspring was Eumolpus ; whom, when born, his mother to conceal her weakness threw into the sea to the protection of his father. Poseidon took him, and brought him to Aithio- pia, and gave him to his daughter Benthesicy'ma and Amphitrite to rear. When Eumolpus was grown up, the husband of Benthesicyma gave him one of his two daughters in marriage; but Eumolpus, attempting to offer violence to the sister of his wife, was forced to fly. He came with his son Ismarus to Tegyrius, a king of Thrace, who gave his daughter in marriage to Ismarus. But Eumolpus, being detected plotting against Tegy- rius, was once more forced to fly, and he came to Eleusis. Ismarus dying, Tegyrius became reconciled to Eumolpus ; who returned to Thrace, and succeeded him in his kingdom. War breaking out between the Athenians and the Eleusinians, the latter invoked the aid of their former guest, and Eumolpus fell in battle against Erech- theus '. Tlavdiwy. Pandion II. ‘Pandion II., the son of Cecrops the son of Erechtheus, married Pylia the daughter of Pylus king of Megara; who being obliged to fly for the murder of his brother Bias, resigned Megara to his son-in-law, and retiring to the Peloponnesus built Pylus. Pandion had four sons, Lycus, Pallas, Nisus; and Aigeus, who divided among them the Attic territory,—/Zgeus, as the eldest, having the su- premacy. ! Apollod. iii. 348° MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Nicoc kat SKvAAa. Nisus et Scylla. — In the war waged by Minos king of Crete against the Athenians on account of the death of his son Androgeus, Megara was besieged, and it was taken by the treachery of Scylla the daughter of Nisus. This prince had a golden or purple lock of hair growing on his head; and as long as it remained uncut, so long was his life to last. Scylla hav- ing seen Minos, fell in love with him, and resolved to give him the victory. She cut off her father’s precious lock as he slept, and he immediately died: the town was then taken by the Cretans. But Minos, instead of rewarding the maiden, disgusted with her unnatural treachery’, tumbled her into the sea from the stern of his vessel, and she was drowned. Another legend* adds, that Nisus was changed into the bird called the Sea-eagle (aXtaieroc), and Scylla into that named Ciris (keipic*); and that the father continually pursues the daughter to punish her for her crime. | Avyetc. Ageus. /Egeus the son of Pandion being childless, went to Delphi to consult the oracle. The meaning of the re- sponse which he received was dubious*. As he pro- ceeded homewards, and was going through Treezene, he was entertained by Pittheus the son of Pelops. The host, divining the sense of the oracle, made his guest drunk, and put him to sleep with his daughter AXthra. Poseidon, it was also said, took advantage of the same night. Aigeus when departing charged Aithra if she bore 1 Apollod. ili. 14. 2 Ovid, Met. viii. 145. Virg. Ciris, et Geor. 1. 403. 3 From kelpw to cut or devour,—from her cutting off her father’s lock, says the legend: from the rapacity of the bird more probably. 4 The god said, ’ Aokov Tov mpovxovra Toddova, péprare Aawy, M) Avons, mpty és axpoy’ AOnvatwy aixnat. 5a ale ee : rts = gre tS eee 2 EGEUS. THESEUS. 349 ason to rear him, and to tell no one whose son he was. He moreover placed his sword and shoes under a large stone, and directed her to send his son to him when he was able to lift the stone and take them from under it. /Egeus returned to Athens; and when Medea came thither from Corinth, he married her. He also celebrated the Panathenzan games ; in which Androgeus the son of Minos overcame all his opponents. Aigeus, envious of his worth, engaged him to go and fight with the Marathonian bull, and the valiant youth fell in the attempt. According to other accounts, AXgeus laid an ambush for him as he was going to Thebes where games were to be celebrated by Laius. Minos made war on Athens to avenge the death of his son. Megara fell as above related. Athens held out; but being closely pressed with hunger, the Athenians, according to an ancient oracle, sacrificed on the grave of the Cyclops Gerestus, the four daughters of Hya- cinthus, who had settled there. This bloody deed was of no avail; and the oracle declared, that the naming of the satisfaction he required must be left to Minos himself. He demanded seven youths and seven maids to be sent every year to be devoured by the Minotaur. This hard condition was for some years complied with. At length Theseus voluntarily proposed to attempt their deliverance. He went, and succeeded ; but forgetting to change his black sails to white, as agreed on in case of success, ZEgeus, thinking his son was lost, cast himself from a rock into the sea, which was named from him. Onoevc. Theseus. The son of Ageus by Athra was named Theseus. When grown to the proper age, his mother led him to the stone under which his father had deposited his sword and shoes, and he raised it with ease and took them out. He was now to go to Athens and present himself to his father. As the roads were infested with robbers, his grandfather 350 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Pittheus pressed him earnestly to take the shorter and safer way over the Saronic gulf; but the youth, feeling : in himself the spirit and the soul of a hero, resolved to signalise himself like Hercules, with whose fame all Greece now rang, by destroying the evil-doers and the monsters that oppressed the country; and he determined on the more perilous and adventurous journey by land. His first day’s journey brought him to Epidaurus, where dwelt a man named Periphates, a son of Hephestus or Poseidon by Anticlea. This ferocious savage always went armed with an iron club, whence he was called Club- bearer (Kopuvnrne) ; and all travellers stood in terror of his cruelty. When he saw Theseus approach, he immediately assailed him; but he speedily fell beneath the blows of the young hero, who took possession of his club, and bore it ever afterwards as a memorial of his first victory. Theseus now pursued his journey, and met with no interruption till he came to the Isthmus of Corinth. Here he found another “ faitour,” who, from the great mischief which he did to all the surrounding country, was called by no other name than that of Sinis’, i.e. Evil-doer. His strength was so great, that he was able to take by their tops the pine-trees with which the isthmus was at that time overgrown, and bend them to the ground; and hence he was called Pine-bender (avrvoxauarnc). He posted himself on the road, and challenged all passengers to vie with him in this art; and he hung from the pine-trees all those who were not able to bend them. Theseus, on being challenged, though he had never before attempted such a feat, bent the trees with ease; and then, to punish Sinis for his previous cruelty, killed him, and hung him out of one of the pines. Before he left the neighbourhood of the isthmus, The- seus delivered the people of Cromyum, a village near Corinth, from a huge cow which ravaged their lands. He hunted and killed this monster. ' From oivw, to injure. THESEUS. 351 As he approached the borders of Megara, he came to the narrow path overhanging the sea, where the robber Sciron—from whom the pass derived its name—had fixed his abode. The practice of Sciron was, when any stranger came to him, to invert the duties of hospitality ; and instead of giving water to wash the feet of his guest, to insist on the guest washing the feet of the host. This ceremony was performed on the pass; and while the guest was engaged in the operation, Sciron would give him a kick, which tumbled him down into the sea, where a huge tortoise always lay ready to devour the bodies of those who were thrown down. Theseus killed Sciron, and flung his body down to the tortoise. Theseus came now to Eleusis, where Cercyon, said to be a son of either Poseidon or Hephestus, reigned. “Like many of those whom Hercules encountered, Cercyon forced all comers to wrestle with him, and killed the van- quished. Theseus accepting his challenge overcame him, and paid him in his own coin. Not far from thence, on the banks:of the Cephissus, Theseus came to Damastes, named the Beater-out or Stretcher (mpoxpovorne'), and the Hurtful (zoAuTHUwr). This Damastes had two iron bedsteads, one long, the other short. When a stranger came, he took him, if short of stature, to the long bedstead, and stretched and pulled him, as he said, to make him fit it, till the life left him. But if the stranger should be tall, he assigned him the short bedstead, and then cut as much off him as made him of the same length as his bed. But Theseus meted to him with his own measure. Having overcome all the perils of the road, Theseus at length reached Athens, where new danger awaited him. He found his father’s court all in confusion. The Pallan- tides, or sons and grandsons of Pallas the brother of A®geus, had long seen with jealousy the sceptre in the hands of an old man, and meditated wresting it from 1 From mpoxpovw, to beat out. oO MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. his feeble grasp. Thinking, however, that his death could not be very remote, they resolved to wait for that event, but they made no secret of their intentions. The arrival of Theseus threatened to disconcert their plan. They feared that if this young stranger should be received as a son by the old king, he might find in him a protector and avenger; and they resolved to poison his mind against him. Their plot so far succeeded, that AZgeus was on the point of sacrificing his son, when he recognised him, and then acknowledged him in the presence of all the people. The Pallantides had recourse to arms, but Theseus de- feated and slew them. Medea, it is also said, who was married to Aigeus, fearing the loss of her influence when Theseus should have been acknowledged by his father, resolved to antici- pate that event ; and moved by her calumnies, AXgeus was presenting a cup of poison to his son, when the sight of the sword left with AXthra discovered to him who he was. The bull which Hercules had brought from Crete was now at Marathon, and the country was in terror of his ravages. Theseus, probably deeming this a good oppor- tunity of recommending himself to the people over whom he was likely to reign, resolved to deliver them from the ferocious animal. He went in quest of him, overcame and exhibited him in chains to the astonished eyes of the Athenians, who did not know which was the greater, their admiration of the victory or their terror of the combat. Theseus sacrificed the bull to Athena. The Athenians were at this period in deep affliction, on account of the annual tribute which they were forced to pay to Minos king of Crete. Every year they saw the most beautiful and most promising of their children depart to become the food of a monster. Theseus resolved to deliver them from this calamity, or die in the attempt. Accordingly when the third time of sending off the tribute came, and the youths and maidens were according to custom drawn by lot to be sent, in spite of the entreaties of his father to the contrary, he voluntarily offered himself THESEUS. 353 as one of the victims. The ship departed as usual under black sails ; which Theseus promised his father to change for white in case of his returning victorious. Arrived in Crete, the youths and maidens were exhibited before Minos; and Ariadne the daughter of the king, who was present, became deeply enamoured of Theseus, by whom her love was speedily returned. She furnished him with a clue of thread, which enabled him to penetrate in safety the windings of the labyrinth, till he came to where the Mi- notaur lay, whom he caught by the hair and slew; and then got on board with his companions, and sailed for Athens. Ariadne accompanied his flight; but was aban- doned by him on the isle of Dia or Naxus’. Before he returned to Athens, Theseus sailed to Delos to pay his vow: for ere setting out on his perilous expe- dition, he had made a vow to send annually, if success- ful, to the temple of the god, a ship with gifts and sacri- fices*. He also consecrated in that island to Aphrodite a statue made by Dedalus, on account of the aid she had given him. He moreover, tocommemorate his victory, esta- blished there a dance, the evolutions of which imitated the windings of the labyrinth’. On approaching the coast of Attica, Theseus forgot the signal appointed by his father, and returned under the same sails with which he had departed ; and the old king, thinking he was bereaved of his newly-found son, threw himself into the sea. Theseus, on his arrival, was regarded by the people as a protecting deity; and with general approbation he mounted the vacant throne. 1 For Ariadne and the Minotaur, see below, Legends of the Isles. 2 The practice of sending a ship annually to Delos,—whatever may have given occasion to it,—long continued. While it was absent no sentence of death could be executed in Athens; because, as it was said, it commemorated the deliverance of the youths and maidens. The ship sent, called the Paralian galley, was maintained to be the very same one in which Theseus had sailed; though it had been so often repaired, as to give occasion to a celebrated question among the sophists respecting its identity. $ This is evidently founded on the lines of Homer, II. xviii. 590. 2A 354 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. The hero now turned his thoughts to legislation. The Attic territory had been divided by Cecrops into twelve Demi or Villages, each of which had its own government and chief magistrate, and was almost wholly independ- ent. The consequence was, frequent and sanguinary wars among them. Nothing but pressing external danger forced them to union, which was again dissolved as soon as the storm was over. Theseus now invited not merely the people of Attica, but even strangers and foreigners, to settle at Athens, then nothing but a castle on arock. By his prudence and his au- thority he induced the heads of the villages to resign their independent sovranty, and entrust the administration of jus- tice to a court, which should sit constantly at Athens, and exercise jurisdiction over all the inhabitants of Attica. He abolished the former division of the people of Attica into tribes, and substituted that of a distribution into three classes, of the Nobles, the Agriculturists, and the Manu- facturers. The nobles were put in possession of all offices and dignities; but the choice of the persons from the body of the nobles to fill them was left to the people. The result of these judicious regulations was the in- crease of the town of Athens, and of the population in general; the establishment of just liberty, and at the same time the augmentation of the royal power, and the reduction of that of the nobles, heretofore the source of such continual broils and dissensions. As a further means of uniting the people, Theseus established numerous fes- tivals, particularly the Panathenea, solemnized with great splendour every fifth year, in commemoration of this union of the inhabitants of Attica. Theseus firmly established the boundaries of the Attic territory, in which he included Megaris, and set up a pillar on the Isthmus of Corinth to mark the limits of At- tica and the Peloponnesus. Near this pillar he renewed the Isthmian games, in imitation of the Olympic lately established by Hercules. These civic cares did not prevent Theseus from taking THESEUS. 355 part in military enterprises : he accompanied Hercules in his expedition against the Amazons, who dwelt on the banks of the Thermodon ; and distinguished himself so much in the conflict, that Hercules after the victory be+ stowed on him, as the reward of his valour, the hand of the vanquished queen Antiope. When the Amazons af- terwards in revenge invaded the Attic territory, they met with a signal defeat from the Athenian prince. Theseus was also a sharer in the dangers of the Caly- donian hunt; he was one of the adventurous band who sailed in the Argo to Colchis; and he aided his friend Pei- rithoiis and the Lapithe in their conflict with the Cen- taurs. The friendship between him and Peirithous was of a most intimate nature; yet it had originated in the midst of arms. Peirithous had one time made an irrup- tion into the plain of Marathon, and carried off the herds of the king of Athens. Theseus, on receiving information, went to repel the plunderers. The moment Peirithous beheld him, he was seized with secret admiration; he stretched out his hand as a token of peace, and cried “ Be judge thyself! What satisfaction dost thou require?”’ —‘‘Thy friendship,” replied the Athenian; and they swore inviolable fidelity. Like faithful comrades, they aided each other in every project. Each was ambitious in love, and would possess a daughter of the king of the gods. Theseus fixed his thoughts on Helena the daughter of Leda, then a child of but nine years. The friends planned the carrying her off, and they succeeded. Placing her under the care of his mother AXthra at Aphidne, Theseus prepared to assist his friend in a bolder and more perilous attempt ; for Peini- thoiis, after the death of Hippodameia, resolved to venture on the daring deed of carrying away from the palace of the monarch of the under-world his queen Persephone. Theseus, though aware of the risk, would not abandon his friend. They descended together to the region of sha- dows ; but Aides knowing their design, seized them, and placed them on an enchanted rock at the gate of his 2A2 396 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. realms; where they sat unable to move, till Hercules pass- ing by in his descent for Cerberus free’d Theseus, but was by a divine intimation prevented from aiding his friend, who remained there everlastingly in punishment of his audacious attempt’. It is uncertain at what time the sad catastrophe of Hip- polytus occurred. Some place it on the return of Theseus from the under-world. Euripides in his drama, named from that unhappy youth, says it took place while The- seus was in exile at Troezene for the slaughter of the Pallantides. Theseus, it is said, had after the death of Antiope, who had borne him a son named Hippolytus, married Phedra the daughter of Minos and sister of Ariadne. This princess was seized with a violent affection for the son of the Amazon,—an affection produced by the wrath of Aphrodite against Hippolytus for neglecting her deity, and devoting himself solely to the service of Artemis, or against Phedra as the daughter of Pasiphae. During the absence of Theseus, the queen made advances of love to her step-son, which were indignantly repelled by the vir- tuous youth. Filled with fear and hate, on the return of her husband she accused to him his innocent son of an at- tempt on her honour. Without giving the youth an oppor- tunity of clearing himself, the blinded prince calling to mind that Poseidon had promised him the accomplishment of | whatever wish he should first form, cursed and implored destruction on his son from the god. As Hippolytus, leaving Troezene, was driving his chariot along the sea- shore, a monster sent by Poseidon from the deep terrified his horses ; they burst away in fury, heedless of their driver, dashed the chariot to pieces, and dragged along Hippoly- tus entangled in the reins, till life abandoned him. Phedra 1 Those who would assign a historical foundation to the wild and fanciful fictions of ancient poets, tell us that Persephone was wife to Aidoneus king of the Molossians; that his dog was called Cerberus, who tore Peirithous to pieces, &c. We have already expressed our dissent from this tasteless mode of procedure. | THESEUS. 357 ended her days by her own hand ; and Theseus when too late learned the innocence of his son’. The invasion of Attica by Castor and Polydeukes, to avenge the carrying off of their sister, and an insurrection of the Pallantides, brought on Theseus the usual fate of all great Athenians,—exile. He voluntarily retired to Ly- comedes, king of the island of Scyros, and there he met his death, either by accident or by the treachery of his host. For ascending with Lycomedes a lofty rock, to take a view of the island, he either fell or was pushed off by his companion, and lost his life by the fall. The Athe- aians honoured his memory by feasts and temples, placed him among the gods, and called their city the town of Theseus. Theseus was the national hero of Athens, as Hercules was of Thebes. Their national vanity and their jealousy of their neighbour, induced the Athenians to exalt their own, and depress the hero of Beotia. In the drama of his own town Theseus always appears as the model of a just and moderate prince, the recommender and example of a strict obedience to law and equity, the protector of the suppliant, the punisher of the evil-doer, the author of wise and good regulations*; while the Theban hero is held 1 The circumstance of women accusing those who have refused their favours is common to the history and the fable of every country. The earliest instance on record is that of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife; and, under the names of Yoosuf and Zooleikha, their adventure is the theme of romance over the Mohammedan East. The stories of Peleus and others have been already noticed; and that of Sir Lanval is to be found in the romance of the middle ages (Fairy Mythology, i. p.54.). The case most similar to the present occurs in the Persian Shah Nameh, where Siyawush the son of Kai Kaoos, king of Persia, is, on rejecting the amorous advances of his step-mother Soodabeh, accused by her to his father ; but the gallant youth clears himself by going through the ordeal of fire, riding in golden helm and snowy raiment through the flaming piles, kindled by two hundred men. Another case is that of the sons of Camar-ez-Zeman, in the Thousand and One Nights. 2 See the (Zdipus at Colonos of Sophocles, and the Suppliants of Euripides. 358 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. forth to ridicule for his voracity and want of cultivation", the witty Athenians making him a personification of what they affected to regard as the Beeotian national character. Not to allow their own hero to be outdone, they fabled adventures for him similar to those of the Beeotian; and the reader will probably have observed the parallel course of their exploits. They further resolved that he should have a share in all the great events of the mythic age; and they sent him to the Calydonian hunt, on the Argonautic expedition, and wherever else banded heroes acquired fame. As poems named Heracleides recorded the deeds and extended the renown of Hercules, so a Theseis preserved and enlarged the exploits of the hero of Athens. Theseus had too the advantage of having civic virtues assigned as a part of his character; he was held forth as the founder of the Athenian constitution, and the orators boldly ascribed to him even the introduction ot the democracy. We see no very sufficient reason for denying the actual existence of this hero, or the truth of perhaps some of his adventures ; for we are hardly justified in holding all the heroes of national tradition to have been purely imaginary characters *. Homer, it is evident, was acquainted with the legend of Theseus, since he mentions the story of Ari- adne*. Theseus has always been held to be more of an historic character than any other of the mythic heroes,— a preeminence possibly owing to the literary supremacy of the people who regarded him as their patron-hero’*. ' See the Alcestis of Euripides, and the Frogs of Aristophanes. * The case however of fiction, like the British history given bj Geofirey of Monmouth, should be excepted. But such usually bear: the marks of forgery by its efforts to connect itself with the history o some celebrated people. The name Theseus (from 7i@npt) looks, how- ever, a little suspicious. 3 Od. xi. 321. Theline (II. i. 265.)in which Theseus and Peirithou: are mentioned together is generally regarded as spurious. The same is, we believe, the case with Od. xi. 631. * The exploits of Theseus are to be found, not only in the Attic poets and in Ovid, but in the historian Plutarch, who has written his DEDALUS AND ICARUS. 359 Aaivadog kai "Ikapoc. Dedalus et Icarus. De'dalus was the son of Eup4lamus, the son of Erech- theus : he was celebrated for his skill in architecture and statuary, of which latter art he was regarded as the in- ventor. His nephew, named Talus or Perdix, showed a great genius for mechanics ; having from the contemplation of a serpent’s teeth invented a saw, and applied it to the cutting up of timber. Dedalus, jealous of the skill, and apprehensive of the rivalry of the young man, cast him down from the Acropolis and killed him. For this murder he was banished from Athens, and he betook himself to Minos king of Crete, for whom he built the Labyrinth. He also devised an ingenious species of dance for Ariadne the daughter of that monarch’; but having formed the wooden cow for Pasiphae, he incurred the displeasure of Minos and was thrown into prison*. Having by means of Pasiphae escaped from confinement, he determined to fly from Crete; but being unable to get away by sea, he resolved to attempt flight through the air. He made wings of feathers united by wax for himself and his son Icarus. They mounted into the air; but Icarus ascending too high and approaching too near the sun, its heat melted the wax, and the youth fell into the sea and was drowned. Deedalus arrived in safety in Sicily, where he was kindly received by Cocalus king of that island, who took up arms in his defence against Minos when he pursued him thither’. The names of Dedalus and his father Eupalamus prove him to have been a personification of manual art. All rude ancient statues, and other works of unknown origin life. See also Diodorus, iv. These last are the principal authorities for his adventures. 3 1 Tl. xvili. 590. * See below, Legends of the Isles. 3 Ovid, Met. viii. 103, e¢ seq. 360 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. through Greece and the islands, were referred to Dedalus as their author. His story seems to be older than Homer, who mentions him in the passage above referred to. The story of Icarus is manifestly a fiction to account for the origin of the name of the Icarian Sea. One of the most extraordinary coincidences which we have ever met with, is that between the story of Dedalus and that of Volundr ', the Dedalusof ancient Scandinavia, as related in the songs of the Icelandic Edda. We say coincidence, for the antiquity of these Northern poems in our opinion almost precludes the possibility of imitation. ' From whom Sir Walter Scott has made his Wayland Smith in Kenilworth. SISYPHUS. 361 Cuapter VI. LEGENDS OF CORINTH. LiovPoc. Sisyphus. Si’sypuus the son of Molus built E’phyra, afterwards called Corinth. He married Mérope the daughter of Atlas, who bore him four sons. Being at enmity with his bro- ther Salméneus, he inquired of Apollo how he might best avenge himself on him. The god directed him to violate Tyro the daughter of Salmoneus, declaring that his child- ren by her would be his avengers. Sisyphus did as de- sired, and Tyro bore two sons; but having learned what was before them, she put them to death’. The craft of Sisyphus was proverbial. He was the friend of that most notorious of cattle-lifters, Autdlycus* the son of Hermes, who dwelt on Parnassus: but nature was strong in the thief, and he drove off the oxen of his friend, and mingled them with his own cattle. Sisyphus, guessing where they were, reclaimed them. Autolycus (who had as usual defaced their marks) denied all know- ledge of them; but to his great surprise Sisyphus singled them out from among his herds ; for he had used the pre- caution of making a private mark under their feet. The son of Hermes was quite charmed by such a display of genius in his own line; and probably thinking that she could not fail to improve by it, allowed his daughter An- ticleia, who was soon afterwards married to Laertes, to associate with Sisyphus. It was thus that some accounted for the great address and ingenuity of her son Odysseus’. Sisyphus was ultimately condemned to the task of roll- ' Hyginus 60, and notes thereon. 2 Hence the Autolycus of Shakespear’s Winter’s Tale. 3 Natalis Comes, vi. 17. 362 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ing a great stone up a hill in Erebus,—a “ never-ending still-beginning” toil, for as soon as it reached the summit it rolled down again to the plain. Various causes are assigned for this punishment: some said it was for hav- ing betrayed the secrets of the gods; some, for having given information to AsOpus of Zeus having carried off his daughter /Zgina. The king of the gods sent Death to punish the informer: Sisyphus, however, contrived to outwit Death, and even to put fetters on him; and there was great joy among mortals, for no one died. Hades, however, set Death at liberty, and Sisyphus was given up to him. When dying, he charged his wife to leave his body unburied; and then complaining to Hades of her un- kindness, he obtained permission to return to the light to upbraid her with her conduct. But when he found him- self again in his own house, he refused to leave it. Hermes, however, reduced him to obedience; and when he came down, Hades set him to roll the huge stone’. These adventures of Sisyphus are apparently tales of a comparatively late date. He is mentioned in the Ilias’, where he is called ‘ the most crafty of men.” The hero of the Odyssey® sees him rolling his stone in Erebus. Hesiod* calls him “‘ crafty ”. BeAXepodovrnc. Bellerophon. The adventures of this hero, the son of Glaucus the son of Sisyphus, form a pleasing episode of the Ilias of Ho- mer”, where they are related to Diomedes by Glaucus the grandson of Bellérophon. The gods had endowed Bellerophon with manly vigour and beauty. Anteia, the wife of Preetus king of Argos, fixed her love upon him, and sought a corresponding re- 1 Pherecydes, Frag. xli. Schol. Pind. Ol. i. 97. 2 U1. Vi. 158, 5 Od. xi. 593. * Frag. xxviil. 5 Il. vi. 144, e¢ seg. The genuineness of this episode is doubted of by some critics of eminence. L aie, es 7 : BELLEROPHON. 363 turn, But the virtuous youth rejecting all her amorous advances, hate occupied the place of love in the bosom of the disappointed queen. She accused him to Preetus of an attempt on her honour. The credulous king gave ear to her falsehood, but would not incur the reproach of putting him to death, as she desired. He therefore sent Bellerophon to Lycia, to his father-in-law the king of that country, giving him ‘‘deadly characters” written in a sealed tablet’, which he was to present to the king of Ly- cia, and which were to cause his death. Beneath the potent guidance of the gods, Bellerophon came to Lycia and the flowing Xanthus. Nine days the king entertained him, and slew nine oxen; ‘‘ but when the tenth rose-fingered Dawn appeared,” he asked to see the token (onua) which he had brought from his son-in-law. When he had received it, he resolved to comply with the desire of Proetus ; and he first sent his guest to slay the Chimera*, a monster with the upper part a lion, the lower a serpent, the middle a goat (yimatpa), and which breathed forth flaming fire. Depending on the signs of the gods, Bellerophon slew this monster, and then was ordered to go and fight the Solymi; and this he said was the severest combat he ever fought. He lastly slew the ““man-like Amazons ;” and as he was returning, the king laid an ambush for him composed of the bravest men of Lycia ; of whom not one returned home, for Bellerophonslew them all. The king now perceiving him to be of the race of the gods, kept him with him, giving him his daughter and half the royal dignity, and the Lycians bestowed on him an ample ¢emenus of arable and plantation land. By ' It is a disputed point, whether these characters were letters, or of the same kind with the Mexican picture-writing. See Wolf’s Prole- gomena to Homer. ® Hesiod (Theog. 321) makes the Chimera, like every other mon- ster; to be the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. He gives her the heads of a lion, a goat, and a serpent, and says that Bellerophon mounted Pegasus to engage her, The Chimera is the only compound being that we meet with in Homer. See above, p. 302, note. 364 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. this princess Bellerophon had three children, Isandrus, Hippolochus, and Laodameia ; which last was by Zeus the mother of Sarpedon. Falling at length under the dis- pleasure of all the gods, “‘ he wandered alone in the Plain of Wandering (mediov adnuoy), consuming his soul, shun- ning the path of men.” Bellerophon, according to other accounts’, was at first named Hipponotis: but having accidentally killed one of his relatives named Bellerus, he thence derived his second name. Others say it was his brother Deliades, or Peiren, or Alcimene, that he slew. He was purified of the blood- shed by Prcetus, whose wife is also called Sthenobea, and the king of Lycia Iobates. He became master of the winged steed Pegasus, by following the advice of the prophet Polyides, who directed him to sleep in the temple of Athena. As he lay, the goddess appeared to him, and giving him a bridle, desired him to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon, and then to approach the steed and put the bridle on him. He obeyed the goddess, caught Pe- gasus, put the bridle on him, and rode him through the air. With the aid of this steed he gained the victory over all whom Iobates sent him to encounter. Sthenobcea hearing of his success hung herself. Bellerophon at last attempted by means of Pegasus to ascend to heaven : Zeus, incensed at his boldness, sent an insect to sting the steed; and he flung his rider to the earth, where he wan- dered in solitude and melancholy till his death *. The horse Pégasus (Spring-horse), which appears in the story of Bellerophon, was said to have sprung from the blood of the Gorgon, when slain by Perseus. He was thus born at the springs of Ocean, caught at a spring, 1 Apollod. ii. 3. ? Pind. Ol. xiii. 89, e¢ seg.cum Schol. in ver. 130. Isthm. vii. 63, e¢ seq. Hygin. 57. BELLEROPHON. 365 and he produced the spring Hippocréne (Horse-spring) at Corinth by a stroke of his hoof. May not the whole idea of the connexion between horses and water ' have arisen from the resemblance between immoc and some ob- solete word akin to acqua?—p and k, or q, being, as is well known, commutable letters”. oh es EE Ce eee eee 1 See above p. 67. 2 Niebuhr (Rom. Hist. i. 65.) justly observes that tos and equus are the same word. He also supposes Apulia to be quasi Aquulia, that is, Water-land. 366 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaprter VII. LEGENDS OF ARGOLIS. Tue chief seat of the legendary lore of the Peloponnesus was the Argolic peninsula; and here we meet a mythic cyclus totally distinct from those of Hellas Proper. The great patriarch of the latter was Deucalion ; whose pos- terity were brought into connexion with the Cadmeians of Thebes and the Cecropides of Attica, and to whom the principal legends of the north and east of the Pelopon- nesus also refer. The Argive mythic history commences with the river Inachus and his son Phoroneus. It is, moreover, in this cycle alone that we find an attempt at connecting Greece and Egypt in the mythic period ; for, as we have shown above, the Egyptian origin of the Attic Cecrops is a historic sophism, and not a mythic tradition. "Tvayoc. Inachus. Inachus, the first king of this country, was said to have - been the son of Oceanus and Tethys. He gave name to the river Inachus: and marrying Melia, an Oceanide, begat Aigialeus, from whom the country was called Agi- aleia; and Phorodneus, who had by the nymph Laddice a son Apis, who named from himself Apia the whole country afterwards called Peloponnesus ; and a daughter Niobe, the first mortal woman whom Zeus embraced, and who bore him two sons, Argos and Pelasgus. "Apyoc. Argus. Argus was the son of Agenor, the son of Iasus, the son of Argus’, the son of Phoroneus. He was named Adi- 1 From whom the peninsula was called Argos. We deem it need- less to call the attention of the reader to every instance of the origin of legends and derivation of mythic or historic names. iii ARGUS. 10.4 367 seeing (wavorrnc), as having eyes all over his body. His strength was prodigious : and Arcadia being at that time infested by a wild bull, he attacked and slew him, and afterwards wore his hide. He also killed a satyr who carried off the cattle of the Arcadians; and watching an opportunity, when he found the Echidna, (the daughter of Tartarus and Gea, who seized all passers-by,) asleep, he deprived her of life: he also took vengeance on the murderers for the death of Apis. When Io had been changed into a cow, Hera gave the charge of watching her to Argus; but Hermes having, by the command of Zeus, laid him asleep, killed him with a stone. It is, however, not quite clear that this Argus was the keeper of Io. Plait L0: Io was, according to some, the daughter of Iasus, the son of Argus, by Ismene the daughter of Asopus ; accord- ing to the historian Castor, of Inachus; to Hesiod and Acusilatis, of Peiren. She was priestess of Hera, and, un- happily for her, was loved by Zeus. When he found his amour suspected by Hera, he changed Io into a white cow, and swore to his spouse that he had been guilty of no infi- delity. The goddess, affecting to believe him, asked the cow of him as a present ; and on obtaining her, set All-seeing Argus’ to watch her. He bound her to an olive-tree in the grove of Mycene”, and there kept guard over her. Zeus pitying her directed Hermes to steal her away. The god of ingenious devices made the attempt; but as a vulture always gave Argus warning of his projects, he found it impossible to succeed. Nothing then remaining but open force, he killed Argus with a stone ; and hence 1 The parentage of this Argus is as various as that of Io. Ascle- piades said he was the son of Arestor ; Pherecydes, of Inachus; Cercops, of Argus and Ismene the daughter of Asopus. Acusilaus calls him Earth-born. 2 The name resembling puxaw, to low. 368 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. obtained the name of Argus-slayer ( Apyewportnc)’. The vengeance of Hera was however not yet satiated; and she sent a gad-fly to torment Io, who fled over the whole world from its pursuits. She swam through the Ionian Sea, which derived its name from her; then roamed over the plains of Illyria, ascended Mount Hemus, and crossed the Thracian strait, thence named the Bosporus”, ram- bled on through Scythia and the country of the Kimme- rians ; and after wandering over various regions of Europe and Asia arrived at last on the banks of the Nile, where, touched by Zeus, she assumed her original form, and bore a son named Epaphus. Hera besought the Curetes to hide the child: they obeyed, but were struck with thun- der by Zeus. Io then went in search of her babe, and wandered through all Syria, where she learned that the queen of the Byblians was nursing him. Having re- covered him she returned to Egypt, and married Tele- gonus the king of that country. She there erected a statue to Demeter, whom the Egyptians call Isis, and esteem to be the same as Io’. The story of Io seems to have been a very old legend of Argolis ; since Homer, who however never alludes to it, frequently calls Hermes by the name which he derived from it,—Argus-slayer. Aischylus, in his Bound Pro- metheus, narrates the tale of Io with circumstances dif- ferent from those of the writers whom Apollodorus and 1 See above, p. 125, note 4. 2 From ods, an ox, and wépos, a passage. A fragment of Hesiod in Stephanus Byz. (Frag. xlvii. apud Gaisford) says, that the island of Abantis was given the name of Eubcea (Evora) by Zeus from the cow (ovs), i.e. Io. Another fragment, we may here observe, sup- posed to be of the same poet, informs us that Argus had but four eyes. 3 Apollod. ii.1. Ovid, Met.i. Val. Flaccus, Argonautica iv. 351, et seq. The Latin poets say that Hermes charmed Argus to sleep with his music, and cut off his head with his harpe or scymitar. Ovid gives the late addition of Hera having placed the eyes of Argus in the tail of her peacocks. See above, p. 77. 10. 369 the Latin poets have followed, omitting all mention of Hera, and making the madness and wanderings of Io to be an instance of the tyrannic caprice and selfishness of Zeus. It is almost needless to remark, that he has in- vested the strange tale with all those mysterious and pro- found poetic conceptions which gathered around every subject which passed through his awe-creative mind. The most remarkable deviation in the narrative of this poet 1s, that he would seem to intimate no intercourse of love between Zeus and the daughter of Inachus, but that Epaphus was generated after a marvellous manner by Zeus laying his hand on Io to restore her to reason’. The transformation of Io may possibly have been a case of that insanity, like lycanthropy, which seems from the story of the Preetides to have been not uncommon in Ar- gos: but the following seems the most probable theory respecting the horned Io. Io was probably a moon-goddess of the Argives, and represented as such with ‘“‘ crescent horns.” When the Greeks (Ol. 27.) settled in Egypt, they saw the statues of Isis with cow’s horns. From this circumstance, and the slight similarity of name, they inferred that the two goddesses were the same. When removed by Amasis (Ol. 52. 2.) to Memphis, they saw the calf Apis receiving religious honours. It was natural then for them to infer that he was the son of the cow-goddess; and as the Grecian legend spoke of the wanderings of Io", they may have conceived her to have roamed on to Egypt. The Egyptian article is Pe, which joined with Apis will give TC eg ee 1 "Eyrav0a of ce Zevs riOnouy Eudpova, "Exagdv drapBet yeupi kai Oiywr peovov. "Exwvupov 06 rav Avos Ovynparwv Tééeus keharvov” Exagov.—Bound Prometheus, 854. 2 ¢ To behold the wandering moon Riding near her highest noon, Like one that had been led astray Through the Heaven’s wide pathless way :” says Milton, who certainly thought not of the above theory. 2B 370 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. a word, Pe-Apis, which might easily be made Epaphus, ; and so derived from a Greek verb’. Advaoc kat Aiyurroc. Danaiis et Hgyptus. Epaphus, the son of Io, is the instrument by which Grecian vanity derived the rulers of more ancient countries from its own gods and princes. He married, we are told, Memphis the daughter of the Nile, by whom he hada daughter named Libya, who bore to Poseidon Agenor the father of Cadmus and Europa, and Belus, who had by another daughter of the Nile named Anchinoe two sons, Danaitis and Aigyptus. Belus assigned the country of Libya to his son Danats; to Akgyptus he gave Arabia. But the latter returned to the ‘‘ land of the black soil,’” and named it from himself figyptus. By many wives he was the father of fifty sons. Danais had an equal number of daughters. Jealousy breaking out between him and the sons of Aigyptus, they aimed at depriving him of his dominions ; and fearing their violence, he built with the aid of Athena a fifty- oared vessel,—the first that was ever made,—in which he embarked with his daughters, and fled over the sea. He first landed on the isle of Rhodes, where he set up a statue of the Lindian Athena; but not willing to abide in that island, he proceeded to Argos, where Gelanor, who at that time ruled over the country, cheerfully resigned the government to the stranger who brought thither civilization and the arts. The people took the name of their new monarch, and were called Danaans. The country of Argos was extremely deficient in pure and wholesome water; Poseidon having, it is said, dried up the springs out of resentment to Inachus, who had 1 Muller, Proleg. 183. This writer also derives, with a good deal of probability, the name Busiris in the legend of Hercules (See above, p. 323. note.) from Pe-QOsiris. | DANAUS AND EGYPTUS. O74 borne testimony that the land belonged to Athena. Da- natis sent forth his daughters in quest of water. As Amymine, one of them, was engaged in the search, she saw a deer, at which she flung her dart; but, missing the game, the dart wounded a satyr who was sleeping in the neighbouring thicket. Starting from his sleep, he beheld the beauty of the maid, and rushed towards her filled with desire. Suddenly Poseidon appeared; the satyr fled; Amymone submitted to the embraces of the god, and he revealed to her the springs of Lerna. The sons of Kgyptus came now to Argos, and entreated their uncle to agree to bury in oblivion all enmity, and to give them their cousins in marriage. Danaus, retaining a perfect recollection of their injuries to him, and dis- trustful of their promises, consented to bestow his daugh- ters on them, whom he divided among them by lot. But on the wedding-day he armed the hands of the brides with daggers, and enjoined them to slay in the night their unsuspecting bridegrooms. All but Hypermnestra obeyed the cruel orders of their father ; and cutting off the heads of their husbands, flung them into Lerna, and buried their bodies with all due rites outside of the town. At the command of Zeus, Hermes and Athena purified them from the guilt of their deed. But Hypermnestra had spared Lynceus for the delicate regard which he had shown to her modesty. Her father, at first, in his anger at her disobedience, put her into close confinement. Relenting however after some time, _ he gave his consent to her union with Lynceus, and pro- claimed gymnic games, in which the victors were to re- ceive his other daughters as the prizes. It was said, however, that the crime of the Danaides did not pass without due punishment in the under-world, where they were condemned to everlasting drawing of water in per- forated vessels. The son of Amymone by Poseidon was called Nauplius. He attained a great age, and passed his time on the sea lamenting the fate of those who were lostinit. At length 23.2 iigea x Lhd MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. he met himself the fate which he deplored in others. He had three sons, Palamedes, Oiax, and Nausimedon. The legend of Danaiis and Egyptus presents another of those attempts at connecting Greece with Asia, which were so much in vogue after the Homeric times. The truth would seem to be this. Argos was called Danaus, that is, dry or thirsty (from davoc, dry), on account of its want of water. The people were thence named Danaans; and, after the usual mode, were afterwards collected into the person of a hero named Danatis. The springs of water which broke out or were discovered were naturally called the daughters of Danatis (the dry land), as the Arabs at this day call springs daughters of the earth’. As head (kpnvn) is a common name for a spring in many lan- guages, a legend may have been invented of the murder of their husbands by the daughters of Danaus. It was also in Greece, and elsewhere, a fabulous mode of account- ing for the origin of particular springs, to refer them to the death of some person, whose blood, when he was slain, had wedled out, as our old poets express it. After Io had been identified with the goddess of Egypt, and a son had been given to her in that country, nothing was more easy than the modification of the legend of Argos, and tracing a connection between it and the great land of mystery’. IIpotroc. Pretus. Lynceus succeeded his father-in-law on the throne. He had by Hypermnestra a son named Abas, to whom he left his kingdom. Abas had twin-children, Proetus and Acrisius, who struggled—ominous of their future discord—in their mother’s womb. When they grew to be youths, they contended for the kingdom ; and on this 1 See above, p. 6. - 2 See Muller, Proleg. p. 184. Orchom. 109. PRGTUS. 3a occasion are said to have been the inventors of shields. Proetus was worsted, and driven out of Argos. He fled to Lycia, where the king lobates gave him his daughter in marriage, and brought him back with an army of Lycians to the Peloponnesus, and made him master of Tiryns, which the Cyclopes walled for him. Acrisius was now obliged to divide their paternal territory with Preetus: he reigned himself at Argos, and his brother dwelt at Tiryns. Pree- tus had one son, named Megapenthes, and three daugh- ters, Lysippa, Iphinoe, and Iphianassa. These daughters of Proetus, thence called the Preetides, when they grew up were seized with insanity: Hesiod says, because they despised the rites of Dionysus ; Acu- silaus, because they treated with disrespect the statue of Hera. They roamed in madness over the plains, the woods, the wastes of Argos and Arcadia,—fancying themselves changed into cows. Preetus was greatly af- flicted at the condition of his daughters. Melampus, the son of Amythaon and Eidomene the daughter of Abas a soothsayer, and the first who exercised the art of medi- cine, promised to restore them to their senses, if Preetus would agree to give him a third of his kingdom. The demanded fee appeared out of all reason ; and the father declined accepting the recovery of his daughters on such high terms. But speedily the madness of the maidens in- creased, and even extended to the other women, who killed their children, abandoned their houses, and fled to the wilds. The reluctance of Proetus was now overcome : he offered to comply with the terms of Melampus ; but the Mantis would not employ his art without another third of the realm being given to his brother Bias. Prcetus now, fearing that delay would only make him advance further in his demands, consented ; and the prophet set about the cure. He took a number of the ablest young men of the place; and made them with shouts and a certain inspired kind of dance chase the maidens from the moun- tains to Sicyon. In the chase Iphinoe, the eldest of the 374 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Preetides, died ; but the others were restored to sanity ; and Preetus gave them in marriage to Melampus and his brother Bias. This legend of the Preetides is an instance of that spe- cies of epidemic insanity which has so often prevailed in particular places. It may have been an ancient tradition, or some fabler may have transferred back to antiquity the events of his own days,—-a practice by no means un- common. 2 4 ee Axpiowoc, Aavan, kat Ilepoetc. Acrisius, Danae, et Perseus. Acrisius married Eurydice the daughter of Lacedeemon, by whom he had a daughter, whom he called Danae’. He inquired of the oracle about a son; and the god re- plied, that he would himself have no male issue, but that his daughter would bear a son whose hand would deprive him of life. Fearing the accomplishment of this predic- tion, he framed a brazen subterranean chamber, in which he shut up his daughter and her nurse, in order that she might never become a mother. But Zeus had seen and loved the maiden; and under the form of a golden shower he poured through the roof down into her bosom, Danae became the mother of a son, whom she and her nurse reared in secrecy until he had attained his fourth year. Acrisius then chanced to hear the voice of the child at his play. He brought forth his daughter and her nurse; and putting the latterinstantly to death, drew Danae in private with her son to the altar of Herceian Zeus, where he made 1 The story of Perseus is related at some length in an extant fragment of Pherecydes, whom Apollodorus closely followed. Perseus is mentioned by Homer (Il. xiv. 320.), and also by Hesiod (Theog. 280. Shield, 216.); also by Pindar. ACRISIUS, DANAE, AND PERSEUS. 375 her answer him on oath, whose was her son. She replied, that he was the offspring of Zeus. Her father gave no credit to her protestations. Inclosing her and her child in a coffer, he cast them into the sea to the mercy of the winds and waves’. The coffer floated to the little isle of Seriphus, where a man named Dictys drew it out in his nets (dixrva) ; and delivering Danae and Perseus, treated them with the kindest attention. Polydectes the brother of Dictys, who reigned over Seriphus, fell in love with Danae ; but her son Perseus, who was now grown up, was an invincible obstacle to the accomplishment of his wishes. He had therefore recourse to artifice to deliver himself of his presence ; and feigning that he was about to become a suitor to Hippodameia, the daughter of GEnomiaiis, he called together his vassals, and among them Perseus, to a banquet, and requested of them to contribute towards his bride-gift. Perseus inquiring what was the object of the banquet, Polydectes replied horses, and Perseus made answer that he would bring him even the head of the Gorgon. The king said nothing at the time, but next day, when the rest brought each his horse, he desired Perseus to keep his word, and fetch him the Gorgon’s head. Perseus full of grief retired to the extremity of the isle, where Hermes came to him, promising that he and Athena would be his guides. Hermes brought him first to the fair-cheeked Grae”, whose eye and tooth he stole, and would not restore until they had furnished him with di- rections to the abode of the Nymphs who were possessed of the winged shoes, the magic wallet, and the helmet of Hades which made the wearer invisible. The Grae complied with his desire, and he came unto the Nymphs, who gave him their precious possessions: he then flung 1 See the beautiful fragment of Simonides on the subject of Danae. 2 See above, p. 224. According to Pindar (Pyth. x. 49, et seq.) Per- seus was brought by Athena to the Hyperboreans, whom he found sacrificing hecatombs of asses to Apollo, and by whom he was hos- pitably entertained. O10 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the wallet over his shoulder, placed the helmet on his head, and fitted the shoes to his feet. Thus equipped, and grasping the adamantine scimitar (harpe) which Hermes gave him, he mounted into the air, accompanied by the gods, and flew to the marge of Ocean, where he found the three Gorgons fast asleep’. Fearing to gaze on their faces, which changed the beholder to stone, he looked on the head of Medusa as it was reflected on his shield, and Athena guiding his hand he severed it from her body. The blood cushed forth, and with it the winged steed Pegasus and Chrysaor the father of Ge- ryon, for Medusa was at the time pregnant by Poseidon. Perseus took up the head, put it into his wallet, and set out on his return. The two sisters awoke, and pursued the fugitive; but protected by the helmet of Hades he eluded their vision, and they were obliged to give up the bootless chase *. Perseus pursued his aérial journey till he came to the country of the Athiopians*®. Here he beheld Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus king of the country, fastened to a rock, a prey for a huge sea-monster. Cassiopeia, the wife of Cepheus, having offended the Nereides by her presumption in setting herself before them in point of beauty, Poseidon sympathized with the anger of the sea-maidens, and laid waste the realms of Cepheus by an inundation and a sea-monster. The oracle of Ammon, on being consulted by Cepheus, declared that only by the exposure of Andromeda, the daughter of Cassiopeia, to the monster could the evil be averted. The reluctance of Cepheus was forced to give way to the determination of his subjects, and the unhappy princess was bound to a rock. Perseus beholding her there, was seized with love, and forthwith promised Cepheus to deliver his daughter from the monster if he would give her to him in marriage when saved. Cepheus joyfully consented, and each party ' See p. 222. 2 Hesiod, Shield of Herc. 230. $ This is probably the A‘thiopia mentioned by Menelaiis (Od. iv. 84.) in the Mediterranean, to which sea the Nereides were confined. ACRISIUS, DANAE, AND PERSEUS. 377 swore to the agreement. Perseus then attacked and killed the monster, and delivered Andromeda; but Phi- neus the brother of Cepheus, to whom the princess had been betrothed, plotted to destroy the hero; who, coming to the knowledge of his designs, displayed the Gorgon’s head, and turned him and his partisans to stone. Perseus now proceeded to Seriphus, where he found that his mother and Dictys had been obliged to fly to the protection of the altar from the violence of Polydectes. He immediately went to the royal residence ; and when Polydectes had summoned thither all his friends, the for- midable head of the Gorgon was displayed, and each became a stone of the form and position which he ex- hibited at the moment of the transformation. Having established Dictys as king over Seriphus, Perseus re- turned the shoes, the wallet, and the helmet to Hermes, by whom they were brought back to the Nymphs. He gave the Gorgon’s head to Athena, who set it in the middle of her shield. Accompanied by his mother and his wife Andromeda, Perseus nowset out for Argos; but Acrisius, fearing the ful- filment of the oracle, left his kingdom, andretired to Larissa in Pelasgiotis. Teutamias, the king of Larissa, happening at that time to proclaim funeral games in honour of his father lately dead, Perseus went thither and engaged in them. As he was throwing the discus in the pentathlium, it fell on the foot of an old man among the spectators, and bruised it. This old man proved to be Acrisius; and he died of the wound. Seeing this unlooked-for fulfilment of the oracle, Perseus buried his grandfather before the city, and returned to the Peloponnesus. But feeling ashamed to take the inheritance of one who had died by his means, he proposed an exchange of dominions with Megapenthes the son of Preetus, and thenceforward reigned at Tiryns. He afterwards built and fortified Mycenez and Mideia. Perseus had by Andromeda six sons: Perses, who was born in Aithiopia, and left there with his grandfather, and who was the ancestor of the kings of Persia; Alczus, 378 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Mestor, Electryon, Sthenelus, and Eleius; and a daugh- ter, Gorgophone. The legend of Perseus is the most romantic in Grecian fiction; and did we possess it in its original length and circumstantiality, very few European or Oriental tales of wonder would perhaps be found to exceed it in beauty and interest. A writer’, who has devoted a considerable portion of time and learning to the subject of popular fic- tion, remarks the similarity between the story of Perseus and that of the northern hero Sigurd; and gives it as an instance of the connection between the mythus and the popular legend. We, however, regard the similarity, which after all is very slight, as merely a casual coin- cidence, such as may be found in abundance in the tra- ditionary lore of every country. An ingenious, and we will not venture to say an in- correct, view of the mythus of Perseus is given by an emi- nent scholar, to whom we have more than once had occasion to refer®. Viewing the names which occur in it, he is disposed to regard it as a physical mythus pertaining to the worship of Pallas Athena, whom he esteems to have been originally a Pelasgian deity presiding over the fecundity of the earth. The Gorgon was her opposite,— an inimical Pallas, the petrifier of the land: Acrisius, as his name signifies, denoted the elevated land of Argos : the name of his daughter shows its dry nature*; she is confined in a brazen chamber’ ; that is, the land yields no increase: Zeus descends in a golden fructifying shower, and Perseus’ (a name connected with Persephone) is born. But Hades (Polydectes, and as it would appear Ditys, is 1 Dr. Grimm. See Kinder und Haus-Marchen, vol. i. p. xxviii. 2 Muller, Proleg. 307. Volcker, Myth. des Jap. Geschl. 200, et seq. 3 See above, p. 372. + It appears that the stone-treasuries at Tiryns were lined with plates of brass. See Leake, Travels in the Morea. 5 See above, p. 140. AMPHITRYON AND ALCMENA. 379 one of his epithets) will seize Danae, that is, cover the land with everlasting gloom. Perseus then kills the ter- rible Gorgon, and turns her petrifying visage against the lord of the under-world, checks his malignant designs, and thus restores her full power to the benign deity. When the Gorgon is slain, the Spring-horse (wnyacoc) arises; that is, springs of water burst forth and fructify the land. The remaining circumstances were probably the arbitrary fictions of poets. ‘Angurptwy kat AXkunvn. Amphitryon et Alcmena. Perseus was succeeded by his son Alceeus, who had a son named Amphitryon. Alczus left the throne to his brother Electryon, who had married his daughter Anaxo, by whom he had several children. Mestor, the third son of Perseus, married Lysidike the daughter of Pelops, by whom he had a daughter named Hippddoe, whom Poseidon carried off to the Echi- nadian isles. She there bore him a son named Taphius, who settled at Taphus, and called his people Teleboans, because he had gone far from his native land’. He had a son’ named Pterolatis, whom Poseidon made immortal by setting a golden lock of hair on his head. Pterolaus had several sons, and one daughter named Cometho. When Electryon succeeded to the throne of Mycene, the sons of Pterolaiis came with an army of Taphians, and claimed it in right of their great-grandfather Mestor, who was elder brother to Electryon; and on his refusal to comply with their demands, they drove off his cows. The sons of Electryon came to the rescue of their cattle. A fight ensued, in which all the sons of Electryon met their death except Licymnius, who was still a child, and all the sons of Pterolatis fell but Euéres, who was in charge of their ships. The Taphians fled in their vessels, leaving the cattle, which they had driven away, in the | nde, far. 380 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. charge of Polyxenes king of the Eleans. Amphitryon pursued them thither, and redeemed them: for Electryon, desirous to avenge the death of his sons, had given to Am- phitryon the kingdom, and his daughter Alcména, bind- ing him by oath not to claim a husband’s rights until he had returned from his expedition against the Teleboans. But as Amphitryon was driving home the cattle which he had recovered, one of the cows chancing to run aside, he flung the stick he had in his hand after her, which hap- pening to strike Electryon in the head, killed him. Sthe- ~-nelus, the fifth son of Perseus, taking advantage of this unlucky deed, drove Amphitryon from Mycene and Ti- ryns; and sending for his nephews Atreus and Thyestes, the sons of Pelops, settled them at Mideia. Amphitryon, accompanied by his wife Alemena and her half-brother Licymnius, retired to Thebes, where he was purified by Creon, who gave his daughter Periméde in marriage to Licymnius. Alcmena,still refusing to admit the embraces of Amphitryon till he had avenged her brothers, applied to Creon to assist him in the war. To this Creon assented, on condition of his guest first free- ing Cadmeia from the fox which ravaged it, and which was fated never to be caught. To this animal the Thebans were obliged to give a child every month, to save the rest. Amphitryon undertook the task, and with the aid of Ce- phalus and his dog succeeded’. Strengthened by a number of auxiliaries, he now went against the Teleboans. He landed, and ravaged their islands ; but so long as Pterolaiis lived, he could accom- plish nothing. But his daugter Cometho falling in love with Amphitryon, pulled out his golden lock: he died, and the islands were conquered. Amphitryon, putting to death Cometho, sailed with his booty to Thebes, giving the islands to his ally Cephalus and his uncle Eleius. The remainder of the history of Amphitryon has been already related *. 1 See above, p. 345, 2 See above, p. 310. ATREUS AND THYESTES. 381 “Arpevds kat Ovéornc. Atreus et Thyestes. Atreus and Thyestes, the sons of Pelops’, were ba- nished by their father for having killed their half-brother Chrysippus. They were kindly received by their brother- in-law Sthenelus, who gave them the town of Mideia, whence after Pelops’ death they led an army and took possession of Pisa. Thyestes, it is said, seduced rope the wife of Atreus, and was in consequence driven by him out of Elis. In revenge he sent Pleisthenes the son of Atreus, whom he had reared, to murder his father. Atreus taking Pleisthenes to be the son of Thyestes, put him to death. But another legend tells the tale in a more intricate, tragic, and horrible form. Atreus, burning with the de- sire of satiating his vengeance on his brother for the insult which he had offered his honour, feigned a recon- ciliation, and invited him back to his kingdom. At the feast which he made to entertain him on his return, he killed and dressed the bodies of Tantalus and Pleisthenes the sons of Thyestes; and while the latter was enjoying the meal, Atreus had the heads and hands of the children brought in and shown to his brother. The Sun, it is said, at the sight of this horrible deed, checked his chariot in the midst of his course. Thyestes fled, and took refuge with king Thesprotus. It is also said* that Hermes, enraged at the death of his son Myrtilus, whom Pelops had treacherously murdered, put a gold-fleeced lamb among the flocks of Atreus; and when the contest arose between Atreus and Thyestes about the kingdom, the former asserted that it belonged to him of right, as having had so extraordinary a lamb born in his flocks. Thyestes, having corrupted rope his brother’s wife, stole the lamb ; and the people, think- 1 See below, Legends of Elis. We place them here, as Argos has always been regarded as the chief seat of the power of the Atreide. 2 Schol. Eurip. Orestes, 991. 382 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ing that Atreus had deceived him, rejected his claim, and gave the kingdom to Thyestes. Atreus, in revenge, killed his brother’s children as we have related. Thyestes afterwards left Thesprotia, and went to Si- cyon, where his daughter Pelopia dwelt. He arrived on the very night in which she was to offer a sacrifice to Athena. Not to disturb the ceremony, he hid himself in the grove. As Pelopia was joining in the sacred dance, she slipped in the blood of the victims and defiled her clothes. Quitting the dance, she went down to the river to wash the dirt from her garment. When she had taken it off, Thyestes sprang from his lurking-place, and forcibly embraced her. In the struggle she drew his sword from the sheath, and taking it back with her, concealed it in the temple of Athena. The next day Thyestes presented himself to the king of Sicyon, and besought him to restore him to his native country, Elis. Meantime Mycenz had been visited by famine and plague; and the oracle had responded, that to remove it Atreus should bring back his brother Thy- estes. He went to Thesprotia in search of him, where he beheld Pelopia the daughter of Thyestes ; and supposing her to be the daughter of the king, demanded her in mar- riage. Thesprotus gave her to him. She was already pregnant by her father, and shortly after her marriage brought forth a son, whom Atreus caused to be exposed ; but the herdsman, taking pity on him, reared him on the dugs of a she-goat,—whence he derived his name, Agis- thus. Atreus, hearing he was alive, had him sought for, and brought him up as his own son. Meanwhile he sent his sons Agamemnon and Menelaiis in search of Thyestes. They went to Delphi, where they met him, who was also come to consult the god on the nature of the vengeance which he should seek to take on his brother. They seized and brought him to Atreus, who cast him into prison. Atreus then called Aigisthus, and directed him to put the captive to death. AEgisthus went to the prison, bearing the sword which his mother had given him ; and the moment Thyestes beheld it, he knew ATREUS AND THYESTES. 383 it to be that which he had lost, and asked the youth how he had come byit. He replied that it was the gift of his mother. At the desire of Thyestes, Pelopia came, and the whole deed of darkness was brought to light. The unfortunate daughter of Thyestes, under pretence of exa- mining the sword, plunged it into her bosom. Aigisthus drew it forth reeking with blood, and brought it to Atreus as a proof of having obeyed his commands. Rejoiced at the death, as he thought, of his brother, Atreus offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving on the shore of the sea; but while he was engaged in it, he was fallen on and slain by Thyestes and Agisthus’. This is the most horrible legend contained in Grecian mythology, and that very circumstance would at once lead to the inference of its being posterior to theage of Homer, to which such atrocities were unknown. Indeed, from the account of Agamemnon’s sceptre, given by that poet®, it would seem that Thyestes was the son of Atreus, and father of Agamemnon and Menelaiis, who were called Atreide from their grandfather, as Hercules was Alceides from his. Neither Hesiod, Pindar, nor AKschylus notices the horrid tale ; but the tragic and other poets, in a period of luxury, seeking by accumulation of horrors to rouse the attention of their auditors, and to give a condiment to their effeminate enjoyments, added to the post-Homeric tale of Iphigeneia and the altar of the Tauric Artemis, the nameless deeds of Atreus and Thyestes. Such we believe to have been the origin of the atrocities ascribed to ‘* Pelops’ line,” at a period when Greece had become acquainted with the abominations of the East. 1 Hyginus, 88. 2 Il, ii. 101, et seg. The epithet damb-abounding (zodvapvos), applied to Thyestes, does not accord well with the legend which makes him the greater part of his life a fugitive. 384 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. “AckAnmoc. Asculapius. Asclépius is spoken of by Homer’ as an excellent physician (apopmwv inthp), and father of Podaleirius and Machaon, also renowned for their skiil in treating wounds. These led to Troy the troops of Tricca, Ithome, and CEchalia, in Phiotis, over which places they reigned. Hesiod does not mention the name of Asclepius* ; but Pindar calls him a hero, and says that he was the son of Apollo by Coronis*, and snatched by his father from the burning pyre of his mother, and given to be reared by the Centaur Cheiron, who instructed him in the healing art. Apollodorus* adds, that he also taught him the mysteries of wood-craft, and that he attained to such skill in medi- cine as to raise the dead to life. He thus restored Capa- neus, Lycurgus, Eriphyle, and Hippolytus, and Glaucus the son of Minos. His success was chiefly owing to Athena, who gave him the blood of the Gorgon; and what had flowed from the veins on the left side, he used for the destruction,—what from those on the right side, for the preservation,—of man. Zeus, fearing that men might now become too independent of the gods, slew Asclepius with his thunderbolts. Another account, given by Pausanias’, relates that Co- ronis having followed her father Phlegyas to the Peloponne- sus, brought forth Asclepius in the country of the Epidau- rians, and exposed him on Mount Tithion, where one of the goats that browzed on this mountain suckled him, (hence the name of the mountain,) and the goatherd’s dog pro- tected him. The herdsman missing one of his goats and his dog, went in search of them, and found the babe, 1 J]. ii. 731. iv. 194. 2 He seems however to have been acquainted with the legend of his birth, as he mentions the story of the tale-bearing of the crow. Frag. xxix. 3 Pyth. i. See above, p. 93. * Apollod. iii. 10. 5 Paus. ii. 26. ASCLEPIUS. 385 whose body emitted rays of brilliant hight. Struck by this symbol of divinity, the goatherd retired; but the fame of the healing powers of the wonderful child was quickly spread over land and sea. The chief seat of the worship of Asclepius was Epidau- rus, where he was represented as an old man with a vene- rable beard, wrapped in a mantle, and leaning on a staff, round which a serpent is twined. The mythus says, that when he was called in to restore to life Glaucus the son of Minos, ashe stood in the chamber leaning on his staff im- mersed in thought, a serpent came and wound itself about it. Terrified, he shook it off and killed it; when imme- diately another snake came, bearing a herb in its mouth, which being applied to the dead one it came to life, and both fled away. Asclepius having discovered this herb, employed it successfully in restoring life to the dead. It was probably the circumstance of serpents renewing their youth by casting off their slough, that caused them to be associated with the god of medicine. They have been generally regarded as possessing some peculiar medicinal powers; and even in this country, great virtue was long ascribed to viper-broth. Asclepius was, as may be supposed, surgeon on board the Argo, for almost every name of note in the heroic age is associated with that famous vessel. He had three daughters, Panakeia (All-heal), Hygeia (Health), and fEgle (Brightness). A humorous description of the jug- glery practised with patients in his temple will be found in the Plutus of Aristophanes. yt. 386 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHapteEr VIII. LEGENDS OF ARCADIA. Avkawyv. Lycaon. Prnaseus, an Autochthon according to Hesiod, the son of Zeus by Niobe the daughter of Phoroneus if we credit Acusilaus, was by the Oceanide Melibcea or the nymph Cyllene the father of Lycaon king of Arcadia. Lycaon had many wives, by whom he became the father of fifty sons, who were like himself impious and cruel. Zeus, to satisfy himself of the truth of the reports that reached him, disguised himself as a poor man, and sought their hospitality. To entertain the stranger they slaugh- tered a boy, and mingling his flesh with that of the victims, set it before their guest. The god, in indignation and hor- ror at the barbarous act, overturned the table (whence the place derived its future name of Trapezus), and struck with lightning the godless father and sons, with the ex- ception of Nyctimus, whom Earth, raising her hands and grasping the right-hand of Zeus, saved from the wrath of the avenging deity. According to another account, Zeus destroyed the dwelling of Lycaon with lightning, and turned its master into a wolf. The deluge of Deucalion which shortly afterwards occurred is ascribed to the im- piety of the sons of Lycaon’. The Arcadians were of Pelasgian race; and, owing to the nature of their country, had never been subject to the revolutionary migrations which occurred in other parts of Greece. Proud of their antiquity, they styled themselves Ante-lunarians (7pooéAnvot) ; and the scanty Arcadian legends which we possess, are placed, as we may observe, ' Apollod. iii. 8. Ovid, Met.i. 216. LYCAON. CALLISTO AND ARCAS., 387 before or about the time of the flood of Deucalion. Their mountainous region, full of woods, swamps, and extensive pastures, was the natural resort of beasts of prey and other ferocious animals, and it was therefore the scene of some of the early tasks of Hercules. Wolves abounded in it, and there occur some names of persons and places apparently derived from these animals. This may be the true origin of the mythus of Lycaon and his transformation; or per- haps it is a case of that strange madness which has pre- vailed in so many countries, called Lycanthropy or War- wolf, in which the patient fancies himself turned into that animal. Pausanias' says, that any one who sacrificed to Zeus Lyceus as Lycaon had done (that is with a human victim), would like him be turned into a wolf, but that if in the tenth year he abstained from eating human flesh, he would resume his original form. When we re- collect the epithet here given to Zeus, the name of Lycaon, and the town Lycostra said to have been built by him, it will appear not improbable that the root from which they are derived is AoiKn lux, ight; and that the Zeus Ly- czeus of Arcadia was one of the Light-deities, like Phoebus Apollo. As in the case of this last god, the resemblance between AvKn and AdKoc a wolf, may have given occasion to the legends relating to wolves’. KadXtore kat”Apkac. Callisto et Arcas. Besides his other sons, and Nyctimus who reigned over Arcadia at the time of Deucalion’s flood, Lycaon had a daughter named Callisto, who dedicated herself to the service of Artemis, and vowed to the goddess the main- tenance of perpetual virginity. But Zeus saw and loved the nymph; and changing himself into the form of the * Paus. viil. 2. 2 The names of Lycaon and his son Nyctimus are related to one another, like those of the brothers Lycus and Nycteus. See above, p. 299. 262 388 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. huntress-goddess, accompanied the maiden to the chase, and surprised her virtue. She long concealed her shame; but at length, as she was one day bathing with her divine mistress, the alteration in her person was observed ; and Artemis, in her anger, turned her into a bear. While in this form, she brought forth her son Arcas, who lived with her in the woods, till the herdsman caught her, and brought her and her son to Lycaon. Some time afterwards she went into the temple of Zeus Lyceeus, which it was un- lawful to enter. A number of Arcadians, among whom was her own son, followed her to kill her; but Zeus, in memory of his love, snatched her out of their hands, and placed her as a constellation in the sky. This fable is narrated with great difference in the cir- cumstances. Some say it was the form of Apollo that Zeus took. In some versions it is Zeus who turns Cal- listo into a bear to conceal her from Hera; and this god- dess persuades Artemis to kill her with her arrows as a noxious beast; Zeus then, it is said, took the unborn infant and gave it to Maia to rear. It is also said that Arcas, having been separated from his mother and reared among men, meeting her one day in the woods; was on the point of slaying her, when Zeus transferred the mother and son to the skies. Finally, it was, according to others, Hera herself who transformed Callisto’. Arcas succeeded Nyctimus in the government. He was the friend of Triptolemus, who taught him agricul- ture, which he introduced into his country, now called from himself Arcadia, and instructed its inhabitants in the mode of making bread. Healso showed them how to manu- facture wool,—an art which he learned from Aristzus. It is not at all unlikely that this legend may have been indebted for its origin to the resemblance between Arcas 1 Apollod. ili. 8. Ovid, Met. ii. 401, e¢ seg. Hyginus, P.A.i. It was fabled, that at the request of Hera Tethys forbade the constella-_ tion of the Bear to descend into her waves. CALLISTO AND ARCAS. ATALANTA. 389 and dpxroc, a bear; but it is rather curious that the maidens who served Artemis at Brauron in Attica were named She- Bears (a4pxrov); whence it would seem to follow that the bear was an animal sacred to Artemis. One of the epithets of this goddess is Most-beautiful (kaXXAtorn) 5 the Attic tragedians constantly style her The Fair-one (a cada); and hence it plainly appears that Callisto is, according to a principle which we have more than once noticed, the goddess herself made a nymph’. “Aradavtn. Atalanta. Iasus the son of Lycurgus, a descendant of Arcas, was anxious for male offspring. His wife bringing forth a female, he exposed the babe in the mountains, where she was suckled by a bear, and at last found by some hunters, who named her Atalanta, and reared her. She followed the chase, and was alike distinguished for beauty and courage. The Centaurs Rheecus and Hyleus attempting her honour, perished by her arrows. She took a part in the Argonautic expedition, and was at the Calydonian hunt; and at the funeral games of Pelias she won the prize in wrestling from Peleus. She finally married Mei- lanion® the son of Amphidamas, by whom she had Par- thenopeus. Hesiod and others said that the name of Atalanta’s father was Schceneus: Euripides named him Menalus. 1 Muller, Prolegomena, p. 75. Paus. vill. 35. 2 Who beat her in running. Euripides (Apollod. iii, 9.) names him Hippomenes, See above, p. 110. 390 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. CHAPTER IX. LEGENDS OF LACONIA. Tuvdapeve cat Anda. Tyndareus et Leda. LacED£MON was the son of Zeus and Taygéte the daugh- ter of Atlas. He married Sparta the daughter of Eurétas, the son of the Autochthon Lelex, by whom he had Amy- clas and Eurydice, which last was married to Acrisius king of Argos. Amyclas had, by Diomede the daughter of Lapithas, Cynortes and Hyacinthus. Cynortes left a son named Periéres, who was, by Gorgéphone the daughter of Perseus, father of Tyndareus, Icarius, Aphareus, and Leucippus. According to others, the two last and Cibalus were the sons of Periéres, and CHbalus the father of Tyn- dareus, Icarius, and Hippocoon. Hippocoon had twelve sons, who drove their uncles Icarius and Tyndareus out of Laconia. They sought refuge with Thestius king of Aitolia, whose daughter Leda Tyndareus married. Hercules afterwards vanquished the sons of Hippocoon, and restored Tyndareus to his country; whither he led with him his Aitolian spouse, who bore him Timandra who was married to Echemus, Clyteemnestra the wife of Agamemnon, and Philonoe whom Artemis made immortal. Zeus, taking the form of a swan, sought the embraces of Leda; and in the same night her hus- band Tyndareus caressed her. By the deity she con- ceived Polydeukes and Helena; by the mortal, Castor. — Another account says, that Helena was the daughter of Zeus and Nemesis ; who, flying the embraces of the god, changed herself into a goose; but assuming that of a swan, the Olympian king accomplished his design. The goddess laid an egg, which was found by a shepherd in the woods, and brought to Leda. She put it up in a coffer; and in due course of time Helena came to light, who was noe = == - POLLUX AND CASTOR. 391 reared up by Leda as her own daughter ; and she excelled in beauty all the maidens of her time. Theseus carried her off when but a child ; but her brothers recovered her, and her hand was sought by all the princes of Greece. TloAvsetne kat Kaorwp. Pollux et Castor. The earliest exploit of these twin-heroes, who were born at Amycle, was the recovery of their sister Helena from the power of Theseus, whose mother Athra they dragged in return into captivity. They took part in all the great undertakings of their time, were at the Calydonian hunt, accompanied Hercules against the Amazons, sailed in the Argo, and aided Peleus to storm I[olcos. Polydeukes was the most distinguished pugilist, Castor the most expert charioteer, of his day. Hermes bestowed on them the fleet steeds Phlogius and Hirpagus, the children of the Harpy Podarge: Hera gave them the swift Xanthus and Cyllarus. The brothers fell into the very same offence themselves which they had punished in Theseus. Being invited to the wedding-feast by their cousins Idas and Lynceus the sons of Aphareus, who had married their cousins Phoebe and Ilaira the daughters of Leucippus, they became ena- moured of the brides, and carried them off. Idas and his brother, renowned for his piercing vision, pursued the ravishers. In the conflict Castor fell by the spear of Idas; and Polydeukes, aided by the thunder of Zeus, slew the two sons of Aphareus’. Another account” says, that the four heroes joined to drive off the herds of the Arcadians. Idas was appointed to divide the booty. He killed an ox; and dividing it into four parts, said that one half of the prey should fall to him who had first eaten his share, and the remainder to him who next finished. He then quickly devoured 1 Schol. Pind. Nem. x..112. Hygin. 80. 2 Pindar, Nem. x. cum Schol. Apollod. ii, 11. Theoc. Idyll. xxii. 392 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. his own and his brother’s part, and drove the whole herd to Messene. The Diosciri (Zeus-sons), as Castor and his brother were called’, made war on Messene. Driving off all the cattle which they met, they laid themselves in ambush in a hollow tree; but Lynceus, who had ascended the top of Taygétus to look over all the Peloponnesus, saw them there ; and he and his brother hastened to attack them. Castor fell by the spear of Idas; Polydeukes pursued the slayers, and coming up with them at the tomb of their father Aphareus, was struck by them in the breast with one of the stones belonging to it. Unretarded by the blow, he rushed on, and killed Lynceus with his spear; and’ Zeus, at the same moment, struck Idas with a thun- derbolt. Polydeukes was inconsolable for the loss of his brother; and Zeus, on his prayer, gave him his choice of being taken up himself to Olympus, and sharing the honours of Ares and Athena, or of dividing them with his brother, and for them to live day and day about in heaven and under the earth. Polydeukes chose the latter, and divided his immortality with Castor’. The following legend is told by Pausanias® :— Near the temple of Hilera and Pheebe, the daughters of Apollo, in which was preserved the egg laid by Leda, was a house which had been the residence of her sons. It afterwards came into the possession of a man named Phormio. The Dioscuri came one time to Phormio in the guise of strangers; and feigning to be just arrived from Cyrene, begged to be entertained, and to be lodged in the apartment with which they had been most pleased while on earth. Phormio offered them any other part of the house, alleging that this chamber was appropriated to his ' “Qn account of their bravery,” says Apollodorus. This illustrates the principle stated above, p. 6. ® As the Tyndarides are Laconians, and the Apharides Messenians, it looks asif this legend was invented after the enmity had commenced between the Spartans and Messenians, ° Paus. iil. 16. POLLUX AND CASTOR. 393 daughter, who was a maiden. Next day the maiden and her attendants had disappeared; and the statues of the Dioscuri were found in the apartment, and with them a table, on which was lying the Cyrenaic plant Si/phium. The tale of Leda and her children is also one which probably owes a good deal of its circumstances to the fic- tions of later times. In the Ilias’, Helena, who is called the daughter of Zeus, but without its being said who her mother was, calls Castor and Polydeukes her “ own bro- thers (avroxactyvntw), whom one mother bore with her.” It is added, that they lay buried in Lacedzemon, in their native land. In the Odyssey’, its hero sees among the heroines of former days who come forth from Erebus “Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, who bore to Tyndareus two strong-minded sons, horse-taming Castor and Poly- deukes good at boxing; both of whom the life-producing earth retains alive ; who even beneath the ground having honour from Zeus, at one time live day and day about, at another again die, and they are allotted honour like the gods.” It is to be remarked, that nowhere in the genuine portions of the Homeric poems is Clytemnestra said to be the sister of Helena or the daughter of Leda’. When, in course of time, the fashion prevailed of raising the ancient heroes to the skies, the Dioscuri were placed there, and regarded as the patron heroes of their native country. Some circumstances afterwards, when the deities of different places began to be regarded as the same, led to assimilating them to the Cabeiri, worshiped at Samothrace as the protectors of navigators: the Di- oscuri were then looked upon as the guardians of sailors, and the St. Elmo’s Fire was ascribed to them. When 1 YT]. ili. 238. 2 Qd. xi. 298. 3 Od. xxiv. 199. Clytemnestra is called the daughter of Tyndareus. We only regard this as one among the many marks of spuriousness which this book bears. 394 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the zodiac and its signs became known in Greece, they were made the constellation of the Twins. The Dioscuri are usually represented as handsome slen- der youths, with spears in their hands, and helmets or pointed caps surmounted with stars on their heads. They are always together, either standing, or riding on white horses. SALMONEUS. TYRO. 395 CHAPTER X. LEGENDS OF ELIS. Laruwvevc. Salmoneus. SALMONEUs was the son of Aolus. His first abode was in Thessaly; but he removed thence, and settled in Elis, where he built a city. He was a bold impious man, as- serted himself to be Zeus, and claimed all the honours due to that god. He fastened dried hides and brazen kettles to his chariot, and their clatter, he said, was thunder; and flinging lighted torches against the sky, he called them his lightnings. Zeus, incensed at his im- piety, struck him with thunder, and consumed his city and all its inhabitants. Tupw. Tyro. Tyro the daughter of Salmoneus was, after the death of her father, brought up by his brother Cretheus, to whom she was afterwards married. She was in love with the Thessalian river Enipeus, to whose waves she often made her moan. Poseidon saw and loved her; and assuming the form of the river-god, embraced her at the mouth of the stream, whose bright waves arched over them, concealing the god and the mortal maid. The god declared then who he was, and enjoining secrecy dived into the sea. Tyro conceived from the divine embrace two sons, whom when born she exposed. A troop of mares, followed by the herdsmen, passing by where they lay, one of the mares touched the face of one of the infants with her hoof, and made it livid (wé\tov). The herdsmen took and reared the babes, naming the one with the mark Pelias, the other Neleus. When they grew up they discovered their mother, and resolved to kill her step-mother, by whom she was 396 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. cruelly treated. They pursued her to the altar of Hera; and Pelias, who never showed any regard for that goddess, slew her before it. The brothers afterwards fell into dis- cord, and Pelias abode at laolcos; but Neleus settled in Triphylia of Els, where he built a town named Pylus. Tyro bore to Cretheus, Aison, Pheres, and Amythaon’. NnAeve kat TepucAtpevoc. Neleus et Periclymenus. Neleus married Chloris the daughter of Amphion, the son of Iasus of the Minyean Orchomenus*. By her he had several sons, of whom the principal were Pericly- menus and Nestor, and one daughter named Pero. When Hercules attacked Pylos, from what cause is not well known, he killed all the sons of Neleus but Nestor, who was a child, and reared among the Gerenians. _ Pericly- menus had been endowed by Poseidon with the power of changing himself into various forms; and he took suc- cessively those of an eagle, a lion, a serpent, an ant, and other animals. He was detected by Athena as he was sitting in the form of a bee or a fly on the pole of Her- cules’ chariot, and killed by the hero’. MeAapurouc kat Biac. Melampus et Bias. Amythaon the son of Cretheus and Tyro dwelt at Pylos, where he married Eidémene the daughter of his brother Pheres. By her he had two sons, Bids and Me- lampus. This last lived in the country. Before his house stood an oak-tree, in a hole of which abode some serpents. His servants finding these animals killed the old ones, whose bodies Melampus burned ; but he saved and reared the young ones. As he was sleeping one day, these ser- | Apollod. i. 9. Hom. Od. xi. 235, et seq. 2 Od. xi. 281, et seq. 5 Apollod. ut supra. Hom. Il. xi, 690. Hesiod, Frag. xxii. Ovid, Met. xii. 556, et seq. MELAMPUS AND BIAS. 397 pents, which were now grown to full size, came, and getting each on one of his shoulders, licked his ears with their tongues. He awoke in some terror; and to his astonishment, found that he understood the voices of the birds which were flying around ; and learning from their tongues the future, he was able to declare it to mankind. Meeting Apollo on the banks of the Alpheius, he was taught by him the art of reading futurity in the entrails of victims, and he thus became an excellent soothsayer. Meanwhile his brother Bias fell in love with Pero the daughter of Neleus. As the hand of this beautiful maiden was sought by most of the neighbouring princes, her father declared that he would give her only to him who should bring him the cows of his mother Tyro, which Iphicles of Phylace * detained, and where they were guarded by a dog whom neither man nor beast could venture to approach. Bias relying on the aid of his brother undertook the ad- venture. Melampus, previously declaring that he knew he should be caught and confined for a year but then get thecattle, set out for Phylace. Everything fell out as he had said. The herdsmen of Iphicles took him, and he was thrown into prison, where he was attended by a man and awoman. The man served him well, the woman bad- ly. Towards the end of the year he heard the worms in the timber conversing with each other. One asked how much of the beam was now gnawed through; the others replied that there was little remaining. Melampus immediately desired to be removed to some other place ; the man took up the bed at the head, the woman at the foot, Melampus himself at the middle. They had not gotten quite out of the house, when the roof fell in and killed the woman. This coming to the ears of Iphicles, he inquired, and learned that Melampus was a Mantis. He therefore, as he was childless, consulted him about having offspring. Melam- pus agreed to tell him, on condition of his giving him the cows. The seer then sacrificing an ox to Zeus, divided | Phylace was in Thessaly. 398 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. it, and called all the birds to the feast. All came but the vulture; but none was able to tell how Iphicles might have children. They therefore brought the vulture, who said that Phylacus pursued Iphicles with a knife when he was a child, for having done something unseemly ; but not being able to catch him, stuck the knife in a wild pear-tree, andthe bark grewoverit. The terror, he said, had deprived Iphicles of his generative power ; and added, that if this knife was gotten, and Iphicles scraping off the rust drank it for ten mornings, he would have a child. All was done as the prophet desired, and Iphicles had a son named Podarkes. Melampus drove the cows to Pylos, and Pero was given to his brother’. The cure of the Proetides by Melampus has been al- ready related °. "Tapoc. Tamus. The nymph Pitana, the daughter of the river-god Euro- tas, conceived by Poseidon the “‘ violet-tressed ” Evadne. She concealed her state ; and when the babe was born sent it to AXpytus, the son of Elatus the son of Arcas, who dwelt at Phezsane on the banks of the Alpheius in Arca- dia. When Evadne grew up, her charms attracted the love of Apollo. The consequence of her intercourse with the god did not escape Aipytus ; who, filled with anger and concern, journeyed to Pytho, to consult the oracle about this unhappy affair. While he was absent, Evadne, who had gone to the fount, felt her pains comeon. She laid down her silver pitcher and loosed her ‘ purple-yellow girdle,’’ and beneath the dark foliage brought forth her ** divine-minded ” son. The ‘‘ gold-haired ” god had sent the mild Eleutho and the Mere to ease her labour, and bring Iamus to light. The mourning mother left her new-born babe on the ground, and two “‘ green-eyed ser- * Hom. Od. xi, 288. xv. 225. Pherecydes, Frag. 26. Apollod. wt supra. 2 See above, p. 372. IAMUS. 399 pents ” came by the direction of the gods, and fed him on ‘‘ the innocuous venom (tov) of bees.” When /Mpytus returned from “‘ rocky Pytho,” he in- quired after the child which Evadne had borne; for Phee- bus, he said, had told him that he would be a renowned prophet, and that his race would never fail. All declared that they had seen or heard nothing of the babe, who was now five days old, but lay concealed in the rushes and extensive thicket, ‘‘ his tender body bedewed with the yellow and purple rays” i.e. of the violets’ (twv) which surrounded him; and hence his mother called him Iamus — Violety. On attaining “the fruit of pleasing gold-crowned youth,” Iamus went into the stream of Alpheius; and by night in the open air called on Poseidon his “ wide-pow- erful ancestor,” and on ‘‘ the bow-bearing guardian of god-built Delos,” to grant him public honour. The voice of his father replied, directing him to follow; and unseen, he brought him to the hill of Kronus at Olympia, where he gave him the double treasure of prophecy by aucury and by entrail-inspection. When Hercules came to Olym- pia, and established the feasts of Zeus there, Iamus by his direction founded a temple, where he and his posterity the Iamides continued to officiate’. This account of the origin of the sacerdotal family of the Iamides at Olympia, so beautifully narrated by the Theban bard, may be regarded as another of the many instances of even a slight resemblance in words giving origin to a legend. 1 Lord Mahon has, we think, made it probable, from a consi- deration of the passages in Pliny, Ovid, and other Latin writers in which it is mentioned, that the viola of the Latins, and consequently the tov of the Greeks, was the Iris and not the Violet. 2 Pindar, Olymp. vi. 400 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Tavradoc. Tantalus. Tantalus dwelt at Sipylus, a place according to Homer’, as it would appear, in Epirus; other poets have made Sipy- lus in Phrygia his residence. He was the father of Pelops and Niobe*. No mortal enjoyed more of the favour of the gods than Tantalus; he fed on nectar and ambrosia at their table, and they in return honoured his banquets with their presence. They made him by their divine food im- mortal; but anxious perhaps to distribute the blessing to his friends, he stole some of the food of the gods and divided it among them. To punish him for this offence, Zeus set him in the under-world, where a stone hanging over his head, and threatening every moment to crush him, deprives him of all happiness*. According to another and perhaps an earlier tradition, he was placed standing in a lake, which came up to his chin; but when he at- tempted to drink, the water ran off, leaving the ground dry and black at his feet. Over his head trees of various kinds suspended their fruits; but when the hapless old man essayed to touch them, ‘‘ the wind tossed them to the shady clouds*”’. Another account says that Tantalus was the son of Zeus and the nymph Pluto. Pandareus having stolen the golden dog which had guarded the goat that reared Zeus, and which the god had afterwards set to watch his temple in Crete, gave him to Tantalus to keep. Hermes being sent to reclaim the dog, the deposit was denied by Tantalus. Zeus turned Pandareus for his theft into a rock, where he stood ; and he cast Mount Sipylus a-top of Tantalus, for his perjury’. We have put the legend of Tantalus in this place, be- cause he was the father of Pelops. 1 "Ey LurvrAw, 60c dact Oedwy Eppevar evvas Nupdawr, air’ auq’ ’Ayedwior éppacavro.—ll. xxiv. 615. 2 See p. 300. 3 Pindar, Olymp. 1. * Hom. Qd. xi. 582. 5 Schol. Pind. Ol. 1.97. Ant. Lib. c. 36. PELOPS. 401 TléXo~. Pelops. At an entertainment given to the gods by Tantalus, he is said to have killed and dressed his son Pelops, and set this food before them. Demeter had eaten one of the shoulders before the gods were aware of the horrid ban- quet of which they were about to partake. At the desire of Zeus, Clotho put all the parts kack into the pot, and drew forth from it the boy perfect in all but the shoulder, which was replaced by an ivory one. Poseidon, smitten with the beauty of Pelops, carried him off with his golden horses to the abode of Zeus—Olympus. But when his father had drawn on himself the indignation of the gods, they set Pelops once more among the “ swift-fated race of men.’ ! When Pelops had attained to manhood he resolved to seek in marriage Hippodameia, the daughter of CEnomaiis king of Pisa in Elis. An oracle having told this prince that he would lose his life through his son-in-law, or, as others say, being unwilling on account of her surpassing beauty to part with her, he proclaimed that he would give his daughter only to him who should conquer him in the chariot-race. The race was run in this manner: CEnomaiis, placing his daughter in the chariot with the suitor, gave him the start ; he followed himself with a spear in his hand, and if he overtook the unhappy lover ran him through. Thirteen had already lost their lives when Pelops came’. 1 Pindar, who (Ol. i.) gives the preceding account, rejects, as was consonant to his piety, the tale of the killing and cooking of Pelops, and says that it was the fiction of some malicious neighbour, on the mother of Pelops missing her son when he had been taken off by Poseidon. The circumstance of the ivory shoulder is plainly a result of metaphorical language, as that of the eating of the shoulder is of verbal ambiguity; ®uogayia signifying raw-eating or shoulder-eating. Heyne regards this legend corresponding with that of Medea, as redo- lent of the most remote antiquity. We are of the directly contrary opinion, and hold every tale of atrocity to be post-Homeric. 2 Schol. ad Pind. Ol. i, 114. 2D 402 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Pelops went down in the dead of the night to the marge of the sea, and invoked the god who rulesit. Sud- denly Poseidon stood at his feet, and Pelops conjured him by the memory of his affection to grant him the means of obtaining the lovely daughter of Cnomaus, declaring that even should he fail in the attempt, he regarded fame beyond inglorious old-age. Poseidon as- sented to his prayer, and bestowed on him a golden cha- riot, and horses of winged speed’. Pelops went to Pisa. He bribed Myrtilus, the cha- rioteer of CEnomaiis, to leave out one of the linch-pins of the wheels of his chariot. In the race therefore, the chariot of GEnomaiis broke down, and he falling out was killed. Pelops married Hippodameia, and inherited the kingdom. On Myrtilus claiming the promised reward of his treachery, Pelops threw him into the sea, where he was drowned; but was afterwards, to appease the anger of Hermes the father of Myrtilus, obliged to raise him a tomb at Olympia, and sacrifice to him at it. The sophist Himerius”® tells us, doubtless from poems which have perished, that Poseidon taught Pelops to drive his chariot on the surface of the waters, and that he as- sembled the Nereides to celebrate his marriage with Hip- podameia, and built for him on the strand of the sea a bri- dal-chamber of the waves, which arched in purple curves over the marriage-bed. By Hippodameia Pelops had two daughters, Nicippe and Lysidice, of whom the former married Sthenelus, the latter Mestor, the sons of Perseus ; and six sons, Atreus, Thyestes, Copreus, Alcathoiis, Pittheus, and Chrysippus, which last was killed by his brothers Atreus and Thyestes. When the rage for tracing the religion and civilisation of Greece to Asia and Egypt prevailed, the circumstance 1 Pind. OL. i. 2 Or. i. 6. PELOPS. 403 possibly of there being a Sipylus in Lydia may have given occasion to the fiction that Pelops the son of Tantalus, one of the most ancient heroes of the peninsula named from him’, was the introducer of Phrygian culture into Argos, as the peninsula is said to have been at that time called. But it would be extremely difficult, we apprehend, to offer any proof of this migration. Homer, it is pretty evident, knew nothing of it, and his account of Pelops and his family, as we have already observed, has few points of agreement with the tales of succeeding poets. ' Pelops has every appearance of being, like Dolops and Dryops, the personification of some ancient tribe named Pelopes. 2pn2 404 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaprter XI. LEGENDS OF ACHZA, Meddvimmoe kat Kouaib. Melanippus et Comeatho. Artemis was worshiped at Patre under the name of Triclinia. Her priestess was always a virgin, who held her office till she married. This priesthood was once filled by a beautiful virgin named Cometho. A youth named Melanippus, also distinguished for his beauty, con- ceived a violent passion for the fair priestess, which was participated in by its object, but the parents of both the lovers refused their consent to the union. Thus thwarted in their lawful wishes, the youth and maiden lost sight of prudence, and they polluted the sanctity of the temple by the unhallowed gratification of their passion. The goddess was offended; disease and pestilence testified to the people her displeasure. Envoys were sent to consult the Pythian oracle, and the voice of the god fixed the guilt on Cometho and Me- lanippus, whom he ordered to be sacrificed to Artemis, and a youth and maiden of superior beauty to be offered annually as victims to the goddess. For many years this cruel rite remained in use, and the stream which flowed by the temple derived from it the name of Implacable (apetAtyoc). An oracle, however, held out hopes of its ceasing, when a stranger should arrive in the country bearing with him an unknown deity. On the division of the spoils at Troy, Eurypylus the son of Evemon had gotten a coffer containing a statue of Dionysus, the work of Hephestus, as was said, and given to Dardanus by Zeus. Cassandra, it was also said, had thrown this coffer in the way of the Greeks, knowing that it would prove injurious to whoever should find it. Eu- 2 nate Fee ee CORESUS AND CALLIROE. 405 rypylus opening it saw the statue, and immediately lost his senses: his reason however did not entirely depart, and he had lucid intervals. In consequence of this cala- _ mity, instead of going home to Thessaly he sailed to Cir- rha, and consulted the oracle at Delphi for relief of his disorder. He was directed to take up his abode, and de- dicate the coffer, where he should find people sacrificing after a strange fashion. He re-embarked, and the wind carried him to Aroe on the coast of Achza, where he saw a procession moving along the shore, leading a youth and maiden to be sacrificed on the altar of the Triclinian Ar- temis. Eurypylus at once perceived the accomplishment of the oracle given to him; the Acheans saw that theirs also was fulfilled, the inhuman sacrifices ceased, the stranger was restored to his reason, the coffer of Dionysus was dedicated, and the river changed its appellation to that of Mild (metAryoc)’. Kopesos kat KadArpon. Coresus et Calliroe. In Patra: stood a temple of the Calydonian Dionysus, whose statue had been brought thither from Calydon. The following legend was related respecting it: While Calydon flourished, a man named Coresus was priest of Dionysus in that country. A maiden named Calliroe became the object of his love, but unhappily the fervour of his attachment only augmented the hatred and aversion of the maiden to her lover. When neither gifts nor en- treaties would avail to win her love, the priest in despair turned him to his god, and besought him to avenge his sufferings. The god heard the prayer of the suppliant, and an insanity similar to intoxication fell on the Calydo- nians, of which many of them perished. 2 Paus. vii. 19. It is almost needless now to observe, that the men- tion of human sacrifices, to say nothing of other points, marks this legend as long posterior to the age of Homer. 406 “MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. In their distress, they had recourse to the oracle of Dodona, so venerated by Aitolians, Acarnanians, and Epirotes. The oracle replied that their calamity was the infliction of Dionysus, and would not cease till Coresus had sacrificed Calliroe, or some one who was willing to die in her stead. It was resolved to obey the oracle. Cal- liroe could find no one possessed of sufficient affection for her to pay so high a penalty; friends, kindred, pa- rents, all shrunk back, and the unhappy maiden was forced to submit to her cruel fate. As a victim, she was crowned and led to the altar, where Coresus stood to per- form the appointed sacrifice ; but at the sight of her, love overcame every other sentiment in the bosom of the priest, and he slew himself instead of the beautiful victim. This last and decisive proof of true affection quite vanquished the hitherto relentless maiden; her violent hate was con- verted into ardent love, and filled with pity for her lover, and shame at her own ungrateful insensibility, she retired to a fountain near the port of Calydon, and there cut her own throat and died. The spring derived from her its name,—Calliroe, i.e. Fair-flowing ’. Léreuvoc kat Apyupa. Selemnus et Argyra. Selemnus was a beautiful youth, who pastured his flocks near the shore of the sea. Argyra, one of the sea-nymphs, beheld and loved him, and frequently emerging from the waters, came to enjoy the society of her lover on the banks of ariver. But the beauty of the youth departing, the fickle sea-maiden ceased to regard him, and no longer sought his company. Grief at her loss killed the de- serted shepherd, and Aphrodite in compassion changed him into a river of hisown name. But his love still con- 1 Paus. vii. 21. The legend was evidently invented to account for the name of the spring. As the reader may perceive, it is the foun- dation of Guarini’s pastoral drama, Il Pastor Fido. SELEMNUS AND ARGYRA. 407 tinuing, Aphrodite again moved with pity exerted her di- vine power, and caused him to forget Argyra. The waters of the Selemnus became in consequence a remedy for love, inducing oblivion on those who bathed in them’. 1 Paus. vii. 23. Near the river Selemnus was the fount Argyra; hence the origin of the legend, so like that of Alpheius and Arethusa, becomes easily explicable. 408 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaprer XI. LEGENDS OF THE ISLES. Téxrapoc. Tectamus. Tr cramus the son of Dorus was driven out of Thessaly by the Perrhebians. He passed with his followers over to Crete, which he found inhabited by Autochthones,— the Eteocretans, Cydonians, Curetes, and Dactyli. The Dorians mingled with these, and became the leading people’. Tectamus was succeeded by his son Asterion, who married Evporn. Europa. Europa was the daughter of Agenor, or according to Homer”, Hesiod, Bacchylides, and Asius, of Phoenix by Telephassa, and sister of Cadmus. Zeus, becoming ena- moured of her beauty, changed himself into a beautiful white bull, and approached her as she was gathering flowers with her companions in a mead near the sea- shore. Europa, delighted with the tameness and beauty of the animal, caressed him, crowned him with flowers, and at length ventured to mount on his back. The dis- guised god immediately made off with his lovely burden, ran along the waves of the sea, and stopped not till he arrived in Crete, not far from Gortyna. Here he re- 1 Diod. iv. Homer (Od. xix. 175.) says Achezans, Eteocretans, Cydo- nians, the “ threefold-divided” Dorians, and the “ noble” Pelasgians. As appears to us, it is unreasonable to suppose Dorians in Crete be- fore the time of their great migration. The narrative of the text was therefore invented after that event, and the lines of the Odyssey are probably interpolations. Perhaps it will be found that most of the parenthetic passages in the Homeric poems are such. * Il. xiv.321. This passage (see above, p. 164.) is probably spurious; the name Europa does not however occur in it. The story seems to have been unknown to Hesiod. Herodotus is the first writer extant who notices it. MINOS, RHADAMANTHUS, AND SARPEDON. 409 assumed his own form, and beneath a plane-tree embraced the trembling maid’. The fruits of his caresses were three sons, Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpédon. Aste- rion king of Crete espoused Europa, and reared her sons. He was succeeded in his kingdom by Minos. Mude, ‘PadaparOvc, kat Saprndwv. Minos, Rhadaman- thus, et Sarpedon. These three brothers fell into discord for the sake of a beautiful youth named Milétus, the son of Apollo and Areia, or of Zeus and Cassiopeia. Miletus testifying most esteem for Sarpédon, Minos chased them out of Crete. Miletus going to Caria, built a town there, which he named from himself. Sarpedon went to Lycia’, where he aided Cilix against the people of that country, and obtained the sovranty of a part of it. Zeus is said to have bestowed on him a life of treble duration. Rhadamanthus ruled with justice and equity over the islands. Having committed a homicide, he fled to Beeotia, where he married Alemena, the mother of Hercules. Ac- cording to Homer*, Rhadamanthus was placed on the Elysian Plain among the heroes to whom Zeus allotted that blissful abode. Pindar* seems to make him a sovran or judge in the Island of the Blest. Later poets place him with Minos and /Zacus in the under-world, where their office is to judge the dead. Minos married Pasiphae, the daughter of the Sun and Perseis, by whom he had several children, the most cele- brated of whom were Androgeiis, Glaucus, Deucalion, Ariadne, and Phedra. The Cretans hesitating to give him the royal dignity after the death of Asterion, to prove his claim to it he asserted that he could obtain whatever he prayed for. Then sacrificing to Poseidon, he besought UE INRAUIET Ecce rN nace LLP an RL I oe a | Apollod. iii. 1. Moschus, Idyll. 1. Ovid. Met.ii. Nonnus, Dionys. i. 2 Perhaps the only foundation of this legend was the resemblance of sound between Lycia and Lyctos, a town of Crete. 3 Od. iv. 564. 4 QO). it. 137. 410 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. him to send him a bull from the bottom of the sea, pro- mising to sacrifice whatever would appear. Poseidon sent the bull, and Minos received the kingdom. He ruled, ac- cording to Homer", for nine years at Cnossus, and was the antimate friend (oaptornc) of Zeus, who gave him wise laws and regulations for his people. Minos was victorious in war, and extended his dominion over the isles of the /Eigean. The bull which Poseidon had sent out of the sea being of large size and of a brilliant white hue, appeared to Minos too beautiful an animal to be slain, and he put him in his herd, and substituted an ordinary bull. . Poseidon offended at this act made the bull run wild, and inspired Pasiphae with a strange passion for him, but which she had no means of gratifying. Deedalus, the celebrated Athenian artist, being at that time in Crete, having fled from home for homicide, undertook to accomplish the wishes of the queen. He accordingly formed a hollow cow of wood, covered with the hide of a real cow, in which he inclosed Pasiphae, and placed it in the mead where the bull used to feed. All succeeded as desired, and Pa- siphae became the mother of Asterion, called the Mino- taur, from his having the head of a bull joined to the body of a man. Minos, in compliance with an oracle, made Dedalus build for him the Labyrinth, an edifice with numberless winding passages and turnings, from which egress was almost impossible for those who entered it. In this he placed the Minotaur, where he preyed on the victims given to him*. The principal actions of Minos ' Od. xix. 178. It would not appear from this passage, that Minos was the son of Zeus. In II. xiii. 450. and xiv. 322. he is so called 3 in the former it is said that he was born in Crete, in the latter (which is probably spurious) that he was the brother of Rhadamanthus. Odys- seus (Od. xi. 568.) sees him judging in Erebus. The genuineness of this last passage is very dubious. See above, p. 70. * The Labyrinth is a pure poetic fiction; no such edifice ever did exist in Crete. The real Labyrinth of Egypt gave occasion to it. See Hoeck’s Kreta, 1. p. 56, e¢ seq. ARIADNE AND PHZDRA. GLAUCUS. 4\1 have been already related ', He is said to have fallen in a war against Cocalus king of Sicily, who protected Dx- dalus. “Apiacyn Kal Daidpa. Ariadne et Phaedra. Ariadne the daughter of Minos fell in love with Theseus when he came to Crete*. She furnished him with the clew which enabled him to thread the mazes of the Labyrinth, and fled with him from her father. But Theseus did not reap the fruits of her love; for when they arrived at the isle of Dia or Naxos, Artemis slew her on the testimony of Dionysus*. Another legend* says that she was de- serted by Theseus, to whom Athena appeared as he slept, and desired him to leave her and make sail for Athens ; and that as Ariadne was weeping, Aphrodite appeared to her and consoled her. Dionysus, falling in love with her, made her his spouse’ ; and Zeus bestowed on her immor- tality. Dionysus gave her a golden crown, which was afterwards placed among the stars. Phedra was married to Theseus. The tale of her love for her step-son Hippolytus has been already related °. TAavkoc. Glaucus. Glaucus the son of Minos pursuing, when a child, a mouse, fell into a jar of honey, and was smothered. When he could not be found, his father sent to inquire of the oracle about him. The answer he got was, that there was a three-coloured cow in his herd, and that he who could best tell what she was like could restore his son to life. The soothsayers were all assembled ; and Polyidus the son of Coraneus said, her colour was that of the berry of the briar,—green, red, and lastly black. Minos desired 1 See Legends of Attica. 2 See above, p. 353. 3 Od. xi. 325. + Pherecydes, Frag, 58. > Hesiod, Theog. 947, mentions her marriage with Dionysus. § See above, p. 356. 412 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. him to find his son ; and Polyidus, by his skill in divina- tion, discovered where he was. Minos then ordered him to restore him to life; and on his declaring his in- capacity so to do, shut him up in a chamber with the body of the child. While here, the soothsayer saw a ser- pent approach the body, and he struck and killed it. Another immediately came with a plant in its mouth, and laid it on the dead one, who instantly came to life. Polyidus, by employing the same herb, recovered the child. Minos, before he let him depart, insisted on his com- municating his art to Glaucus. He did so; but as he was - taking leave, he desired his pupil to spit into his mouth. Glaucus obeyed, and lost the memory of all he had learned’. On taking a survey of the circumstances of these Cretan legends, and the names of the persons who occur in them, it is difficult to avoid recognising a worship of the celestial bodies, more particularly of the Moon, of which last the names of the Minoic family would all appear to have been appellations. Thus Europa (Broad-face) is the daughter of Phoenix (Red) and Telephassa (Far-shining), and the mother of Minos, a name not unlike Men* (Moon); and she marries Asterion (Starry). The wife of Minos is Pa- siphae (Adi-bright), the daughter of the Sun and Perseis; and their daughters are Phedra (Bright) and Ariadne (Much-pleasing), also named Aridéla * ( Very-clear). The 1 Apollod. ili. See above, p. 385. * Menoo is the name of the Hindoo legislator: Menes was the first mortal king of Egypt: Manes was the first king of Lydia: Minyas one of the earliest kings of Greece: Minos the first king and lawgiver of Crete. To these Buttmann (Mythol. ii. 232, et seq.) joins the German Mannus, Man; and supposing this last to be the true meaning of all these names, infers as usual the original unity of all these peoples and their traditions. , 3 Hesych. 1. p. 529. 4 GLAUCUS. H#ACUS AND TELAMON. 413 sun and the moon were both regarded as having a great influence on the fertility of the earth ; and it was believed that the latter, which was viewed as a female, received all her influence from the former. As we have seen in the case of Io, the moon was represented symbolically as a cow: the sun was in like manner viewed as a bull. Hence then we have Europa passing over the sea mounted on a bull, and hence the love of Pasiphae for the white bull sent up out of the sea by Poseidon, and her offspring by him, the Minotaur (Minos-, or perhaps Moon-bull), but who was called by the Cretans Asterius (Starry). Most of the circumstances mentioned above were the inventions of the Athenians, when they combined their own mythic cycle with that of Crete. It is by no means improbable that such may have been the origin of the Cretan mythic cycle; but it may also have been, that Minos and his family were real persons, named, as was so frequently the case, after their favourite deities. We are, however, disposed on the whole to re- gard Minos as a purely imaginary person, and his history as that of a period rather than of an individual. The account of the great power and naval dominion of the Cretans in the Minoic or ante-Troic period, seems to rest entirely on the Athenian legends above narrated, from which it was inferred by Thucydides, the introduction to whose admirable work has perhaps exerted an undue influence over the minds of both ancient and modern . writers. Ataxog kat TeAapwv. Aacus et Telamon. The river-god Asopus married Metope the daughter of the river-god Ladon, and had by her several children. His daughter Aegina attracting the love of Zeus, the amorous monarch of the gods carried her off, and meeies es es) Oe ee 1 Much valuable information on the subject of Crete may be de- rived from the work of Hoeck entitled Kreta. 414 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. struck with a thunderbolt Asopus when he pursued them, and forced him to go home again; and hence it was said, that the waters of the Asopus carried coals along them. Zeus carried his fair prize into the isle of Ginéne, af- terwards named from her AMgina, where she bore him a son named AZacus, who married Endéis the daughter of Cheiron, who bore him two sons, Télamon and Peleus. By the Nereis Psamathe, who changed herself into a fount to escape his embraces, he had another son named Phocus, whom his brothers, envying his superior skill in the gymnic exercises, killed with a blow of a discus, and concealed his body in a wood : but the murder coming to light, AXacus drove them both from the island. AKacus was distinguished for his piety; and when a plague had swept away all the inhabitants of his island, a swarm of ants were, on his prayer to Zeus, turned into men to replenish it’. It is also said, that Greece being afflicted with sterility and dearth, on account of the crime of Pelops, who had cut into pieces Stymphalus king of Arcadia, and scattered the pieces about; and application having been made to the oracle, the response given was, that it would only be removed on the prayer of AZacus. The righteous son of Zeus preferred his petition, and the land once more flourished. When he died, the keys of the nether-world were by Pluto committed to his custody. Télamon, when banished by his father, fled to the neighbouring isle of Salamis, where Kychres the son of Poseidon by Salamis the daughter of Asopus then reigned, having slain a serpent which ravaged the island. He gave his daughter in marriage to Telamon, and left him the ‘ This legend is very pleasingly told by Ovid (Met. vii. 517, et seq.). It is indebted for its origin to the resemblance in sound between peup- png, an ant, and Myrmidons, the tribe who are said to have dwelt in Aigina. Hesiod (Frag. 87.) would seem to intimate that the island had lain desert till Zeus brought gina to it; for he says, that when Aacus grew.up, he became weary of solitude, and Zeus, to give him companions, turned the ants into men and women. HACUS AND TELAMON. ORION. 415 kingdom. Telamon accompanied Hercules to Troy; and the hero gave him Hesione the daughter of Laomedon, by whom he had a son named Teucer. By Peridea the erand-daughter of Pelops he had a son whom he called Alas; for having prayed to Hercules for male issue, an eagle (aeroc) appeared in answer to his prayer’. ‘Opiov. Orion. The hero Orion is not mentioned in the Ilias. In the Odyssey” we are told by Calypso, that ‘‘rose-fingered” Eos took him, and that ‘‘ holy, gold-seated’’ Artemis slew him with her ‘‘ gentle darts” in Ortygia. Odysseus*, when in Erebus, beheld the ‘‘ huge” Orion, with his brazen club in his hand, pursuing through the asphodel-mead the ghosts of the beasts which he had slain in the lonely mountains. According to Hesiod and Pherecydes*, Orion was the son of Poseidon by Euryale the daughter of Minyas ; and his father gave him the power of wading through the depths of the sea, or, as others say, of walking on its surface. He married Side, whom Hera cast into Erebus for contending with her in beauty. It is also said that Orion was earth-born. Pindar® made Chios the birth-place of Orion; but by the general consent of writers’ he was born in Hyria, a town of the Tanagraic or Theban territory in Beeotia. They relate, that as Zeus, Poseidon, and Hermes were one time taking a ramble on earth, they came late in the evening to the house of a small farmer named Hyrieus. Seeing the wayfarers, Hyrieus, who was standing at his 1 Apollod. iii. 12. For everything Pamn: to Agina, see Muller’s #ginetica. 2 Od. v. 121. 330d. ula 572. 4 Apollod. i. 4. Schol. Nicandri(Gaisford, Poete Minores, i. p. 193.). Hygin. P.A. 34. > Hygin. wf supra. $ Hygin. Ovid. Fasti, v. 493. 416 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. | door, invited them to enter and pass the night in his humble abode. The gods accepted the kind invitation and were hospitably entertained. Pleased with their hosf, they inquired if he had any wish which he desired to have gratified. Hyrieus replied, that he once had a wife whom he tenderly loved, and that he had sworn never to marry another. She was dead: he was childless: his vow was binding: and yet he was desirous of being a father. The gods took the hide of his only ox, which he had sacrificed in their honour; they buried it im the earth; and ten months afterwards a boy came to light, whom Hyrieus named Urion or Orion. When Orion grew up he went to the isle of Chios, where he became enamoured of Mérope the daughter of Ginopion. He sought her in marriage ; but while wooing, seized a favourable opportunity, and offered her vio- lence. Her father, incensed at this conduct, having made Orion drunk, blinded him when asleep, and cast him on the sea-shore. The blinded hero contrived to reach Lem- nos, and came to the forge of Hephestus, who taking pity on him, gave him KedaAlion, one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the Sun. Placing Kedalion on his shoulder, Orion proceeded to the East; and there meet- ing the Sun-god, was restored to vision by his beam. Anxious for vengeance on CAnopion, he returned to Chios; but the Chians, aware of his intention, concealed the ob- ject of his search under the ground, and Orion unable to find him retired to Crete’. The death of Orion is differently related. As all the legends respecting him are evidently later than the time of Homer, none ventures to assign any other cause to it than the goddess Artemis, whose wrath (though Homer rather says the contrary) he drew on himself. Some said that he attempted to offer violence to the goddess herself; others, to Opis, one of her Hyperborean maidens, and that 1 Apollod. Schel. Nic. Hygin. ué supra. bi ORION. 417 Artemis slew him with her arrows; others again, that it was for presuming to challenge the goddess at the discus. It was also said, that when he came to Crete, he boasted to Leto and Artemis that he was able to kill any thing that would come from the earth. Indignant at his boast they sent a huge scorpion, which stung him, and he died. It was said, finally, that Artemis loved Orion, and was even about to marry him. Her brother was highly displeased, and often chid her, but to no purpose. At length, ob- serving one day Orion wading through the sea with his head just above the waters, he pointed it out to his sister, and maintained that she could not hit that black thing on the sea. The archer-goddess discharged a shaft: the waves rolled the dead body of Orion to the land ; and bewailing her fatal error with many tears, Artemis placed him among the stars’. In both the Ilias and the Odyssey, and also in Hesiod, the constellation Orion is frequently mentioned. The question then naturally arises, Which was first, the hero or the celestial sign? We think the latter. There is no reason to suppose the practice of fabling that men and other terrestrial objects were raised to the skies to have prevailed in the days of these early poets, who seem to have known no signs (reipea) but the Bear or Wain, the Pleiades, the Hyades, Orion, his Dog Seirius, and the Neatherd (Bootes or Arcturus). Mankind have a great passion for tracing out resem- blances, and many legends have thence arisen: the Man in the Moon is a familiar but a convincing instance. The Wain is certainly not unlike a rude sort of carriage: it resembles still more a plough, a name by which it is in some placescalled. Its likeness to a bear is not so striking ; and yet we recollect to have read somewhere, that the 1 See the authors above quoted. Ose 418 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. North American Indians, who most certainly know nothing of Callisto and Arcas, call the Ursee Major and Minor The Bears. The Pleiades are generally understood to signify the Sailing-stars (from wAéw, to sail), as in ancient Greece the time of navigation commenced with their rising and ended with their setting’: yet it is not altogether im- possible that they may have been originally the Pigeons (weevadec)*, on account of their clustering as it were together. The Hyades are derived from vw, to rain; yet their Latin appellation Sucule (little pigs), which inti- mates a derivation from vc, is perhaps not deserving of absolute contempt’. It could have required but a very moderate portion of imagination to liken the large and brilliant constellation of Orion to a hunter, and the bright star behind him to his dog, and to conceive them to be in pursuit of the Bear; who, according to Homer”, watches (Soxever) Orion, from whom the Pleiades are also said to fy*. The Gre- cian hunter may therefore have seen a chase like his own in the sky, and in process of time the fable may have arisen, that Orion had been a ‘‘ mighty hunter,” who after his death was placed among the stars. The account of the birth and adventures of Orion given by the poets agrees with this theory. He is the son of Poseidon and Euryale,—and the constellation rises out of the sea; he was carried off by Eos,—and the Dawn as it were takes away the stars; he was slain by Artemis, but 1 Hesiod, Works and Days, 616. * Athenzus xi. says, that in the Astronomy ascribed to Hesiod they were always called weAerddes : he gives three instances. Se MMI iso cea a pele Non ore solutos Immundi meminere sues jactare maniplos,” is one of the signs of approaching fine weather after rain given by Virgil, Geor. i. 400. * Il. xviii. 488. ° Hesiod, Works and Days, 617. ORION. ; 419 not in anger,—and the gentle but brilliant effulgence of the moon dims and effaces the light of the stars. Finally, the epithets (nimbosus, procellosus) given to Orion by the Latin poets, might lead us to a derivation of his name from Spw, opivw, to rouse up or excite,—more applicable to the constellation than to the hero’. ' On the subject of astronomical mythi, see Muller’s Proleg. 191, ef seq. 2H 2 490 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Cuaprter XIII. MYTHIC WARS AND EXPEDITIONS. Ta ‘Apyovavtixa. The Argonautic Expedition. Jason having undertaken to sail to Colchis for the Golden Fleece’, applied to Argus the son of Phrixus ; who, with the aid of Athena, built for him a fifty-oared galley, called from himself Argo. In her prow Athena set a plank, cut from the speaking-oak of Dodona. When the ship was completed Jason consulted the oracle, and was directed to invite the greatest heroes of the day to share in the dangers and glories of the voyage. The heroes attended to the call. Tiphys the son of Agnius undertook the office of pilot. The other princi- pal heroes were Orpheus, Zetes and Calais, Castor and Polydeukes, Telamon and Peleus, Idas and Lynceus, Hercules, Theseus, Amphiaraiis, Laertes, Autolycus, Mencetius, Actor, Admetus, Acastus, Eurytus, Meleager, Peas, Periclymenus, Augeas, Iphiclus, Iphitus, Ascala- phus and Ialmenus, Polyphemus, and the fair maid Ata- lanta. The whole number was fifty *. When the heroes were all assembled, they took auguries, and offered sacrifices to Zeus, the Waves and Winds, the Night, and Paths of the Sea. The signs being favourable, they got on board and put to sea. The first land they came to was Lemnos, in which island there were at that time no men, and Hypsipyle the daughter of Thoas g0- verned it as queen. The Lemnian women having, it was said, offended Aphrodite, she caused them to have an ill smell; so that their husbands, unable to endure them, ara eM Ss Emer ee 1 See above, p. 278. * The lists of the Argonauts differ very much. It was a sort of point of honour with each state to send its national hero in the Argo. THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 42] ‘took to their beds the captives whom they had brought from Thrace. The Lemnian wives, incensed at this neg- lect, murdered their husbands. Hypsipyle alone saved her father, whom she kept concealed. It was just at this crisis that the Argonauts arrived, and they were received by the women with open arms. Hypsipyle became by Jason the mother of two sons, Eunéus and Nebrophonus; and the others were equally fruitful. Leaving Lemnos, they came to the Doliones, whose king was named Cyzicus. Having been hospitably enter- tained by this prince, they set sail in the night, but were driven back by adverse winds. The Doliones taking them to be their enemies, the Pelasgians, attacked them ; and several of the Doliones, and among them Cyzicus, lost their lives. With day-light discerning the error, the Argonauts shore their hair, and shedding many tears buried Cyzicus with solemn magnificence. They then sailed to Mysia, where they left behind them Hercules and Polyphemus; for Hylas, a youth beloved _by the former, having gone for water, was laid hold on and kept by the nymphs of the spring into which he dipped his urn. Polyphemus, hearing him call, went with his drawn sword to aid him, supposing him to have fallen into the hands of robbers. Meeting Hercules, he told him what had happened; and both proceeded in quest of the youth. Meantime the Argo put to sea, and left them behind. Polyphemus settled in Mysia, and built Kios: Hercules returned to Argos’. The Argo next touched at Bebrycia, where A’mycus 1 According to Theocritus (Idyll. 13.), the hero proceeded on foot to Colchis. It was an ancient custom of the Bithynians to lament in the burning days of midsummer, and call out of the well, into which they fabled he had fallen, a god named Hylas. This usage was adopted into their mythology by the Greek inhabitants of Kios, and connected in the manner above narrated with the Argonautic Expedition and the history of Hercules. See Miller’s Orchom. 293, Dorians 1. 347, 451, Proleg. 108. Apollodorus in another place (see above, p. 326.) says, that Hercules was not one of the Argonauts. 422 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. the son of Poseidon and Bithynis reigned. Every stranger who arrived in this country was forced by Amycus to en- gage him at the cestus. He therefore challenged the Argonauts; and Polydeukes engaged and killed him. The Bebrycians, seeing the fate of their prince, fell on the victor; but his companions coming to his aid, they were repelled with great loss °. Leaving Bebrycia, they sailed to Salmydessus on the Thracian coast, where Phineus, the prophet-prince, dwelt in blindness and misery. He was the son of Agenor or of Poseidon, and was married to Cleopatra the daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia. She died, leaving him two sons ; and he married Idea the daughter of Dardanus, or, as others say, Eidothea the sister of Cadmus. Jealous of her step-children, she maligned them to their father; who, believing the slander, deprived his sons of sight. The gods, to punish him, struck him blind, and sent the Harpies to torment him: these fell monsters came flying the instant food was set before him, carried off the greater portion of it, and so defiled what they left that no mortal could endure to eat it. Other accounts say, that he was deprived of sight for having revealed to mortals the future, which was shown him by Apollo; or that Poseidon had so punished him for having shown the sons of Phrixus the way to Greece. It is even said that the Argonauts so avenged the blinding of his children. The Argonauts coming to consult Phineus about their future course, he promised to direct them on condition of their delivering him from the Harpies. This they undertook to do. The table was spread: the Harpies instantly descended on and seized the victuals. Zetes and Calais the winged sons of Boreas drew their swords and pursued them through the air. It was fated that the Harpies should die if over- taken by the Boreades ; but it was equally fatal to these last not to come up with the Harpies. One of the Harpies named Nicdthea or Aéllopus flew to the Peloponnesus, ! The combat is described at length by Theocritus, Idyll. 22. Se THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 423 where she fell into a river named Tigris, but which was thenceforth called Harpys. Her sister Ocy'pete flew along the Propontis, and so on till she came to the Echinades, islands beyond the Peloponnesus. Here she turned back (éorpathn,—whence they were called Strophades), and she and her pursuer fell on the shore together’. Freed from his tormentors, Phineus now intructs his deliverers in the nature of their future voyage. The Sym- plégades* were the first danger which they had to en- counter. These were huge floating rocks, which were at times driven together by the winds, and crushed whatever came between them. Mist enveloped them, and loud was the crash when they met. Even to the birds was the passage then impossible. Phineus directed the he- roes to let fly a pigeon, saying if she came safely through, the Argo might venture to follow her. They obeyed the directions of the prophet; the pigeon passed through safely with the loss of her tail ; watching then the recession of the rocks, and aided by Hera, they rowed the Argovigo- rously on, and escaped so narrowly, that the rocks as they rushed together carried off some of her stern-works. The Symplegades now became fixed ; for so it was in the fates, since a ship had passed through them uninjured. Having escaped the Symplegades, they came to the Mariandyni, whose king Lycus received them kindly. Here died Idmon the seer, wounded by the tusks of a wild boar. Tiphys also dying here, Anceeus undertook the steerage of the vessel. Passing then the Thermédon and Caucasus, they at length entered the PhasisinColchis. Jason lost no time in informing king AXetes of the cause of his coming, and in 1 According to Apollonius Rhodius (ii. 284.), who followed Hesiod and Antimachus, the Boreades having overtaken the Harpies at the Strophades, left them at liberty on their giving an oath never more to molest Phineus. 2 Also called the Cyanean Rocks. They are evidently the Wander- ing Rocks of Homer (Od, xii. 59, e¢ seq.) transferred to the Euxine. 494 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. requesting him to give him the Golden Fleece. The king assented, provided he could yoke the brass-footed bulls. These were the gifts of Hephestus to Adetes, in number two, and breathing flame from their throats. When he had yoked these, he was to plough with them a piece of land, and sow the serpents’ teeth which Aetes possessed, to whom Athena had given one half of those which Cad- mus sowed at Thebes. Jason was in perplexity about the accomplishment of these hard tasks, when Medea, the daughter of the king, who had conceived a sudden affection for him, prof- fered her aid, if he would swear to marry her, and take her with him to Greece. Such aid was not to be rejected : the hero swore: Medea, who was an enchantress, gave hima salve to rub his body, shield, and spear. The virtue of this salve would. last an entire day, and protect alike against fire and steel. She further told him, that when he had sown the teeth, a crop of armed men would spring up and prepare to attack him. Among these she desired him to fling stones, and while they were fighting with one another about them, to fall on and slay them. The hero followed the advice of the princess : he entered the sacred grove of Ares, yoked the bulls, ploughed the land, and slaughtered the armed crop which it produced. But ‘Ketes refused to give the Fleece, and meditated to burn the Argo and slay her crew. Medea, anticipating him, led Jason by night to the Golden Fleece: with her drugs she cast to sleep the serpent which guarded it; and then she and her brother Absyrtus embarking with him in the Ar- go, the vessel set sail while it was yet night. /Eetes, on discovering the treachery and flight of his daughter, got on shipboard and pursued the fugitives. Medea seeing him gaining on them cut her brother to pieces, and scattered his limbs on the waves: while ‘Ketes was engaged in collecting them the Argo escaped. He went back and buried the remains of his son at a place whichhe called Tomi (vopor, cudtings), and then despatched THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 425 a number of his subjects in pursuit of the Argo, threatening — if they did not bring back his daughter to inflict on them the punishment designed for her. The Colchians went in all directions in quest of the Argo. As the Argonauts were now sailing by the mouth of the Eridanus, Zeus, incensed on account of the mur- der of Absyrtus, sent forth a mighty storm; and as they were passing by the Absyrtean isles, the Argo spoke, and said that the anger of Zeus would not be appeased until they went to Ausonia, and were purified by Circe. They sailed therefore along the coasts of the Ligyans and Kelts, through the Sardinian sea, and coasting Tyrrhenia came to Aiwa, where Circe purified them. Coming to the Sirens, Orpheus sang against them. Butes charmed with their melody swam to them, and Aphrodite took him and set him to dwell in Lilybeum. The Argonauts passed through Scylla and Charybdis, and also the Wandering Rocks, over which they beheld flame and smoke ascending, but through which Thetis and the Nereides guided them by command of Hera. Passing Thrinakia, the isle of the Sun, they came to Corcyra, the island of the Phzeacians. Some of the Colchians who were in pursuit of the Argonauts arriving there, seized on the Argo, and requested Alcinotis to give Medea up to them. He assented, provided she was yet a maid. His wife Aréte hearing this, lost no time in joining the lovers in wedlock ; and the Colchians then fearing to return, settled in the island. Sailing thence, the Argo was assailed during the night by a tremendous storm; but Apollo, taking his stand on the rocks called the Melantian Necks, shot an arrow into the sea: the arrow flashed a vivid light, and the Argonauts beheld an island, on which they landed. As this isle had appeared (avedyvaro) so unexpectedly, they named it Anaphe’. Here they erected an altar to Apollo Reglétes (Lightner), and offered sacrifices; they thence Nene eee ec ec eee a immis da Mil 2 METAS 1 Anaphe was one of the Sporades. It and the Melantian Necks were near Thera. . 496 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. proceeded to Crete, where Talus, prohibiting their landing, — was slain by the art of Medea’. They watered at A&gina, and arrived at Lolcos after an absence of four months. No event is more celebrated in the mythic history of Greece than the Argonautic expedition, It has been treated of by many poets, with different circumstances. Homer mentions it*: Hesiod’ briefly narrates its chief events: Pindar* sings it in one of his finest odes: Apol- lonius Rhodius has composed a beautiful epic on it: there is a poem on it which goes under the name of Orpheus’: the historian Diodorus relates it: the Latin poet Valerius Flaccus imitated the Greeks: Ovid and others make fre- quent mention of it. Though most of the circumstances of the Argonautic expedition are evident fictions, there seems Jittle reason for denying that it has a foundation in truth ; and it is by no means an improbable supposition, that it was a com- mercial voyage to some distant region undertaken by the Minyans, who, as we have seen, were a wealthy, commer- cial people. To what country they sailed is a question of some curiosity ; though to most readers it may appear one of no difficulty, as all the narrators make the Argo- nauts sail to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. The Argonautic expedition is noticed by Homer’®; and undoubtedly the Greeks did not navigate the formidable Kuxine in their open boats in the times before the war of as aCsde SE RMONSSOSPOOMB TURN MCIGEI CEPT 1 See above, p. 83. 2 Od. xii. 69. 3 Theog. 992. * Pyth. iv. ° Schneider arguing from its style and diction, Jacobs from its un- poetical spirit, Hermann on metrical grounds, Uckert on account of the scandalous ignorance of geography which it displays, agree in assigning it to the times of advancing barbarismand the struggle against Christianity. With these Miller (Orchom. p. 296.) accords. Others place it in the Alexandrine period. Pherecydes undoubtedly knew nothing of it, for he says (Schol. Ap. Rhod. i. 23.) that it was Philammon, and not Orpheus, who sailed with the Argonauts, © Od. xil. 70; THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 427 Troy. It is not clear that they ventured beyond the Hel- lespont until they had colonised the west coast of Asia ; when the Milesians, who were a manufacturing people, —which we have no reason for supposing to have beenthe case with the Minyans,—geradually extended their colonies along the Propontis, and entering the Euxine established their factories and colonies on both its north and south coasts, and even at Colchis its eastern extremity. They exchanged their woollen cloths, wines, and other luxuries, with the Nomades of Scythia, for slaves and for wool, hides, and other raw materials ; with the people at the foot of Caucasus, for timber, flax, hemp, bees-wax, and pitch. We do not find the slightest trace of any such commerce in Greece during the Heroic ages : the Achzans and their predecessors were, on the contrary, supplied with luxuries bythe Pheenicians. It is, therefore, plain that the Minyans could have had no motive for undertaking a perilous voyage into the Euxine. The name of Colchis was apparently unknown to Homer and Hesiod: Eumelus of Corinth is the first who mentions it: Mimnermus speaks indefinitely of the abode of Metes*. The names of places agreeing with those in the Argonautics, which Strabo asserts were to be found in Colchis and its neighbourhood, prove nothing: they may have been given (as was so usually the case, ) in later times, or have been corruptions of barbarous terms. The practice also which he mentions, of placing fleeces in the streams of Caucasus to catch the gold which they rolled down, is not very credible ; and it is rather doubtful whether these mountains are auriferous*. It is finally to be observed, that another and perhaps an earlier tradition sent the Argonauts to the Tauric Chersonesus’. The easterly direction of the voyage being so impro- 1 See above, p. 56. Demetrius Skepsius (Strabo i.) asserted justly, that Homer knew nothing of the voyage to the Phasis. 2 Strabo xi. says, that the streams in the country of the Soanes (far from the Phasis) are said to roll down gold, which the barbarians re- ceive in perforated troughs and sheep-skins with the wool on. 3 Muller, Orchomenos, p. 279, 428 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. bable, are we not at liberty to suppose that it may have been in reality westerly ',—a direction in which we have every reason to suppose that the early Greeks did make voyages ? The earliest mention of it is in the Odyssey ; where Circe, when instructing the hero how he was to reach home, tells him, that beyond the isle of the Sirens lie the Wandering Rocks, which not even the pigeons which brought ambrosia to father Zeus could pass without one of their number being crushed by them, and which smashed all the ships that attempted to sail through. She adds, that the all-sung or all-interesting (maoséAovca) Argo had alone escaped, as she was sailing from the abode of Aetes, by the aid of Hera to whom Jason was dear. Circe dwelt in the extreme West, and she and Aetes were the children of the Sun by an Oceanide. The Ocean- nymphs all resided with their sire in the western portion of his stream, and there is strong reason to suppose that Helius and the other Light-deities were believed in the Homeric age to reside in the West and not in the East®, Why then separate Metes from his kindred, and place him at the other end of the earth?* May not accounts of the gold and of the numerous flocks of Spain have reached Greece through the Pheenicians ? and may not Coleus the Samian* not have been the first Greek who sailed in that direction, and brought home a rich cargo? Weare further to recollect, that the national spirit in Greece appears to have undergone an alteration during the time between ' Niebuhr, when giving instances of the inversion of legends, says: ‘‘According to one tradition, Argo sailed through the Swimming Rocks, which divide the sea navigated by the Greeks from that which they had not tried, as Cyaneans in the East; according to another, as Plancte in the West of the Earth.” Besides the ancient, he quotes the modern instances of the tradition of the Saxons eoming ‘by sea to Germany, founded on their invasion of Britain, and of the story of Shylock being told of a Christian in the time of Pope Sixtus V. ° Though Voss, Mythol. Briefe, Brief 57, scouts the opinion of Heyne, that the abode of the Sun was in the West, we are disposed to think that the latter was right, at least for the Momeric times. 3 See above, p. 245, note 3. 4 Herod. iv. 152. THE ARGONAUTIC EXPEDITION. 429 the Argonautic expedition and the Theban wars, and to have become military and. conquering, instead of agricul- tural, commercial, and peaceful. On the supposition of the voyage having been to the West, the puzzling circumstance of almost all accounts agreeing to make the Argo return through the Mediter- ranean becomes explicable. The “‘all-sung’”’ Odyssey ex- pressly asserted it, and no poet might venture to deny it. It only remained to devise a mode by which she could get round to the western part of that sea. Two great rivers, the Ister and the Tanais, were found to disembogue their waters, which flowed from distant and unknown sources, into the Euxine; the Phasis also, a stream of some mag- nitude, entered it at Colchis. The poets and geographers therefore had their choice of these streams’. Accordingly Hesiod, Pindar, and Antimachus conducted the Argo- nauts up the Phasis into the Ocean, and round to the coast of Libya, across which they carried the Argo on their shoulders (in twelve days, according to the Theban poet,) and launching it on Lake Triton entered tne Medi- terranean. Hecateeus of Miletus, the predecessor of Hero- dotus, made them sail up the Nile from the Ocean, and so into the Mediterranean ; but Artemidorus of Ephesus, and the geographer Eratosthenes, showed in opposition to him, that the Phasis does not communicate with the Ocean. Pisander and Timagetes, who was followed by Apol- lonius Rhodius, led them up the Ister, and down one of its branches (the Rhone probably), into the Keltic or Tyr- rhenian sea. Timeus, Scymnus, and others, made their course lie up the Tanais, to its source, from which they 1 The chief authorities on this subject are the Scholia on Lib. iv. 259, and 284. of the Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius. See also Diodo- rus, iv. With respect to Hecateus, there is considerable variance in these Scholia :—at ver. 259. it is said, that he brought the Argo up the Phasis and the Nile; but at ver. 284. itis asserted, that he proved, in op- position to Hesiod, that the Phasis did not communicate with the Ocean. This last (which we inadvertently followed above, p. 244.) is undoubtedly wrong: perhaps the Scholion is corrupt; it has a dis- jointed appearance. 430 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. dragged their vessel to another unnamed stream, which carried them into the Ocean, and: they sailed home by Gades. The Pseudo-Orpheus leads them up the Phasis, and then down another arm of the same stream, called the Saranges, into the Palus Mzotis, at the head of which they entered astream (probably the Tanais), up which they went, and on the tenth day reached the Rhipzan moun- tains, where the Argo rushed into that part of the Ocean which ‘‘ the Hyperboreans call the Cronian Main and Dead Sea.”’ Having rowed for some time through its sluggish waters, they disembarked, and dragging their vessel along came on the sixth day to the country of the Long-lived (Macrobii), to whom the poet gives all the qualities and all the felicity of Hesiod’s Golden Men. They then reached the land of the Kimmerians, which lay on the same coast ; and having passed by the isle Iernis (Ireland 2), on the twelfth morn the sharp-sighted Lynceus descried on the verge of Ocean “‘ the piny isle, in which is the extensive abode of queen Demeter,” as it lay enveloped in mist. Orpheus having warned him of the danger of approaching it, Anceus steered for the isle of Circe, which they reached onthe third day. Leaving it, they entered the strait of Tartessus, and passing the Pillars of Hercules arrived in the Mediterranean. Such are the various ways by which the Argo was brought from the Euxine into the Mediterranean. An- other set of writers, however, namely, Sophocles, in his Scythians ; Herodorus of Heracleia, in his Argonautics ; Dionysius of Miletus, whom Diodorus follows ; and Calli- machus,—boldly brought the Argonauts home by the way they went, without any circumnavigation whatever’. Ta OnBatka.—The Theban Wars. When Cidipus, onthe discovery of hisinvoluntary crime, had either died or abandoned his throne’, his sons Etéocles PMc: ai Aen MMOS ES ' See Muller’s Orchom. cap. 12 and 13. ® See above, p. 303. Sao ll THE THEBAN WARS. 431 and Polyneices agreed to reign year and year about. Ac- cording to some, Polyneices governed for the first year, and then resigned his throne to his brother; others say that Eteocles was the first occupant of the royal seat: all are agreed that when his year was expired he refused to make way for his brother. Polyneices fled to Argos, taking with him the collar and peplus of Harmonia. Adrastus the son of Talatis the son of Bias then reigned at Argos. It _ was night when the Theban exile arrived at the house of the king: before the door he met another stranger, Tydeus the son of GEneus, also a fugitive : a quarrel arose between them : at the clamour Adrastus came forth and put an end to the conflict. An oracle had told this prince that he should marry his two daughters to a lion and a bear, and he now saw its accomplishment, for such were the orna- ments on the shields of the strangers. He gave Deipyla to Tydeus, and Argeia to the Theban prince, engaging to restore each to his country. The expedition against Thebes was the first resolved on. Each valiant warrior was invited to share init. The leaders were seven: Adrastus, Amphiaraiis, Capaneus, Hippémedon,—Argives; Polyneices, a Theban; Tydeus, an AZtolian; Parthenopeus, an Arcadian. Some, instead of Tydeus and Polyneices, name Eteocles, the son of Iphis and Mecisteus. Amphiaratis the son of Oicles was a soothsayer, and he knew by his art that it was fated that Adrastus alone should survive the war: he therefore declined taking part in the expedition, and warned the others against it. Polyneices was advised by Iphis to endeavour to gain Eriphyle, the sister of Adrastus and wife of Amphiarais ; for on his marriage he had agreed, that whenever he and Adrastus should differ in opinion, the decision should be left to Eriphyle. Polyneices therefore gave her the collar of Harmonia, and the prophet was reluctantly forced to share in the war. He departed with evil forebodings, charging his sons to avenge his fate on their mother. The host marched to Nemea, where Lycurgus then 432 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. reigned. Being in want of water, Hypsipyle, the Lemnian princess, whom her country-women had sold when they — found that she had saved her father, and who was now nurse to the infant child of Lycurgus, undertook to guide them to.a spring. She left the child Opheltes lying on the grass, where a serpent found and killed him. The leaders slew the serpent, and buried the child. Amphiaratis augured ill-luck from this event, and called the child Archémorus. They celebrated there funeral games in hishonour. Adras- tus gained the prize in the horse-race, Eteocles in the foot- race, Tydeus in the cestus, Amphiaraiis in jumping and throwing the discus, Laddicus in casting the javelin, Po- lyneices in wrestling, Parthenopzus in archery. When they came to the banks of the Asopus near Ci- theron, they despatched Tydeus to Thebes, to claim a re- stitution of the rights of Polyneices. He arrived as the Cadmeians were feasting in the halls of Eteocles; and, after delivering his embassy, challenged them to a trial of skill and strength, and easily vanquished every one who contended with him. They laid an ambush of fifty men for him on his return, all of whom except Meon, one of their leaders, he slew’. The Argive host appeared before the walls of Thebes. Each chief chose one of its seven gates to attack; Adrastus, the Homoléian ; Capaneus, the Ogygian ; Amphiaraiis, the Preetian ; Hippomedon, the Oncaian ; Polyneices, the Hypsistian; Parthenopzus, the Electrian; Tydeus, the Crénian. Eteocles set chiefs equal in number over the Thebans, and prepared vigorously for defence. He con- sulted Teiresias, who declared that victory would fall to Thebes, if Menceceus the son of Creon gave himself a voluntary victim; and that heroic youth learning the re- sponse, slew himself at the gates of the city. The fight began: the Cadmeians were driven into the city : Capaneus set aladder against the wall, and was as- oa en * Hom. Il. iv. 283, e¢ seg. The people of Thebes are by Homer al- ways called Cadmeians. THE THEBAN WARS. 433 cending, when Zeus offended at his impious language struck him witha thunderbolt. The Argives fell back, and many were slain. Both hosts resolved that the brothers should decide their quarrel in single combat. They fought, and fell by each other’s hands. The battle was rekindled with fury,and the four sons of Astacus greatly distinguished themselves, Ismarus killing Hippomedon, Leades Eteocles, Amphidicus Parthenopeus, and Melanippus wounding Tydeus in the belly. As he lay expiring, Athena hastened to him with a medicine which she had obtained from Zeus, and which would make him immortal. But Amphiaraus, who hated him as a chief cause of the war, perceiving what the goddess was about, cut off the head of Melanippus, whom Tydeus though wounded had slain, and brought it tohim. The savage warrior opened it, and devoured the brain, and Athena in disgust withheld her aid. Amphia- raus fled from the spear of Periclymenus, along the Is- ménus. A thunderbolt launched by Zeus opened the ground, and he, his chariot, and his charioteer Bato, were swallowed up. Adrastus alone, owing to the fleetness of his steed Areion, escaped. Creon, now king of Thebes, forbade the bodies of the Argives to be buried. Regardless of the menaced penal- ties, Antigone gave sepulture to the body of her brother Polyneices, and was by Creon remorselessly entombed alive. Adrastus flying to Athens took refuge at the altar of Mercy ; and Theseus leading an Athenian army against the Thebans, forced them to give the dead bodies to their friends. As Capaneus lay on his burning pyre, his wife Evadne, the daughter of Iphis, flung herself amidst the flames, and died. Ten years afterwards the children (éziyovot, descend- ants) of the chiefs who had fallen resolved to avenge the fate of their sires. The god when consulted promised them victory if led by Alemzon the son of Amphiaraus. Alc- mon would however first punish his mother; but Ery- phile, who had received the peplus of Harmonia from Thersander the son of Polyneices, persuaded both him and 2F 434 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. his brother Amphilochus to join in the expedition. Aigia-— leus son of Adrastus, Diomedes of Tydeus, Promachus of Parthenopeus, Sthenelus of Capaneus, Eurypylus son of Mecisteus, were the other leaders. Alcmzon had the chief command. They ravaged the villages about Thebes. A battle en- sued : Laodamas the son of Eteocles slew Aigialeus, and fell himself by the spear of Alemzon. The Thebans fled. By the advice of Teiresias, they secretly left their city, which was entered and plundered by the Argives, and Thersander placed on the throne. Alcmzon learning the treachery of his mother against himself, consulted Apollo, and by his advice put her to death. He was immediately assailed by an Erinnys. In phrenzy he roamed through Arcadia, came first to Oicles, and from him to Phegeus at Psophis, who purified him, and gave him his daughter Arsinoe or Alphesibeea in marriage. He presented his bride with the fatal collar and peplus. A dearth oppressing the land on his account, the god directed him to go to the Acheloiis, and there to builda town. He went to Calydon, thence to 'Thesprotia, whence he was expelled, and coming to the springs of Achelous was purified by the river-god himself, who gave him to wife his daughter Callirrhoe. On the soil just de- posited by the stream he fixed his dwelling’. Callirrhoe now longed for the collar and peplus of Harmonia, and refused to admit the embraces of her hus- band until she had obtained them. Alemzon returned to Psophis, and telling Phegeus that his madness would never end till he had deposited the collar and peplus at Delphi, got them from him; but his servant be- traying his secret, the sons of Phegeus by order of their father lay in wait for and slew him. Arsinoe upbraiding them with the murder was put by them into a chest and brought to Agapénor the son of Anceus, at Tegea, and ac- cused of the crime which they had committed. 1 Thue. il. 102. THE TROJAN WAR. 435 Callirrhoe learning the fate of her husband prayed to Zeus, who had loved her, that her sons by Alemzon might at once attain to manly age, to avenge their father. Her prayer was granted, and they hastened to vengeance. The sons of Phegeus, on their way to Delphi to conse- crate the collar and peplus, stopped at the house of Aga~ penor: here they met the sons of Alemzon, who slew them, and then went to Psophis and killed Phegeus and his wife. The Psophites pursued them to Tegea; the Tegeans and some Argives aided them, and the Psophites were forced to retire. The youths returned to their mother with the collar and peplus, which by the direction of Achelous they consecrated at Delphi, and then went to Epirus, and founded Acarnania. The Theban war, and the events connected with it, have supplied abundant materials for the poets of every class. Most of its circumstances are alluded to by Ho- mer!; and numerous dramas, many of which are extant *, attest the interest attached to it by the popular mind. Of the truth of the main events, so far as the word truth applies to any mythic narrative, we see no sufficient rea- son to doubt. That a man expelled, like Polyneices, by his brother from his share in the government, should endeavour to recover it by foreign aid, is in perfect accor- dance with human nature and with the manners of the age. Ta Tpwixa. The Trojan War. Zeus was, by Electra the daughter of Atlas, the father of two sons, [Asion and Dardanus. The former was loved ee eS SS ee ee a a aaa 1 []. iv. 376, et seq. v. 800, et seg. Od. xi. 326. 2 Eschylus’ Seven against Thebes ; Sophocles’ Antigone ; Euripides’ Pheenisse and Suppliants. For the Theban wars, see also Diodorus, lib. iv. and the Thebais of the Latin poet Statius. yy? 436 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. by Demeter; but Zeus coming to the knowledge of this attachment struck him with lightning’, Dardanus af- flicted at the death of his brother left Samothrace, where they had dwelt, and passed over to the main-land, where Teucer the son of the river Scamander and the nymph ‘Idea then reigned, from whom the people were called _ Teucrians. He was well received by this prince, who gave him his daughter Bateia in marriage, and a part of his territory, on which he built a town called Dar- danus. On the death of Teucer, he named the whole country Dardania. He left two sons, Ilus and Erichtho- nius. The former died childless, the latter succeeded his father. Erichthonius was the most wealthy of men. His three thousand mares and their foals fed in the marsh ; and Bo- reas falling in love with them, changed himself into a horse, and by them had twelve foals, which like the celestial steeds could run on the ears of corn or the waves of the sea’. By Astyoche, daughter of the Si- mois, Erichthonius had Tros, who succeeded him on the throne. Tros married Callirrhoe daughter of the Scamander, who bore him a daughter Cleopatra, and three sons Ilus, Assaracus, and Ganymédes. This last was for his beauty carried off to Olympus by the gods, to be the cup-bearer of Zeus, who gave Tros in compensation some horses of the Olympian breed ’®. Assaracus married Hieromnéme daughter of the river Simois, by whom he had Capys, who was by Themis the daughter of Ilus father of Anchises, to whom Aphrodite eee " Hom. Od. v. 125. Apollod. iii. 11. 2 STH xxy 220! ii * Il. xx. 234. v. 265. This last passage appears to be somewhat in contradiction to Il. xx. 220; but in fact the genuineness of the whole, or at least the greater part, of the speech of Aneas, II. xx. 199, 258, is liable to very just suspicion. How, for example, can ver. 235 be made to agree with Il. iv. 3, of whose genuineness there can be no doubt? THE TROJAN WAR. 437 bore a son, Auneas. By secretly giving mortal mares to the celestial steeds of Tros, Anchises obtained six foals of surpassing fleetness, four of which he kept, and two he gave to draw the war-car of his son’. Ilus went to Phrygia, and won at wrestling, in games given by the king, fifty youths and as many maids. The kine also in obedience to an oracle, gave him a spotted cow, and told him to build a city where she should lie down. TIlus followed the cow till she came to the hill of Ate (Mischief), where he built the town of Ilion, named from himself. He prayed to Zeus to give him a sign, and the following day he found the Zeus-fallen Palladium lying before his tent. This image was three ells long, with its legs joined, holding in one hand an elevated spear, in the other a distaff and spindle. Laomedon the son of Ilus married Strymo the daugh- ter of the Scamander, or Plakia the daughter of Atreus or Leucippus, by whom he had Tithonus, who was carried off by Eos, Lampon, Clytius, Hiket4’on, Podarkes, He- sione, Killa and Asty’oche, and by the nymph Calybe, Bucdlion. Podarkes or Priamus reigned over Ilion after his father ®. He married Hecuba, the daughter of Dymas the Phry- gian, and sister of Asius ; or, as others say, the daughter of Cisseus. By her he had several children, of whom the chief were Hector, Paris or Alexander, Deiphobus, Helenus, Troilus, Cassandra, Creusa, Polyxene. Cas- sandra was loved by Apollo, and she consented to admit his embraces if he would give her the gift of prophecy. The god assented, but the princess, now become a pro- phetess, broke her faith. Unable to recall his gift, Apollo made it useless by declaring that no one should believe her®. Alexander carried off Hélena the wife of Menelaiis, and caused the Trojan war. The cause of this abduction of Helena is not given by a a ETS eae er ee 1 J. v. 268. 2 See above, p. 327. 3 See above, p.92. This story of Cassandra was unknown to Homer. 438 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Homer, but the later poets took care to supply the defi- ciency. They also invented the following pretty legend of the birth and previous life of Paris. When Hecuba was about to lie-in of Paris, she dreamed that she brought forth a burning torch, which set all Ilion in flames. On telling this dream to Priam, he sent for his son AXsacus, by his former wife Arisba the daugh- ter of Merops, who had been reared and taught to inter- pret dreams by his grandfather. AZsacus declared that the child would be the destruction of his country, and recommended to expose him. As soon as born, the babe was given to a servant to be left on Ida to perish. The servant obeyed, but on returning at the end of five days, he found that a bear had been nursing the infant. Struck with this strange event, he took home the babe, reared him as his own son, and named him Paris. When he grew up he distinguished himself by his strength and courage in repelling robbers from the flocks, and the shepherds named him Alexander’. He married Ginone the daughter of the river Kebren, who had been taught prophesy by Rhea. (CEnone warned him against sailing after Helena, and when she could not dissuade him, told him to come to her whenever he was wounded, for she alone could cure him. When therefore Philoctetes had wounded him with the arrows of Hercules, he desired to be borne to CEnone; but offended by his desertion of her she refused to aid him, and Paris died on his re- turn to Ilion, Repenting, she hastened with her reme- dies, but arriving too late she strangled herself through grief, The birth of Helena has been already related’. Homer only tells us that she was the daughter of Zeus, and mar- ried to Menelaiis, Later poets say that her hand being sought by all the princes of Greece, Tyndareus was in. doubt how to act, fearing riot and tumult ; when Odys- To 1 °’Amo tov ddééery Tous éiydpas. * See above, p. 390, THE TROJAN WAR. 439 seus one of the suitors, not being very confident of success, proposed to him that if he would get him Penelope the daughter of his brother Icarius, he would devise a plan that no discord should arise among the suitors. Tynda- reus agreed, and Odysseus then desired him to exact an oath from them, that if any one should attempt to injure the fortunate candidate, they would all aid him in getting satisfaction. The suitors swore: Tyndareus chose Mena- laiis, and procured his niece for Odysseus. When Paris carried off Helena, the princes were sum- moned to assist in recovering her. The place of rendezvous was Aulis of Beotia. Thither came the venerable Nestor, with his sons ; Odysseus, son of Laertes ; Diomedes, son of Tydeus; Sthenelus, son of Capaneus; Alas and ‘Teu- cer, sons of Telamon ; Achilles, son of Peleus ; Patro- clus, son of Mencetius ; and all the other valiant heroes of Greece; and the command being given to Agamemnon, king of Mycene, the elder brother of Menelaiis, they em- barked on board near twelve hundred ships’, and sailed across the A‘gean. The war lasted ten years with various success, for the Trojans were powerfully aided from Thrace, Mysia, Lycia, Phrygia, and all the surrounding countries. At the end -of the ten years, after several of the bravest warriors had fallen on either side, the city was taken by the stratagem of a wooden horse filled with warriors” which was intro- duced intoit. Troy was pillaged and burned, its women and children led away captives, its wealth divided among the victors. ‘ The principal heroes who fell on the side of the Tro- jans were Hector, Paris, Deiphobus, Troilus, and other sons of Priam (the aged monarch perished in the cap- ture of the city); Sarpedon, prince of Lycia, the son of Zeus; Rhesus, king of Thrace; Memnon, son of Titho- nus and Eos. On the side of the Greeks, fell Achilles, Co Ee ra a ee ERT, 1 See the Catalogue, 11. ii. 2 Od. iv. 271, et seq. x1. 523, ef seq. 440 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. Antilochus, Tleptélemus the son of Hercules, Prote- silatis, Patroclus, Aias, and others of less note. The particulars of the war are too well known to require to be narrated. Poetry of the highest order has been consecrated to the “tale of Troy divine,” and given it an importance beyond that of any other story. What were the real causes which led to the Trojan war it is now perhaps im- possible to ascertain ; ingenuity may labour in devising motives for this earliest crusade, as we may call it, of En- rope against Asia, but the abduction of Helena will still remain one of the most likely causes that can be assigned. From both the Theban and the Trojan wars we may infer, that in what we call the Achewan period, the whole or greater part of the Peloponnesus was united under one Sceptre, and that all its forces could be directed to one object: an insult offered to his family honour may easily have induced its monarch to call his vassals and allies to arms’, The number of Achzan warriors before Troy must un- doubtedly have been considerable for those times : Aga- memnon tells them”, that they were more than as ten to’ one to the inhabitants of the town. The total of the ships given by the Catalogue is one thousand one hundred and eighty-six ; and taking a mean between the fifty men which the vessels of Philoctetes carried, and the one hundred and twenty men who went on board those of Beeotia, the entire number of the Grecian army must have been one hundred thousand eight hundred and ten men, ——a number utterly incredible for those times, and nearly equal to all that united Greece (Thessaly and northern Beeotia excepted), when fighting on her own soil for eT mE ' The Peloponnesians were obliged to give their service, Ll. xxiii. 296. - Ambassadors were sent to the other parts of Greece, Il. xi. 769, et seq. PAL 12s. THE TROJAN WAR. THE RETURNS. 441 liberty and existence, could oppose to the host of Mardo- nius at Platea'. The Macedonian king, when marching to the overthrow of the Persian empire, led but thirty- four thousand Greeks over the Hellespont. Thucydides saw the difficulty, and endeavoured to remedy it by sup- posing what there is no instance of in ancient history, namely, that the whole army was never at one time before Troy, but a part engaged in plundering expeditions, an- other part in tilling the Chersonesus *. The Catalogue however, on whose authority the great number of the Grecian army rests, is evidently the work of times long posterior to the war ; it was peculiarly liable to interpola- tion, of which it bears evident marks, as also of a desire to flatter national and local vanity ; and the number of ships and men which it assigns to some places is unreasonably large ;—Athens, for instance, sending to a distance in a quarrel not her own nearly one half of the number which she could oppose to the barbarians at Marathon. Perhaps we should be nearer the truth, in supposing that the monarch of the Peloponnesus, and of the islands, led with the aid of his allies, principally the chiefs of Thes- saly*, an army of from thirty to forty thousand men to Troy, and after a protracted siege took that town and plundered it. Oi Nooro. The Returns. The Returns were the title under which the adventures of the heroes of Greece after the capture of Troy were Re ee aa ee er ee | Herod. ix. 29. 2 Thuc. i. 10, 11. The authority of this great historian weighs in general tog much respecting the mythic times. We should recollect how inadequate his means of information were, writing as he did so many centuries after the events. 3 According to the Catalogue the Peloponnesians were forty thou- sand nine hundred and seventy; the Thessalians, twenty-three thou- sand eight hundred ;_ those of Hellas Proper, twenty-five thousand six hundred and ninety. 442 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. sung. There were numerous poems on these subjects ; but the Odyssey, or Return of Odysseus, so far eclipsed all others, that it alone came down to posterity. It is chiefly from it that we are to learn the fate of the other heroes. ‘Ayapuéuvev. Agamemnon. The Greeks, after they had taken Troy, held a council to deliberate on their return home. Agamemnon advised to stay some days, and offer sacrifices to conciliate the gods: Menelaiis urged an immediate departure: the chiefs and the people were divided. Next morning Me- nelaus, Nestor, Diomedes, Odysseus, and one half of the army, passed over to the isle of Tenedos. Odysseus how- ever quitted them, and returned to Agamemnon; and the others, with the exception of Menelaiis, sailed away and reached their homes in safety '. Cassandra the daughter of Priam had fallen to the share of the king of Mycene in the division of the spoil, and she was the companion of his return. A storm arising, he was driven to that part of the coast where Kgisthus the son of Thyestes resided. During his ab- sence A¢gisthus had carried on an adulterous intercourse with his wife Clytemnestra, and he had set a watchman, with a promise of a large reward, to give him tidings of the return of the king. As soon as he learned that he was on the coast, he went out to welcome him, and in- vited him to his house. At the banquet in the evening, he with the participation of Clytemnestra placed twenty men in concealment, who fell on and slaughtered him, Cassandra, and all his companions ; who, however, died not unrevenged, for Aigisthus alone was left alive’. _ fgisthus now occupied the throne; but Orestes the son of Agamemnon was still alive. He had been saved by one of his sisters, and sent to Phocis to Strophius, ee ett en) an Od. 11, 187, e¢ seg. * Od, iv. 512, et seg. xi. 405, et seq. AGAMEMNON. 443 with whose son Py'lades he formed a strict friendship. When he grew up he and Pylades secretly returned to Mycene’, where he killed his mother and /Egisthus. The Erinnies of his mother persecuted him. He fled to Delphi, whose god had urged him to commit the deed, and thence went to Athens, where he was acquitted by the Court of Areiopagus. He took possession of the throne of his father, and married Hermione the daughter of Menelaiis, by whom he had Tisamenus and Penthilus, who were driven from their country by the Heracleides. Some say that Orestes killed at Delphi Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, to whom Menelatis had given Hermione in marriage. The daughters of Agamemnon were Laodice or Electra, Chrysothemis, and Iphianassa. or Iphigeneia. The tale of the sacrifice of this last at Aulis to obtain a favourable wind; of her deliverance by Artemis, who transported her to the Tauric Chersonesus to officiate there at her blood-stained altars; of her brother and Pylades arriving there, her saving their lives and escaping with them,—is a manifest fiction of later times, when the Greeks had become acquainted with the human sacrifices and bar- barous rites of distant tribes, and long posterior to the days of Homer. The destinies of ‘‘ Pelops’ line” were a fruitful source of materials to the Attic dramatists. They are the sub- jects of some of their finest pieces which have come down to us; but they underwent modification in the hands of each dramatist, who constructed the tale as best suited the object he had in view. AXschylus has left us a mag- nificent trilogy—the Agamemnon, Libation-bearers, and Eumenides—on this story; Sophocles, his Electra; Eu- Oa enn nen nour Ene cern cs 1 Homer (Od. iii. 307.) says he came in the eighth year from Athens. 444 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ripides, his Orestes, Electra, and Andromache. It is a curious employment to compare the dramas of these three great poets which treat of the same subject, i.e. the Libation-bearers and the two Electras, and to mark the different characters of the authors. It is, however, not acting with perfect fairness by Euripides, to set one of his very worst pieces against two of the best of those of his rivals. MevéXaoc. Menelaiis. Menelaiis stayed at Tenedos after his companions, whom he overtook at Lesbos. He and Nestor kept com- pany until they reached Cape Sunion in Attica. Apollo here slew with his ‘‘ gentle darts” Phrontis, the pilot of Menelaiis’s ship, who was obliged to stay to bury him. Having performed the due rites, he again put to sea; but as he approached Cape Maleia, Zeus sent forth a storm which drove some of his vessels to Crete, where they went to pieces against the rocks. Five, on board of one of which was Menelaiis himself, were carried by the wind and waves to Egypt". During the eight years of his absence Menelaiis visited all the adjacent coasts, Cyprus, Phoenicia and Egypt, the AEthiopians, Sidonians and Erembians, and Libya*, where the lambs are born horned, and the sheep yean three times a year, and milk, cheese, and flesh are in the utmost abundance, for king and shepherd alike. In these various countries he collected much wealth; but leaving Egypt on his voyage homeward, he neglected offering sacrifices to the gods, and was in consequence detained by want of wind at the isle of Pharos, which was distant from Egypt a day’s sail of a ship with a favouring SS ee ee ee 1 Od. ili. 276, et seq. 2 Od. iv. 81, e¢ seg. We thus see that Menelaiis visited all the eastern as Odysseus did all the western part of the Mediterranean. Libya must have bordered on the Lotus-eaters. MENELAUS. 445 breeze’, and which had a good harbour, where mariners used to put in to water. They were here twenty days : their stock of provisions were nearly run out, and they were obliged to pass the day in endeavouring to catch fish to support them ; when the sea-nymph Eidothea the daughter of Proteus met Menelaiis wandering alone, and informed him how to catch her father, and learn from him what he was to do. Menelaiis followed her directions ; and by the advice of the old sea-god * he returned to the river Egyptus, and there offered due sacrifices to the immortal gods. A favourable wind was then sent by them, which speedily carried him homewards; and he arrived in his native country on the very day that Orestes was giving the funeral feast for his mother and A‘gisthus, whom he had slain’. Helena was, according to Homer, the companion of all the wanderings of Menelaiis; but the Egyptian priests told Herodotus *, that Paris was driven by adverse winds to Egypt, where Proteus, who was then king, learning the truth, kept Helena and dismissed Paris ; that the Greeks would not believe the Trojans, that she was not in their city, till they had taken it; and that then Me- nelatis sailed to Egypt, where his wife was restored to him. The good Halicarnassian takes some pains to prove that Homer must have known all this, never suspecting his friends the priests of having manufactured the whole tale out of a few passages of that poet. Euripides, in his romantic drama of Helena, has followed this Egyptian account. 1 Pharos was in reality only seven stadia from the land. We will heré correct an erroneous assertion which we made in p. 233. Ac- cording to Scylax and Strabo the isle of Pharos had a port, but it was destitute of fresh water. The isle is at present submerged. We must also inform the reader that the assertion in p. 82, note 2, is incorrect: see II, 1x. 468. 2 See above, p. 218. 3 Od, iv. 351, et seq. 4 Herod. il. 113—121. 446 MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE. ‘Odvaceic. Ulysses. Odysseus sailed with the part of the army which left Agamemnon as far as Tenedos; but he there quitted them and returned to the king’. On again setting out home- wards * he landed in the country of the Ciconians in Thrace, where his men took and burned the town of Ismarus ; but delaying on the coast and feasting, they were attacked by the Ciconians and driven to their ships, with the loss of six men out of each. Sailing thence they were assailed by a storm, from which they were obliged to seek refuge on shore. On the third day, the weather clearing, they put again to sea, and had a prosperous voyage till they were doubling Cape Maleia, when a violent north-east wind arose, and carried them to the country of the Lotus-eaters. The wanderings of Odysseus until his arrival in the island of the Phzacians have been already related®. He was most hospitably received by Alcinotis the king of that people, and one of their magic vessels conveyed him and the gifts which they had given him to his native isle ; the sailors departed, leaving him, who was asleep, with his wealth on the shore. On awaking he was informed by Athena where he was; and going to the house of his swineherd Eumeus, there met and revealed himself to his son Telemachus. After a variety of adventures, he suc- ceeded in killing the princes who wooed his chaste spouse Penelope and wasted his substance. The mythic history of Greece may be considered to terminate at this point. The Migration of the Dorians, commonly called the Return of the Heracleides, who are said to have invaded the Peloponnesus in the reign of Tisamenus the son of Orestes, eighty years after the SEEDER EEneare samen me ee a 1 Od. ili. 162. * Od. ix. 39, et seq. > See above, Part I. ch. 19. _— Le eee ODYSSEUS. : 447 Trojan War, though mingled with many fabulous circum- stances, is to be regarded as a portion of true history. With the termination of the Returns the gods cease to appear visibly among men and mingle in their affairs : the oracle and the soothsayer alone remain to give a tinge of the supernatural to events: the wonderful is now con- fined to the display of human powers and virtues, to the heroism of an Aristomenes, the self-devotion of a Codrus. The purely mythic is succeeded by the mytho-historic, in which truth struggles against fable and prevails over it. This portion reaches to the end of the Persian war: its chief repository are the captivating Muses of Herodotus. After this period Grecian history becomes contemporary, and as credible as any history exposed to the influence of party-spirit and local prejudices. MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. Cuapter I. INTRODUCTION. Early State of Italy and Rome. No fact of the times anterior to history seems to be more satisfactorily ascertained, than that of Italy having been long before the foundation of Rome a highly populous and industriously cultivated region. But all records of those times, if such did ever exist, are lost never to be recovered ; and it is only from the remains of their ope- rations on the solid surface of the earth—their gigantic buildings, lakes, and canals—that we are left to conjec- ture the state of the ancient inhabitants of Italy’. In the times of the early history of Rome, three prin- cipal nations possessed the central part of the Peninsula. These were the Etruscans, the Latins, and the Sabellians. The city of Rome, whose origin is involved in such ob- scurity, rose on the confines of these three nations: her population was formed out of them: she derived from them all her institutions ; and among others her religious doctrines and rites, which she moulded and mingled in such a manner as to make it now nearly impossible to assign with any certainty to each its part in the combined whole which Roman story displays. Popular poetry is, as the example of ancient Greece shows, the great preserver of the popular religion in a society where it is of a complex and varied nature. That nee a nce nena een 1 Niebuhr’s Roman History, vol. 1. 2° 450 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. of Greece teemed with legends of the adventures of its gods; each of which became the theme of popular verse, passed from mouth to mouth, was sung at the festivals of the deity whose acts it recorded, was varied, changed, and modified by each narrator; and when at length, by open- ing an intercourse with Egypt, Greece obtained, in the papyrus, the means of preserving her literature, num- bers of these legends were secured from the weakness and defects of the memory. Thousands of others still floated about, and were gradually sunk in the stream of oblivion. | | But in Italy the case was different: the people of this country seem not to have possessed the lively fancy and ready invention of the natives of Hellas. Their religion was, as far as we can discern, of a more serious and sim- ple character. No wars or crimes seem to have polluted the beings whom they adored ; and the virtue of the Ita- lian maids and matrons was safe from the lust of the gods who ruled over mankind’. Hence the most fruitful source of Grecian legend was wanting in Italy; and the poet, when he would raise a hymn to accompany the sacrifice to a god, could only, like a Christian bard, extol his good- ness and implore his favour. When, therefore, the papy- rus made its way to Italy, though it might have found numerous ballads in praise of illustrious men, and hymns in honour of the gods to record, it met no love-adventures of the latter to impress on its pages. The cause of this character of the Italian religion it is scarcely possible to assign. It cannot justly be imputed to the rigid spirit of caste which some think prevailed in that country ; for India, where caste has subsisted from time immemorial, is richer in theological legendary lore than even Greece, the Mother of Fable. ' See the praises which Dionysius (Antiq. Rom. i. 18, 19.) bestows on this account on the religion of the Romans. The birth of Romulus and Remus was evidently a fiction of the times when the Romans were become acquainted with the mythology and history of Greece. EARLY STATE OF ITALY AND ROME. 451 Besides the religious systems and deities of the three nations above enumerated which Rome adopted, she early, —even in the regal period,—began, with that facility which always distinguished her, to appropriate the gods of Greece. Her knowledge of them was, it is probable, chiefly derived from the Grecian colonies in Italy ; from whom she also obtained those oracles called the Sibylline Books, which are known to have been Greek, and which always enjoined the adoption of Grecian rites and Grecian deities. When her arms had penetrated to the south of the Peninsula, and the cities of Magna Grecia acknow- ledged her dominion, poets of this country sought the favour of the Mistress of Italy, by celebrating her origin and her deeds in her own language. Nevius sang, in Saturnian verse, (the ancient measure of. Italian poetry,) the chief events from the voyage of /Eneas to the end of the first Punic war. Ennius boldly and contemptuously sought to banish the rude free form of measure in which the Romans at their banquets sang the deeds of their fathers, and digested in Grecian hexameters the events which it recorded into his Annals. Grecian forms now supplanted all the old Italian ones: Grecian mythology, with all its legends, was rapidly poured in upon Rome. Each succeeding age saw the Greco-mania increase : the people of education looked with contempt on the rude lays of their forefathers and their simpler religion ; the homely old ballads of the Cossi and Cethegi fell into oblivion: the entire literature of Rome became Grecian; and but for the meritorious efforts of Ovid, who to the genius of a poet united the diligence of an antiquarian, we should have hardly an Italian legend remaining. His works, with those of Virgil, who possessed the same qualities, and some short notices in Varro, Cato, the historians, and the Fa- thers of the Church, Augustine, Arnobius, and Lactantius, are almost the only sources whence any account of the old mythology of Italy can be derived. But on reading these poets, we cannot fail to be struck with the manner in oGle 452 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. which it was attempted to force ancient rites and monu- ments into an accordance with the Grecian legends, and to. discern the influence of the humanising system of Euhe- merus introduced by Ennius into Rome,—a system which, wherever adopted, has the certain effect of depriving popular religion of all its charms. We will attempt to give a slight idea of the character of the religious systems of the three nations from whom Rome derived her religion, and shall then enumerate the principal deities she worshiped, with the very few legends of them that remain. The Etruscan Religion. The disposition of the Etruscans was melancholy and serious; their form of government a rigid aristocracy, administered by an hereditary race or caste of priestly nobility. Their religion was founded on peculiar views of the world and its periods, and the art of learning the will of the supernal powers by the thunder, the lightning, and other aerial phenomena. The rules and principles of this Science were contained in books ascribed to a subterra- nean demon named Tages, who, the Tuscan legend said, had risen up, a babe in form, an aged man in wisdom, from under the soil before the plough of a peasant: of | Tarquinii as he was at his work, and who instructed the people in divination’. The Etruscans worshiped a supreme god, whom they called Tina, answering to the Jupiter of the Romans, the Zeus of the Greeks. They held that he was aided by a council of twelve gods, six male and as many female. These were called by the general name of Consentes or Complices (the Latin of the Etruscan word), according to Varro”, because they are born and die together. The same writer tells us that their individual names were ' Cic. De Div. ii. 23. Ovid, Met. xv. 558, Joh. Lydus, De Ostentis, iii, 2 Apud Arnobium, ii. 123. ETRUSCAN RELIGION. LATIN RELIGION. 453 unknown. The general Etruscan term for a god was fisar'’. Tina, Kupra and Ménerfa (the two latter deities an- swering to the Juno and Minerva of the Romans), had always contiguous temples in the citadel of every Etrus- can city*. Hencethe united temples of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, which crowned the Capitol at Rome. A goddess named Nortia, answering to the Roman Fortuna, was worshiped at the Tuscan city of Vulsinii’. Vertumnus also was one of the deities of Etruria. The Lares, which form so conspicuous a portion of the Roman religion, it is probable belonged originally to the Etruscan system. Their name is Tuscan, and seems to signify Lord, as it is prefixed to the names of the Tuscan Lucumones or nobles’. As soon as an intercourse was opened between Etruria and Greece or her colonies, the Grecian mythology made most rapid progress in that country; and the deities and legends of Greece became so closely interwoven in the system of Etruria, that it is with the utmost difficulty any vestiges of the original domestic system can be traced °. The Romans, previous to their acquaintance with Greece, always looked up to Etruria as their instructress. The patrician children were sent thither for education ; all the royal and consular ornaments were borrowed from that country; and the science and the religious ceremonies of Rome were almost entirely derived from Etruria. The Latin Religion. Late writers have made it extremely probable that the Latins were a mixed people, formed out of the aboriginal Ger sat 1 Suetonius, Octav. 97. 2 Servius ad An. 1, 422. 3 Livy, vil. 3. 4 In the Latin language Lar, the deity, makes Laris in the genitive. When applied to men its genitive is Lartis. This was evidently done for the sake of distinction. 5 See Muller, Die Etrusker. 454. MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. inhabitants of the country, and the Pelasgians, that ex- tensive race which originally possessed Greece and a por- tion of Lesser Asia. This is perhaps the best principle on which the great similarity of the Latin and Greek lan- guages can be accounted for; and it will also in a great measure, taken however in combination with the general one, explain the agreement of their religious systems, and the facility with which the religion and mythology of Greece were adopted at Rome. The Latins were a people who carried agriculture to a high degree of perfection ; so much so, that the Pomptine marshes, so pestilential and deserted under the dominion of ancient and modern Rome, were in remote times the seat of twenty-three flourishing towns '. This will perhaps best account for the circumstance of so much of the religion and so many of the deities of Rome being of a rural character. The greater part of the Roman gods may be regarded as those of their Latin forefathers. The Sabellian Religion. Under the name of Sabellians may be comprised all the tribes of the Apennines east of Latium. It is therefore inclusive of the Sabines, Samnites, Marsians, and all their kindred clans; and it is by no means improbable, that the Umbrians to the north and the Oscans to the south of them were of the same race with the Sabellians. The rigid virtues of a portion of the Sabellian race, particularly the Sabines, were always the theme of praise at Rome. Grazing and agriculture were the chief em- ployments of these hardy tribes, and their religion was in- timately connected with these arts; and consequently, we may suppose, bore much resemblance to that of the Latins. It has always been asserted that a great portion of the Roman religion was of Sabine origin. Virgil at- Se ! Pliny, iii. 5. SABELLIAN RELIGION. 455 tributes the first culture of the vine to Sabinus, a deity of the Sabines, mortalised indeed by him, as were all the ancient gods of Italy, according to the prevailing fashion of his day. Mamers or Mars, the tutelar god of Rome and the fabled sire of its reputed founder, was also a Sa- bellian deity: an erect lance was the symbol before which he was worshiped. The Marsian portion of this race were as remarkable for their skill in detecting the will of the gods in the flight and voice of the birds, as the Etruscans for discerning it in the electric phenomena of the sky. Such is a very slight sketch of the religious systems of the ante-Roman nations of central Italy. We now pro- ceed to the fragmentary notices of the deities adored at Rome in the period of which the history has come down to us. One of the most remarkable features in the ancient Roman religion is, that though it admitted not the births, marriages, and generations of its deities, like that of Greece, it usually represented them in pairs, consisting of a male and a female. Thus we find Tellumo and Tellus, Saturnus and Ops, Dianus and Diana, Lupercus and Luperca. This principle was even extended to the vital powers : hence animus and anima, and hence perhaps also the Populus (masc.) and the Pilebs (fem.) into which the population of Rome and other Italian towns was divided”. The Romans distributed their deities into two classes, resembling the original division of the patriciant ribes ; namely, Gods of the Greater and Gods of the Lesser Houses (Dii Majorum et Minorum Gentium). In the former division, also called the Select Gods, they placed the following twenty deities :—Janus, Jovis, Saturnus, Genius, Mercurius, Apollo, Mars, Vulcanus, Neptunus, NO ESCA el eS er rn NRT Tee te ee. ya. . paterque Sabinus Vitisator, curvam servans sub imagine falcem,—/En. vil. 178. 2 Niebuhr’s Roman History, 1. 365. 456 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. Sol, Orcus, Liber Pater, Tellus, Ceres, Juno, Luna, Diana, Minerva, Venus, and Vesta. The Lesser Houses contained all the remaining deities. | Twelve’ of these greater gods were, like the Etruscan deities, named Consentes. Their names were thus put into hexameters by Ennius : Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, Venus, Mars, Mercurius, Jovis, Neptunus, Vulcanus, Apollo. The ancient annals also gave the following list of deities worshiped by Tatius the Sabine king” :—Ops and Flora, Diovis and Saturnus, Sol and Luna, Vulcanus and Sum- manus, Larunda, Terminus, Quirinus, Vertumnus, Lares, Diana, and Cloacina. i 1 The Greeks also worshiped and erected altars to twelve gods in common, at Athens, Olympia, and elsewhere (Thucyd. vi. 54.). Varro (DeR. R. i. 1.) enumerates the following twelve Dii Consentes of the country :-—Jovis and Tellus, Sol and Luna, Ceres and Liberus, Robi- gus and Flora, Minerva and Venus, Lympha and Bonus Eventus. * Varro, De L. L. We are not to regard this by any means asa genuine tradition : it only testifies for the antiquity of the gods enu- merated in it, JUPITER OR JOVIS. 457 Cuaprter II. DII MAJORUM GENTIUM. As no regular order prevails among these gods, we shall not confine ourselves to that given by Varro, but com- mence with the Consentes, placing the males before the females, and giving the first place to him who corresponds to the Grecian Zeus. Jupiter or Jovis. The name Jupiter is, according to all probability, the Zevc matnp of the Greeks Latinised by those natives of southern Italy, such as Ennius, who wrote in the Latin language. The original word was that given in the lines of this poet just quoted,—Jovis, or according: to Varro Diovis. As this writer speaks of three hundred gods of this name, it is probable that Diovis like Deus or Dis originally merely signified God; and in such monuments as we may suppose to be unaffected by Grecian ideas we do not meet Jupiter, like Zeus, unaccompanied by an epithet. The principal Jupiter was the Capitoline, or the Jupiter Optimus Maximus, whose temple combined with those of Juno and Minerva adorned the Capitol in Rome, and who was regarded as the great guardian of the fortune of the city’. Jupiter Elicius was so named, as we are told, from the following circumstance 2 In the time of Numa there oc- curred great thunder-storms and rain. The people and bed hints tend) nivel pal Na ee 1 Jupiter arce sua cum totum spectat in orbem, Nil nisi Romanum quod tueatur habet.—Ovid, Fast, 1. 85. 2 Ovid, Fasti, il. 285, e¢ seq. 458 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. their king were terrified, and the latter had recourse to the counsel of the nymph Egeria. She informed him that q Faunus and Picus could instruct him in the mode of ap- peasing Jupiter, but that he must.employ both art and violence to extract the knowledge from them. Accord- ingly by her advice he placed bowls of wine at a fountain whither they used to come to drink, and concealed himself in a neighbouring cavern. The rural gods came to the fount, and finding the wine drank copiously of it: they immediately afterwards fell asleep, and Numa quitting his retreat came and bound them. On awaking, they struggled, but in vain, to get free; and the pious prince, apologising for what necessity had obliged him to do, en- treated that they would inform him how J upiter was to be appeased. They yielded to his prayer, and on his loosing them drew down (“ eliciunt ’’) Jupiter by their charms. He descended on the Aventine hill, which trembled be- neath the weight of the deity. Numa was terrified, but recovering he implored the god to give a remedy against the lightning. The ruler of the thunder assented, and in ambiguous terms conveyed the relief: ‘Cut a head ” —“ of an onion from my garden” subjoined the king, —“of a man ”—* the topmost hairs ” quickly replied Numa ;—‘“ I demand a life ”—* of a fish.” The deity smiled, and said that his weapons might thus be averted, and promised a sign at sun-rise the following morning. At dawn the people assembled before the duors of the king: Numa came forth, and seated on his maple throne looked for the rising of the sun. The orb of day was just wholly emerged above the horizon, whena loud crash was heard in the sky: thrice the god thundered, without a cloud; thrice he sent forth his lightnings. The heavens opened, and a light buckler came gently wafted on the air and fell to the ground. Numa having first slain a heifer, took it up and named it Ancyle. He regarded it as the pledge of empire; and having had several made like it by the artist Mamurius, to deceive those who might a a ee NEPTUNUS. MARS, 459 attempt to steal it, committed them to the charge of the Sali. Jupiter Latiaris was worshiped by the Latin nation: the magistrates of Latium met on Mount Albanus and sa- crificed a bull. This festival was called the Feriz Latine ; the institution of it was ascribed to Tarquin the Proud °. Other appellations of Jupiter, such as Stator, Victor, Pistor, were given to him on different occasions. Jupiter Anxur was the chief god of Anxur or Terracina. Anxur is by some thought, but without reason, to be Axur, and Jupiter Anxur therefore to be quasi Zeve atupos, Unshorn Jupiter. Jupiter Feretrius was so called from Romulus vowing and offering to him the spoils of Acron king of Cenina. From the Fragments of Ennius it is evident that in his time the Romans called the god, who like the Grecian Zeus ruled over the atmosphere and caused its pheeno- mena, Jovis. That poet, in accordance with the philoso- phy then in vogue in Greece, understands by this god the material heaven. For example,— Adspice hoc sublime candens quem invocant omnes Jovem. Neptunus. Neptinus was the god of the sea, like the Greek Po- seidon, whose attributes and actions were afterwards bestowed on him. The honours of the Ludi Circenses or Consualia were shared by this deity, as horse-races formed a part of them. It may however be very much doubted whether the original Italian Neptunus was held to be the patron of the horse. Mars. Mars, or Mavors, was the Sabine Mamers or war-god. The same principle® which made Ares the sire of so many Sd eA eae aii oA Eel Se eee ea aT RE i 1 Livy, i. 12. x. 29. Ovid, Fasti, vi, 394. 2 See above, p. 80. 460 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. a Grecian hero, devised in after times the legend of his love for Rea Sylvia, which made her the mother of the founders of Rome. He was called Marspiter and Gradivus’. Mercurius. This god, whose name is so evidently derived from Merx, presided over the business of the market, and trade and commerce in general. He does not appear to have exercised any other office of the Grecian Hermes, Vulcanus or Mulciber. Vulcan was the god of fire, the Hephestus of the Greeks : but he is not represented as an artist. He was said in a not very delicate legend® to be the father of Servius Tullius, whose‘wooden statue was in consequence spared by the flames, when they consumed the temple in which it stood. He was also the reputed sire of Ceculus’®, and of the robber Cacus*. His first name is of uncer- tain origin; the last very probably comes from mulceo, to soften’. Apollo. This deity with an ancient Grecian name can hardly have belonged to the original system of Italy: his wor- ship was probably adopted in the time of the Tarquins from the Italiote Greeks. By the poets he is made to possess all the attributes of the Grecian god: he was also, chiefly under his name Phebus, identified by them with the Sun*. The god Soranus, who was worshiped on 1 Gellius, v. 12. 2 Ovid, Fasti, 627. 5 Virg. An. vii. 680. ? ZEn. vill. 198. * Those who look to the East for etymologies find Vulcan in Tubal Cain. We know not whether the resemblance between Mulciber and the Hebrew Melek gebor (m23 5»), Great King, has ever been ob- served : if not, itis at the service of critics of the school of Bochart. ® Horace, Carmen Seculare, i a ta JUNO. | 461 Mount Soracte, and in whose honour his votaries walked with naked feet on burning coals of pine-wood, was iden- tified with Apollo, probably im consequence of a legend of wolves connected with Soracte*. Juno. Juno seems to be related to Jovis, as Dione to Dis sip and to have originally signified goddess in general, perhaps a patron-goddess. Female slaves used to swear by the Junones of their mistresses. As the patroness of married women Juno was called Ma- trona. She was named Juga and Pronuba, as presiding over marriage, —Lucina, as bringing children to the light. A temple was raised to Juno Moneta, the Warner, on the spot where the house of Manlius Capitolinus was said to have stood’. A temple was vowed to this goddess by Cicereius previous to a battle with the Corsicans’*. Queen Kupra (Juno Regina) had a temple in the citadel of Veii, where her image was only to be touched by a priest of a certain family. This image, it is said, yielded visible assent to the invitation of the Romans to remove to Rome on the capture of Veil. A temple was erected for her on the Aventine, whither she was conveyed with great ceremony. Juno Caprotina was sacrificed to by the women under a wild fig-tree (caprificus) on the None Caprotine: they used a twig of this tree while thus engaged : the toga pre- tecta was given to them on this account’. Juno was greatly honoured at Gabii’: under the title of Juno Sospita she was adored at Lanuvium’*. pobeiee iui) Oe WO ee 1 Virg. En. xi, 785. and Servius thereon. 2 See above, p. 105. A Jovis, Jovino, Juno, the v being probably pronounced like our w. 3 Livy, vil. 28. 4 Livy, xlii. 7. 5 Livy, v. 21, 22. 6 Varro, DeL. L. v. 7 Virg. En, vil. 683. 8 Livy, viii. 14, xxix. 14. 462 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. Minerva. Minerva, or Menerva, corresponded in some measure to the Pallas Athena of the Greeks. She was the patroness of arts and industry, and all the mental powers were un- der her care’. She was the deity of schools: her statue was always placed in them, and school-boys got as holy- days the five days of her festival called the Quinguatrus, celebrated in the month of March: at the expiration of _ them they presented their master with a gift called Mi- nerval®, According to Varro *, Minerva was the protecting goddess of olive-yards; but it may be doubted whether this was not a transference to her of one of the attributes of the Grecian goddess Pallas Athena. The temple or chapel of Minerva on the Capitol was under the same roof with those of Jupiter and J uno, to the right of that of the former deity. On the side of the Cee- lian hill stood a temple of Minerva Capta, the origin of which name is uncertain *. The festivals of Minerva held in March and J une were called Minervalia or Quinquatrus. Vesta. The same obscurity involves this goddess as the cor- responding Hestia of the Greeks, whom she is identical] with in name and office. There is every reason to believe her to be unborrowed by the Romans, as her worship is by all testimony carried back to the earliest days of the state, and its introduction ascribed to Numa. Like Hes- tia she seems to be a deity presiding over the public and private hearth : a sacred fire, tended by six virgin-priest- esses called Vestals, flamed in her temple at Rome. Ag the safety of the city was held to be connected with its ee eee ' Hence various expressions, such as crassa Minerva, invita Minerva, mea Minerva, used when speaking of the mind. 2 Varro, De R.R. iii. 2, 5 Varro, De R. RB. i, 1. * Ovid, Fasti, iii. 835. SS ee ne a ae ee CERES. DIANA. 463 conservation, the neglect of the virgins, if they let it go out, was severely punished, and the fire was rekindled from the rays of the sun. The temple of Vesta was round : it contained no statue of the goddess’. Her festival celebrated in June was called Vestalia: plates of meat were sent to the Vestals to be offered up; the millstones were wreathed with gar- lands of flowers, and the mill-asses also crowned went about carrying bread. Ceres. Ceres, whose name probably came from creo”, was the goddess who presided over corn and tillage, thus corre- sponding to the Grecian Demeter. Her temple at Rome was under the care of the tribunes, as she was the god- dess of the agricultural plebeians. Festivals called Ce- realia were celebrated in her honour at Rome, on the nineteenth of April, with a pomp, and horse-races *, The country-people previous to beginning the harvest kept the Ambarvalia to Ceres, in which they offered her honey- combs covered with wine and milk, and a victim whom they led three times round the cornfield; the swains all following, crowned with oak, and dancing and singing». Diana. Diana is the feminine of Dianus. As the latter, ac- cording to all appearance, is the original form of Janus, so from Diana came Jana, the same as Luna, according to Varro’. Diana therefore is the same as the Selena, and probably the Artemis also, of the Greeks: she was how- ever no huntress, like the last. This goddess, who was greatly worshiped by the Latins, had a temple on the Aventine at Rome, erected at the time when Servius Tullius a ! Effigium nullum Vesta, nec ignis, habent.—Ovid, Fasti, vi. 298. 2 Ceres, according to Servius (on Geor. i. 7.), signified bread in the Sabine language. 3 Ovid, Fasti, iv. 389, et seq. * Virg. Geor. i. 345. 5 De R.R. 1. 37. 464 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. concluded a league with the Latin state. The Sabines also joined in the worship at this temple; and by stra- tagem, we are told’, the Romans acquired the right of supremacy: the temple was common property of the two contracting nations. Diana was worshiped in the grove of Aricia, not far from Rome. The priest of her temple there was always a fugitive slave who had killed his predecessor, and went _ armed with a dagger to preserve his own life and office from the attempts of others. Horses were not permitted to enter the sacred grove. It was attempted, by some obscure legend of a person named Virbius, to connect this circumstance with the story of Hippolytus*, whom the goddess was said to have restored to life and transported hither, | The festivals celebrated at Aricia in honour of Diana were called Nemoralia. Venus. Venus is a deity about whom it is almost impossible to learn anything satisfactory. She has been so thoroughly confounded with the Grecian Aphrodite, that almost every thing peculiar to her has disappeared. Her name may come from venio. She seems to have been a deity pre- siding over birth and growth in general, for as Venus Hortensis she was the goddess of gardens*. She was held to be the same as Libitina the goddess of funerals, be- cause, says Plutarch*, the one and the same goddess superintends birth and death. A temple of Venus at Rome was built with the fines imposed on matrons con- NE eee 1 Livy, i. 45. * Virg. An. vii. 761. Ovid, Met. xv. 491, et seq. Fasti, iii. 265. See Buttmann on Virbius and Hippolytus, Mythologus ii. 145. $ Coquus edit Neptunum, Venerem, Cererem: i.e. fish, vegetables, bread.—Nevius apud Festum s.v. Coguus. Adveneror Minervam et Venerem, quarum unius procuratio oliveti, alterius hortorum.— Varro, De R. R. i. * Questiones Romane, 23. VENUS. SATURNUS. 465 victed of adultery'; but as this was long after the intro- duction of the Grecian deities, nothing can be collected from it respecting the original office and character of the goddess. Venus Cloacina or Cluacina was so called, says Pliny’, from cluere, to purify ; because when the Sabines and Romans of Tatius and Romulus were reconciled, they purified themselves on the spot with myrtle vervain, and erected there a statue to Venus Cluacina. Another ac- count’ says, that a statue of an unknown deity being found in the Cloaca, it was consecrated (like Our Lady of the Rabbit-hole lately in Portugal) to Venus, under the name of Cloacina. There seems to have been no original Roman festival in honour of Venus, except perhaps the Rustica Vinalia were such. Having gone through the scanty notices which we have been able to collect of the twelve Consentian gods, we proceed to the equally scanty accounts of the remainder of the Select Gods. Saturnus. This ancient Italian deity, whose name 1s apparently derived from satus, would seem to have been originally the male god of earth corresponding to Tellumo; and this union between him and Tellus or Ops’, the female power, and perhaps his bearing the sickle emblematic of his office, may have led to the identification of him with the Kronus of the Greeks. The treasury at Rome was in the temple of Saturn ; because, says Plutarch’, he is the god of tillage, the chief source of wealth. The Saturnalia, or festivals of Saturn, were celebrated in the middle of December. They were at first for one ee 1 Livy, x. $1. 2 Hist. Nat. xv. 29. 3 Lactant. 1. 20, 4 Saturnus was united with Lua the goddess of lustration. Gell. xiii. 22. * Questiones Romane, 42. Qu 466 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. day, then extended to three, and in the time of the em- 4 perors to five. The utmost liberty prevailed at that time: all was mirth and festivity; friends made presents to each _ other ; schools were closed; the senate did not sit; no war was proclaimed, no criminal executed; slaves were permitted to jest with their masters, and were even waited on at table by them. This last circumstance probably was founded on the original equality of master and slave, -—the latter having been in the early times of Rome usually a captive taken in war, or an insolvent debtor, and consequently originally the equal of his master. As the Golden Age of Greek tradition had been under Kronus, this festival offered another means of identifying him with Saturnus. He was said to have fled from before the arms of Jupiter, and to have concealed himself in Latium, where he civilised the rude inhabitants. First from Olympus’ height ethereal came Saturnus, flying from the arms of Jove, An exile, of his realms despoiled. The race Untaught and scattered on the lofty hills He drew together, and unto them gave Laws, and the Latin race would have them called, Because he in this country lay concealed (latuisset). The Golden Age of which they tell was, then, Beneath this king,—he in such gentle peace Ruled o’er the peoples !; | and the Saturnalia were regarded as commemorative of those happy days of primeval innocence and equality. Janus. Janus was the same as Dianus, and consequently was - the Sun*. When, therefore, we are told that the Greeks had no deity corresponding to him, we must only under- MN 1 Virg. En. viii. 318. * These lines (Ovid, Fast. i. 163.),— “ Bruma novi prima est veterisque novissima Solis : Principium capiunt Phoebus et annus idem.— would seem to refer to the primitive idea of Janus. JANUS. 467 stand that they had no god whose form, attributes, and offices were the same as his. The statue of Janus at Rome was two-faced: hence he is called Bifrons and Biceps. He held in one hand a key, in the other a staff. By Janus some understood the world, and explained his double head very inartificially, by saying that he regarded his former chaotic and present digested form at the same time. In his temple at Falisci his image was four-faced; and there was a temple of Janus Quadrifrons at Rome, which was square, with a door and three windows on each side, plainly denoting that Janus was the year, with its four seasons and twelve months. His two faces have been explained, on the sup- position of his being the Sun, as denoting his rising and setting ; but perhaps the simplest reason to be assigned is the circumstance noted by Servius’, that Romulus and Tatius, i.e. the Romans and Sabines, when they agreed to ‘coalesce into one people, made an image of Janus Bifrons as a symbol of their union and distinction. This was placed at the gate built on the part of the road leading from the Quirinal or Sabine to the Palatine or Roman Hill. It was open in time of war, that the con- federates might assist each other ; shut in peace, to de- note their distinction or to prevent feuds*. The Roman As bore on one side a two-faced Janus, on the reverse a ship: according to the legend, the latter indicated the flight of Saturn, who came by sea to Latium, then ruled by Janus, by whom he was hospitably entertained and associated in his kingdom. It much more probably re- ferred to the maritime dominion of the Tyrrhenians. On the calends of January, the month called after Janus, and which began the year, magistrates entered on their office ; for Janus was held to preside over the com- mencement of every act and undertaking. Hence plead- ers used to skirmish a little at their art on the calends of ie ieee at ak eee et 1 On Mn. i. 291. 2 Niebuhr’s Roman History, i. 287. 2H 2 468 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. January; and hence, even in the sacrifices of the gods, the worshiper always began with offering wine and in- cense to Janus. Dates, dried figs, and honeycomb, with a piece of money, were offered to this god,—indicative perhaps of the simplicity of ancient times, Doors (janue) derive their name from him, as he was the opener of the year and the day, which his key denoted. Hence he was called Patulcius and Clusius. Orcus, Summanus, Vejovis aut Vedius, Dispater. These were all, as it would appear, gods of the under- world. 3 Orcus is the Hades of the Greeks. No satisfactory origin is given of his name. Varro, who in pursuance of the physical theory of the gods makes Jupiter the air, says that Orcus is the inferior part of it next the earth, in which all things come forth and decay (ortuntur et aboriuntur), whence its name’. Summanus is said to be quasi Summus Manium. Noc- turnal lightnings were ascribed to him, as the diurnal ones were to Jupiter”. A temple was erected to him in the Circus Maximus at Rome, when the people were in dread of Pyrrhus; but the learned poet who informs us of this circumstance, professes not to know who the god Summanus is*: it is however generally thought that he is the same as Orcus. Summanus is one of the gods to whom Tatius dedicated an altar at Rome. Vejovis or Vedius was a god of the under-world’. His lightnings were destructive, and they announced them- selves by causing previous deafness’, His temple at Rome stood where the Asylum had been, between the Tarpeian Rock and the Capitol. A goat was the victim offered to him; and a goat stood by his image, which was Ee 1 Varro, De LL iv: 2 Plin. Hist. Nat. ii. 52. 3 Ovid, Fasti, vi. 731. * Macrob. Sat. iii. 9. ° Ammian. Marc. xvi1. x. 2. ara LIBER PATER. SOL AND LUNA. AGo of a youthful form, with darts in its hand’. Hence some identified him with the avenging Apollo of the Greeks. His name signified Injurious Jupiter, but Ovid interprets it Little Jupiter. Dispater, or Diespiter, was also a subterrane god *,— Dis Pater. Liber Pater. Liber Pater, apparently so called from the freedom inspired by wine, was, it would seem, the god of Latium - corresponding to the Hebon of Campania and the Dio- nysus of Greece. The mad orgies and indecent exhibitions employed in the worship of this last god, when he became identified with the Phrygian Sabazius, were introduced into Rome and Latium. The government opposed and restrained them; but according to Varro*, the Phallus was exhibited and carried in procession in several places. In Lavinium the festival continued for a month, and the most indecent language was employed on that occasion. The Liberalia was a feast of Liber*: there were also festivals called Vinalia, celebrated in Latium at the com- mencement of the vintage, which was begun by the priests. At Rome the Flamen Dialis sacrificed a lamb to Jupiter, and when the entrails were cut and held forth ordered the vintage to begin. Varro’ says that the Vinalia was a day of Jupiter, not of Venus. | Sol et Luna. As Helius and Selena were distinct from Apollo and Artemis, so Sol and Luna seem to have been very early distinguished from Dianus and Diana. Tatius, as we have seen, worshiped both Diana and Luna. ar nh 1 Ovid, Fasti, iii, 430. Gellius, v. 12. 2 Macrob. ué supra. 3 August. De Civ. Dei. vil. 21. 4 Varro, De L. L. v. 5 De L.L. iv. 470 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. Genius. The Greeks had some notion of a species of beings whom Plato after Hesiod calls Demons (daipovec), who were inferior to the gods, and were the guardians of men. — Such was the celebrated Demon of Socrates. But they seem never to have formed a prominent portion of the popular system, and Demon is usually equivalent to God in Greek writers. The Genius was of much more importance in the Roman religion, which had probably borrowed it from that of the Etrurians. He was regarded as an attending spirit, asso- ciated with man from his birth; and he appeared white or black, according as a man lived well or ill’. These Genii are frequently to be seen on the paintings of the Etruscan vases. The black Genius is represented carry- ing a large hammer or mallet; they are both winged : wine and flowers were the offerings to the Genius. Phi- losophical writers, as Horace*, seem to have been inclined to regard the Genius as being the same with the Soul ; but the distinct worship of the Genius continued till the — | demise of Paganism, as it is mentioned in the Theodosian Code’. Tellus, Ops, Bona Dea, Tellumo.—Earth. The Earth, according to Varro*, was masculine as producing seed, feminine because she received and nou- rished it. Altor and Rusor were also, according to the same authority, names of the earth; the former justly derived from alo, the other with little reason from rursus, 1 Scit Genius, natale comes qui temperat astrum, Nature deus humane, mortalis in unum, Quodque caput, vultu mutabilis, albus et ater. Hor. Ep. 11. ii. 187. 2 Hor. Od. 111. xvii. 14. A, P. 209. $ Nullus Larem igne, mero Genium, Penates nidore veneratus. — De Paganis. 4 August. De Civ. Del. vii. 28. EARTH. 471 because all things went to it again. Ops is the same as opis, whence opes, wealth ; and the Earth is called Mother (mater) for the same obvious reason which gave name to Demeter. The Opalia were celebrated at Rome in honour of Ops on the fourteenth of the calends of June. Swine were the victims offered to Tellus’, on account of their fecundity, or because they turned up the eround with their snouts. The festivals of the Bona Dea were celebrated by the Roman matrons with great privacy, and everything re- lating to man carefully excluded. Gradually, with the increased corruption of morals, these festivals became scenes of profligacy and indecency. When the theory of Euhemerus was applied to the Roman theology, it was maintained that Bona Dea had been Fatua or Fauna, the daughter of Faunus, who had been so chaste and retired that she never left her chamber, or let her name be heard, or saw any man in public, or let herself be seen by any, and that hence when she was deified her rites were celebrated by matrons alone’. OE PE Se ae ne een rats Oe meth ey chic, 1 Hor. Ep. 11. i, 143. 2 Juvenal, vi. 313. 3 Varro apud Macrob. 1. 472 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. CuHapter III. DII MINORUM. _GENTIUM. Tuis division comprehends a multitude of deities ; for, ac- cording to Italian ideas, almost every action of life and process of nature was under the care of some presiding spirit: Semones, Patellarii, Vesci, are names usually ap- plied to at least some classes of them. Among these deities we are obliged to put some, which, though always of high estimation at Rome, were not placed among the Select Gods. Such for example are Quirinus and Bellona. Quirinus. Quirinus is one of the gods worshiped by Tatius. His name comes from quiris a spear, so that he was evidently a war-god. Hence he is supposed to be the same with — Mars; an opinion which acquires probability from the cir- cumstance of Mars, whom the Sabines called Mamers, not being among these gods of Tatius. When succeeding ages deified Romulus, they called him Quirinus, whence we might perhaps infer that this god had been all along regarded as distinct from Mars. Quirinus had the god- dess Flora for either a wife, a sister, or a companion‘. Bellona. Bellona, anciently Duellona, the goddess of war, was so called from bellum, in old Latin duellum. She corre- sponds to the Enyo of the Greeks. The temple of Bellona at Rome was without the city, near the Carmental Gate. Audience was given there by the senate to foreion ambassadors. Before it stood a TO 1 Gell. v. 12. LIBITINA. CONSUS. LAVERNA. 473 pillar, against which a spear was thrown on declaration of war against any people. The priests of Bellona used to gash their thighs in a terrific manner, and offer to her the blood which flowed from the wounds. Libitina. Libitina was the goddess presiding over funerals: at her temple were sold all things requisite for them ; and by an institution ascribed to Servius Tullius, a piece of mo- ney was paid there for every one who died, and the name of the deceased entered in a book called Libitine ratio’. We have seen’ that she was held to be the same as Ve- nus: her name in that case might possibly come from the old verb libeo. , Consus. This deity was, as his name denotes, the god of counsel. His altar was in the Circus Maximus, and was always covered, except on his festival-day, in the month of August, called the Consualia. Horse-races and other games were celebrated at this festival: hence Consus has probably been confounded with Neptunus Equestris, as this latter god was called to identify him with the Greek Poseidon. It was at the Consualia that the Sabine virgins were carried off by the Romans’. Laverna. Laverna was the patron-goddess of thieves, and of all in general who practised artifice and fraud*. At Rome she had an altar by the temple of Tellus, near the gate which was called from her the gate of Laverna’. 1 Dionys. iv. 2 See above, p. 464. 3 Livy, 1. 9. SOREL akag ar okt 30s Pulchra Laverna Da mihi fallere, da justo sanctoque videri ; Noctem peccatis et fraudibus objice nubem. Hor. Ep. 1. xvi. 60. 5 Porta Lavernalis. Varro, De L. L. iv. 474 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. There was also a temple of this goddess near Formia’, It is not impossible that Laverna and Latona are related, and both names, derived from dateo, significatory of darkness or obscurity *. Bonus Eventus. Bonus Eventus is one of the gods addressed by Varro in the commencement of his work on agriculture, where he joins him with Lympha. He prays to this deity, as without his aid nothing could come to a happy termina- tion. Bonus Eventus was represented with a patera or cup in one hand, and ears of corn in the other’. : Vertumnus. Vertumnus, or Vortumnus, a god whose name appa- rently comes from verto, to change, is of very dubious cha- racter. According to some he was like Mercury, a deity presiding over merchandise *. Others make him the god of Spring, or of the Seasons in general. Varro’ in one place says he was a Tuscan god, and that therefore his statue was in the Tuscan street at Rome; in another, he sets him among the gods worshiped by the Sabine king Tatius. Horace uses Vertumni in the plural number ; and the Scholiast observes, that his statues were in almost all the municipal towns of Italy. The tale of Vertumnus and Pomona we shall presently notice. Anna Perenna. The ambiguity of the name of this goddess, its re- aaa SSS ee 1 Cicero, Att. 7, 8. * It is rather curious that ¢ and v should be commutable, yet there are many instances of it, such as réAXw and vello, OéX\w and volo, kdurvs and clivus. To these may perhaps be added Latinus and Lavi- num, and certainly vallis and the German thal and English dale. 5 Plin. H. N. xxxi. 8. * Asconius, on Cic. in Verr. Scholiast on Hor. Epist.1. xx, 1. 5 D6 Eda iY: ANNA PERENNA. TERMINUS. 475 semblance to annus, amnis, and anus, and also to the Semitic proper name Anna, has led to various opinions respecting her. The most probable is, that she was the year, as prayer was made to her for a long life. She was said by some to be the Moon, or Themis, or Io, or the Atlantide Maia who reared Jupiter. These latter suppo- sitions are quite improbable, as she was an ancient Roman deity. A curious resemblance too has been traced be- tween her and the Anna Purna of Hindoo mythology. Anna the sister of Dido, another account says, followed fEneas to Italy after the death of her sister; Lavinia, jealous of the kind reception he gave her, meditated her death. Apprised by her sister in a dream, Anna fled, and coming to the banks of the Numicius, was seized by the god of the stream. When those who were in search of her came thither, her voice was heard declaring that she was a nymph of the Numicius, and was to be called Anna Perenna, because she lay in the perennial river ’. Those who derived her name from anus said, that at the time of the Secession there was an old woman named Anna who lived at Boville, who every morning baked cakes and brought them to the people. On their return to Rome, they erected a statue to her under the name of Perenna. The festivals of Anna Perenna were celebrated on the ides of March,—a further proof of her presiding over the year, which anciently began in that month. They were held near the banks of the Tiber ; dancing, singing, drink- ing and revelling, were the occupations of both sexes, and they prayed to live as many years as they drank cya- thos. The whole scene as described by Ovid strongly resembles an Irish patron’. Terminus. This ancient deity, worshiped by Tatius and Numa, ' Amne perenne latens Anna Perenna vocor. 2 For everything relating to this goddess, see Ov. Fast, ill. 523. e¢ seq. 476 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. presided, as his name denotes, over boundaries. His sta- tue was a rude stone or post, set in the ground as a mere landmark to distinguish adjacent properties. On the twenty-first of February his festival called Terminalia was celebrated. The owners of the adjoining lands met at his statue, on which they placed garlands, and then raising a rude altar, offered on it some corn, honeycomb, and wine, and sacrificed a lamb or a sucking-pig ;_ they concluded by singing the praises of the god’. When Tarquinius Priscus set about building the Capi- toline temple, it was necessary to remove the chapels of the deities who already occupied the summit of the Capi- tol. The assent of each deity was sought by the augurs, and all yielded it but Términus and Juventas. The tem- ple of Terminus therefore always stood on the Capitol ®. Its roof was open over the stone which represented the god, who can only be worshiped in the open air’. The rural deities also formed a portion of the Lesser Houses. These were the following :— Silvanus. This god, from his name, seems to have presided over woods and boundaries*. He is usually represented as old, and bearing a cypress plucked up by the roots’; on which last circumstance the Latin poets took occasion to transfer to him a Grecian legend of the death of the boy Cyparissus whom he loved. The accounts given of the origin of this deity are not worth attending to. The of- fering to Silvanus was milk °. St. Augustine’ informs us from Varro, that Silvanus was so much in the habit of molesting at night women after delivery, that it was necessary to commit them to a OSS ' Ovid, Fast. ii. 641, et seg. 2 Ovid, ut supra. 3 Servius on £n. * Hor. Od, 114. xxix. 23. Epod. ii. 22. * Virg. Geor. i. 20. ° Hor, Epist. 1. i. 143, ? De Civ. Dei. vi. 9. SILVANUS. FAUNUS. PICUS. 477 the care of three deities, named Intercido, Pilumnus, and Deverra. Three men therefore went by night round the house to signify that these deities were watchful: they first struck the threshold with an axe, then with a pestle ( pilum), and finally swept (deverrere) with brooms ; because trees are not cut (ceduntur) and pruned without an axe, corn bruised without a pestle, or heaped up without brooms. Hence the names of the deities who kept the wood-god away from the lying-in woman. Faunus. Faunus was a rural deity resembling the Grecian Pan, to whom he is so similar in name. Like the Grecian Silenus, he was held to have the power of foretelling the future. In later times he was mortalised like all the other Italian gods, and said to have been a just and brave king, greatly given to agriculture, the son of Picus and father of Latinus. Like Pan too, he was multiplied; and as there were Pans, so we also meet abundant mention of Fauni. The poets gave to Faunus and the Fauni the horns of a goat and feet of the Satyrs; but it is impossible to ascertain what their original form was’. Picus. Picus, says the legend *, was the son of Saturnus, and celebrated for his beauty and his love of horses and hunt- ing: he was married to Canens, the daughter of Janus and Venilia, renowned for the sweetness and power of hervoice. One day Picus went forth to the chase clad in a purple cloak, bound round his neck with gold. He entered the wood where Circe happened to be at that time gathering magic herbs: she was instantly struck with love, and implored the prince to correspond to her passion. Picus 1 For Faunus, see Virg, Aineis, vil. 47. viii. 314. and elsewhere. Though he makes Faunus the father of Latinus, he frequently speaks of the Fauni. See also Ovid, Met. vi. 392. 2 Ovid, Met. xiv. 320, e¢ seq. Virg. Ain. vil. 48.171, According to the latter poet Picus was the husband of Circe and father of Faunus, 478 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. faithful to his beloved Canens indignantly spurned her advances, and Circe in revenge struck him with her wand, and instantly he was changed into abird with purple plumage and a yellow ring round its neck. This bird was called by his name Picus, the Woodpecker. Though Picus was not properly a deity, we have intro- duced his legend here on account of the great paucity of Italian legends of any kind. It seems, like so many Gre- cian ones, to have been devised to give an origin for the Woodpecker. Pales. Pales was the goddess presiding over cattle and pas- tures. Her festival, called the Palilia, was celebrated on the twenty-first of April, and was regarded as the day on which Rome had been founded. The shepherds on the Palilia lustrated their flocks by burning sulphur, and making fires of olive, pine, and other substances. Millet, and cakes of it and milk were offered to the goddess, and prayers made to her to avert disease from the cattle, and to bless them with fecundity and abundance of food. Fires of straw were kindled in a row, and the rus- tics leaped thrice through them. The blood of a horse, the ashes of a calf, and bean-stalks, were used for puri- fication. The statue of Pales was represented bearing a sickle”. Pomona. Pomona (from pomum) was a goddess presiding over fruit-trees. Her worship was of long standing at Rome, where there was a Flamen Pomonalis, who sacrificed to her every year for the preservation of the fruit. } The story of Pomona and Vertumnus, probably a late fiction, is prettily told by Ovid’. This Hamadryad (i.e. stot a en os ' Ovid, Fasti, iv. 721, et seq. ® Tibull. Eleg. rr. v. 2g. > Ovid, Met. xiv. 623, et seq. POMONA. FLORA. 479 nymph), was in the time of Procas king of Alba. She was devoted to the culture of gardens, to which she con- fined herself, shunning all society with the male deities. In vain Satyrs, Pans, Priapus, Silvanus, sought her love, -Vertumnus too was enamoured of her, and under various shapes tried to win her favour: sometimes he came as a reaper, sometimes as a hay-maker, sometimes as a ploughman or a vine-dresser: he was a soldier and a fish- erman, but to equally little purpose. At length, under the guise of an old woman, he won the confidence of the goddess, and by enlarging on the evils of a single life and the blessings of the wedded state, by launching out into the praises of Vertumnus, and relating a tale of the punishment of female cruelty to a lover, he sought to move the heart of Pomona: then resuming his real form, clasped to his bosom the no longer reluctant nymph. Flora. Flora, the same as the Grecian Chloris, was the god- dess of flowers. She was a very ancient Italian deity, being one of those worshiped by Tatius. The Floralia, her festivals at Rome, were coeval with the city. They greatly degenerated in time, and became so lascivious as not to bear the presence of virtuous characters. The story of Cato the Censor, at whose appearance the feast was suspended, is well known’. The Romans, who in general displayed very little ele- gance of imagination in the origins which they invented for their deities, said that Flora had been a courtezan, who having by her trade acquired immense wealth (at Rome in the early days of the Republic!), left it to the Roman people, on condition of their always celebrating her birth- day with feasts’. 1 Val. Max. ii. 10. 2 Lactant. i, 24. 480 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. Feronia. Feronia was a goddess of very uncertain character. The Scholiast on Horace’ says she was the wife of Jupiter Anxur. Her fountain was within three miles of Anxur. Servius says she was the goddess of emancipated slaves, and that she was the same with the Virgin Juno. Diony- sius of Halicarnassus makes her to be Flower-bearing Ju- no :—at all events she appears to have been a rural deity. Besides the above, there was a crowd of other deities held to preside over all the operations of agriculture and all parts of the country. Rusina presided over the whole country: Collina over the hills, and Vallonia over the valleys. Hippona had charge of horses: Bubona of oxen. Seia or Segetra looked to the seed and the springing corn. Run- cina was invoked when the fields were to be weeded : Occator, when they were to be harrowed. Sator and Sarrator presided over sowing and raking. Robigus was worshiped to avert mildew; the Robigalia were held in April. Stercutius, or Sterculius, was the god of dunging the ground. Nodosus attended to the joints of the stalk; Volusia to the folding of the blade: Patelina had charge of the ear when it appeared : Lactura minded it when milky; and Matura brought it to ripeness. Mel- lona presided over honey. Fornax was the goddess of baking fs The following were deities of the waters :— Portumnus. Neptunus, the god of the sea, has been already noticed: the only other male deity of the sea who occurs in Ita- ‘Sat, 1. 8, 24, * These various deities are noticed by Pliny, Servius, Tertullian, Augustine, and others. at Koren MATER MATUTA. SALACIA AND VENILIA. 481 lian mythology is Portumnus, who presided over ports and havens. His festivals, called Portumnalia, were held at Rome, on the day on which a temple had been dedicated to him at the port of the Tiber’. The Romans, we know not for what reason, identified him with the Melicerta of the Greeks. Mater Matuta. This goddess, who was greatly worshiped at Rome, be- ing identified with the Ino or Leucothea of the Greeks, was perhaps a deity of the sea. She had a temple near Care, which Dionysius of Sicily plundered of great treasure’. Salacia et Venilia. These were goddesses of the sea; the former, whose name was, not very correctly, derived from sa/wm, was re- garded as the wife or sister of Neptunus’. The name of the latter was deduced from venio and ventus. Salacia was thought to preside over the retiring, Venilia over the approaching waves. Virgil” makes Venilia the sister of Amata, and mother of Turnus. Lara or Larunda. This ancient deity, one of those worshiped by Tatius, was by a later legend said to be a river-nymph, daughter of the river-god Almo. Having given Juturna warning of the designs of Jupiter, and informed Juno of his love for Juturna, the god to punish her cut out her tongue and condemned her to the nether-world. Mercury, who had the charge of conducting her thither, offered her vio- lence on the way, and she became the mother of the two Lares’. Capea eee a ce eg er ee eee 1 Varro, De L. L. v. 2 Diodor. xi. 14. 3 Gell. xiii. 22. 4 /Eneis, x. 76, 5 Ovid. Fast. il. 599, yaad | 482 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. Juturna. Juturna was a water-nymph: her fountain was near the Numicius. Virgil, as usual, Euhemerising the old Italian deities, makes her the sister of Turnus. She was, he says’, violated by Jupiter, and made by him in recompense a goddess of the lakes and streams. The rivers, such as the Tiber, the Almo, the Numicius, were held by the Romans to be presided over by peculiar deities. This was probably an original part of the old Italian religion. Last come the domestic gods :-— __ Penates. These deities, who were regarded as presiding over families and houses, the givers of wealth and prosperity, are often confounded with the Lares. But Varro? tells us that they were gods of heaven, which the Lares were not. Penates (from penus), in fact, seems to be only a name for gods presiding over houses; and Jupiter and the other superior gods were fiequettly. chosen for the Penates of particular families. The part of the house in which their images were kept was called the Penetralia, and worship was there performed to them. Lares. It is very much disputed what the Lares originally were; but the most probable opinion is, that they were regarded as the souls of deceased ancestors, who watched over and protected the families of their descendants. Their name seems to be Tuscan, signifying Lord. The statues of the Lares were usually placed at the hearth, and covered with the skin of a dog; and the figure of a 1 7En, xil, 139, 2 Apud Arnob, iii. LARES. DOMESTIC DEITIES. 488 dog was set at their feet to denote their office’, Small offerings of wine, incense, and a portion of what was set on the table, were here made to them. The worship of the Lares was not confined to private houses: there were Lares of the city, the country, roads, cross-roads, the sea, Kc. Among the domestic deities may be classed those pre- siding over marriage,—Jugatinus, Domiducus, Domitius, Manturnia, Subigus, Prema, and Partunda: and those pre- siding over the rearing of children, — Vagitanus, Cunina, Rumina, Edusa, Potina, Statilinus, Fabulinus, Adeona, Abeona, Volumnus and Volumna, whose names will ex- plain their offices*. Sacrifices were made to them when the action over which they presided commenced. Thus when the child began to speak, the parents sacrificed to Fabulinus: Domiducus was worshiped when the bride was brought home to the house of her husband. Such are the scanty notices which we have been able to collect respecting the Italian mythology, or more pro- perly speaking, the Italian religion; for that cannot be justly called a mythology, in which there occur no mythi; ~——our employment of the term is only to be justified by the principle of uniformity. No doubt by a more accurate search than we have deemed it necessary to make, several additional particulars might be discovered, and the view of it be thereby rendered more complete. Our object has been to draw the line of distinction clear and strong be- tween the mythology of Greece and that of Italy ; to set the richness and fulness of the one in striking contrast with the scantiness and poverty of the other. This dif- ference is not, we believe, sufficiently noticed by readers 1 Figures of dogs ornamented the hearths of our ancestors. Had they any connexion with the Lares? 2 See August. De Civitat. Dei. Nonnius, Festus, &c, 484 MYTHOLOGY OF ITALY. in general; and many will probably feel no small degree of surprise on comparing for example, the Aphrodite of the Greeks with the Venus of the Italians, and obsery- ing what a different personage this last is from the god- dess of love and beauty,—the favourite object of the poet and the artist. Sed nos immensum spatiis confecimus zquor, Et jam tempus equum fumantia solvere colla. The history of the religious ideas of man is an important portion of the history of the human mind; and the legends of Mythology, silly as they may appear to narrow minds, will always, by the true philosopher be deemed worthy of attentive consideration; the poetic beauty of many of them will recommend them to all readers of taste; and the arrival of a period, when the cul- tivation of the severer sciences and more practical philo- sophy shall have so completely extinguished poetic feeling as to render them objects of contempt and neglect, is a consummation hardly perhaps to be desired by any true friend of mankind. THE END. INDEX. *y* The letter e when final is always sounded. ABDERUS, 318 Absyrtus, 424 Acastus, 279 Achea, legends of, 404 Acheléus, 330 Achilles, 281, 439 Acis, 237 Acrisius, 374 Actzon, 294 Admétus, 277 Adonis, 107 Adrastus, 431 f£’acus, 413 étes, 423 éEgeus, 348 fEgialeus, Hgialeia, 366 fEgina, 413 fEgis, 64 AEgisthus, 382, 442 fEgle, 224 JEgyptus, 370 Aello, 42, 226 Aellopos, 226 /Emathion, 323 Folus, 240, 275 ‘rope, 329, 381 Esculapius. clepius. son, 277 Ether, 41 fEthra, 348 JEtélia, legends of, 286 ZEtélus, 286 Agamédes, 308 Agamemnon, 382, 439, 442 See As- Agave, 184, 298 Ages of the World, 258 Aglaia, 83, 152 Aglaiopheme, 246 Aglauros, 130 A’grius, 243 Aias, Ajax, 439 A’ides, 42, 68 Aidoneus, 68 Aisa, 153 Alcestes, 93, 277 Alcippe, 81 Alcmeon, 433 Alcména, 310, 379 Alecto, 156 Alpheius, 210 Althea, 286 Althémenes, 129 Amnisiades, 102 Amor, 112 _ A’mpelus, 174 Amphiaraus, 431 Amphictyon, 275 Amphion, 298 Amphissus, 212 Amphitryon, 379 Amphitrite, 42, 66, 216 A’mycus, 421 Amymone, 371 Amyntor, 332 Amythaon, 277 Anchises, 107 Andrémeda, 376 Anna Perenna, 474 Anteus, 322 Anteia, 362 2K A’nteros, 112 Anticleia, 361 Antigone, 303 Antiope, 63, 299 Antiphates, 242 Apemoésyne, 130 Aphea, 100 Aphrodite, 41, 63,105. Apis, Apia, 366 Apollo, 63, 87, 460 Arachne, 119 Arcadia, legends of, 386 Arcas, 387 Areiépagus, 81 Ares, 63, 79 Arethtisa, 210, 224 Arges, 41, 237 Argo, 63, 420 A'rgolis, legends of, 366 Argonautic Expedi- tion, 420 Argus, 366 A’rgyra, 406 Ariadne, 353, 411 Arimaspians, 33 Arion, 67 Aristeus, 92, 294 A'rtemis, 63, 98 A’rtemis, Ephesian, 194 ArtYoche, 330 Ascalaphus, 139 Asclépius, 384 Asia, 214 Astéria, 42, 68 Astreus, 42 486 Astydameia, 280 Atalanta, 110, 389 A’thamas, 296 Athéna, 63, 119 Ate, 162 Atlas, 51, 324 Atreus, 381 A'tropos, 153 Atthis, 340 Attica, legends of, 338 Attis, 192 Auge, 329 Atigeas, 317, 328 , stables of, 317 Aura, 185 Auréra. See Eos, Autdlycus, 129, 325 Autdnoe, 294 Auxo, 152 Bacchus, 163 Battus, 129 Baucis, 64 Bellérophon, 362 Bellona, 472 Bendis, 194 Béroe, 183 Bias, 397 Blemys, 177 Beeotia, legends of, 291 Bona Dea, 470 Bonus Eventus, 474 Boreas orNorth-wind, 42, 227 Botrys, 177 Brazen race of men, 259 Briareos, 41 Britomartis, 100 Brontes, 41, 237 Busiris, 323 Butes, 343 Cadmus, 291 Calais, 227, 346 Callidice, 135 INDEX. Calliope, 92, 147 Callirrhoe, 405 Callisto, 64, 99, 387 Calydonian Hunt, 287 Calypso, 251 Caméne, 146 Cassandra, 92, 437, 44.2 Cassiope, 216 Castor, 391 Catacléthes, 153 Catreus, 129 Cecrops, 338 Centaurs, 282 Centaurus, 282 Céphalus, 131, 344 Cepheus, 329 Cérberus, 70, 324 Cércyon, 351 Ceres, 463. See De- meter. Ceto, 42 Ceyx, 276 Chaos, 40 Chariclo, 120 Charis, 83 Charites, 151 Charon, 70 Charybdis, 247 Cheiron, 49, 283 Chimera, 363 Chione, 129, 347 Chloris, 75 Chrysaor, 223, 376 Cinyras, 109 Circe, 242 Citheron, 75 Cleitus, 54 Cleopatra, 288, 347 Cletha, 152 Clio, 147 Clotho, 153 Cl¥mene, 214 Cl¥menus, 312 Clytemnestra, 390, 442 Clytia, 57, 214 Coeus, 41, 59 Cometho, 380, 404 Consus, 473 Contention, 41 Coresus, 405 Corinth, legends of, 361 Cordénis, 91 Corybantes, 150, 193 Cosmogony, 39 Cottus, 41 Cotytto, 194 Cranaus, 340 Creius, 41 Creon, 433 Cretan Bull, 317 Creu’sa, 346 Cupido, Cupid. Eros. Curétes, 287 Cybele, 191 Cyclopes, 41, 84, 234 Cycnus, 322, 332 Cymddoce, 216 Cyméthoe, 216 Cyparissus, 93 Cyrene, 92, 294 Cy‘zicus, 421 See De'dalus, 359 Damastes, 351 Danae, 63, 374 Danaus, Danaides, 370 Daphne, 91 Daphnis, 209 Dardanus, 436 Death, 41, 160 Deianeira, 286, 330 Deino, 224 Delos, 88 Deméter, 42, 63, 133 Demédphoon, 136 Deriades, 177 . Destinies, 41 Deucalion, 267 Diana, 463. See Ar- temis. Dianus, 463 Dictynna, 100 Dii Majorum Genti- um, 457 Dii Minorum Genti- um, 472 Dike, Justice, 150 Diomédes, 287, 439 Diomédes, mares of, 318 Didne, 63, 105 Dionysus, 64, 163 Dirce, 299 Discord, 41 Dispater, 468 Dodona, 64 Doris, 42, 214 Dorus, 275 Doto, 216 Dreams, 41 Dryades, or nymphs, 206 Dryope, 212 Dryops, 198 Wood- Earth, 470 Echo, 201, 210 Eersa, 58, 63 Eidéthea, 218 Eileithyiz, 63, 154 Tirene, Peace, 150 Electra, 42, 216 Eléctryon, 379 Eleusinian Mysteries, 142 Elis, legends of, 395 Elysium, 36, 70 Encéladus, 238 Endymion, 58 Envy, 42 Enyo, 79, 224 Fos, 42, 53 Edsphorus, 42, 58 E’paphus, 64, 368 Ephialtes, 42, 67 Epicasta, 303 Epigoni, 433 Epimétheus, 263 Erato, 147 INDEX. E’'rebus, 69, 37, 41 Erechtheus, 343 Erginus, 307, 312 Erichthénius, 34, 340, 436 Erinnyes, 41, 155 Eriphyle, 431 Erisichthon, 140 Eros, 41, 112 Erymanthian Boar, 316 Erytheia, 224, 320 Eryx, 321 Etéocles, 303, 430 Etruscan religion, 452 Euddérus, 129 Euménides, 157 Eumolpus, 347 Eundémia, Good-order, 150 Euphrosyne, 152 Europa, 408 Eurus, East-wind, 228 Euryale, 222 Eurybia, 42 Eurydice, 149 Eurynome, 63, 214 Eurystheus, $13 Eurytion, 282 Etrytus, 325,332 Euterpe, 147 Fates, 62, 153 Faunus, 477 Fear, 162 Fer6énia, 480 Fleece, the Golden,67, 278, 420. Flora, 479 Force, 42 Furies, 155 Gea, Earth, 41 Galatéa, 42, 216, 237 Galli, 193 Ganymédes, 436 Genius, 470 Geryon, 320 487 Gigantes, Giants, 41, 237 Gigantomachia, 42, 239 Glaucus, 219, 411 Golden race of men, 259 Gorgo, 222 Gorgons, 42, 222 Graces, 63, 151 Gree, 42, 224 Grecian history, three periods of, 273 Greece, early inhabi- tants of, 269 Grypes, 33 Gyges, 41 Hades, 42, 68 Halcyone, 276 Halcyoneus, 238 Halirréthius, 81 Hamadryades, nymphs, 206 Harmonia, 172 Harpies, 42, 255, 422 Heaven, 37, 41 Hebe, 63, 85 Hécate, 42, 59 Hector, 437 Hécuba, 437 Hegémone, 152 Hélena, 390, 437 Hélius, 42, 55 Helle, 296 Hellen, 274 Héllenes, 271 Hémera, 41 Hephestus, 63, 82 Hera, 42, 63, 74 Hércules, 63, 310 Hermaphroditus, 131 Hermes, 63, 124 Heroes, 257 Herse, 130 Hesiod, Theogony of, ~ 40 Hesione, 320,327,415 Tree- 488 Hespérides, 41, 224 Héstia, 42, 72, 224 Hippocréne, 365 — Hippodameia, 401 Hippomenes, 111 Hippolyta, 318 Hippdlytus, 356 Homer, gods of, 44 , poems of, 21 Hore, 150 Horned Hind, 315 Hours or Seasons, 150 Hunger, 41 Hyacinthus, 93, 149 Hydaspes, 178 Hylas, 421 Hymeneus, 128 Hyperboreans, 33 Hyperion, 41 Hypermnestra, 371 Hypsipyle, 420 Hy'rieus, 64, 415 l’amus, Iamides, 398 Janus, 466 Tapetus, 41, 54 Iasion, 133 Jason, 277 Icarius, 184 I’carus, 359 I'celus, 161 Idas, 92, 391 Tlus, 436 Inachus, 366 Indians, expedition of Dionysus against, 175 Ino, 174, 296 Io, 64, 367 Jocasta, 301 Yola, 332 Ton, Ionians, 346 Tphicles, 314 Iphimedeia, 67 T’phitus, 325 Tris, 42, 158 Tron race of men, 259 Isiac mysteries, 195 INDEX. Isis, 195, 368 Isles, legends of the, 408 Isméne, 303 Italy and Rome, early state of, 449 Itys, 342 Juno, 461. See Hera. Jupiter, 457. See Seus, Justice, 62 Juturna, 482 Juventas, 85 Ixion, 282 Kéleus, 135 Keres, 41, 155 Kronides, 42, 62 Kronus, 41, 49 Labdacus, 298 Labyrinth, 353, 410 Lachesis, 153 Laconia, legends of, 390 Lelaps, 345 Lestrygones, 241 Laius, 300 Lampétia, 57, 249 Lampus, 53 Ladégoras, 331 Laémedon, 320, 327, 437 Lapithe, 282 Lara or Larunda, 481 Lares, 482 Latinus, 243 Latin religion, 453 Laténa. See Leto. Laverna, 473 Learchus, 296 Lebadeia, oracle of Trophonius in, 310 Leda, 63,390 Leimoniades, or Mead- nymphs, 206 Léleges, 270 Lernean Hydra, 314 Lethe, 70 Leto, 42, 63, 86 Leucéthea, 57, 220, 297 Liber Pater, 469 Libitina, 473 Limniades, or Lake- nymphs, 206 Linus, 149 Lotéphagi or Lotus- eaters, 233 Lucina, 461 Luna, 469. See Selena. Lycaon, 64, 386 Lycomédes, 357 Lycurgus, 164, 178 Lycus, 299, 319, 423 Lynceus, 371, 391 Maia, 63 Man, origin and first state of, 258 Manto, 305 Maron, 177 Marpessa, 92 Mars, 459. See Ares. Marsyas, 94 Mater Matita, 481 See Leucothea. Medéa, 351,424 Medtsa, 222 Megera, 156 Mégara, 312 Melampus, 166, 373, 397 Melanippus, 404 Melantho, 67 Meleager, 287 Meleagrides, 290 Meliades, or Flock- nymphs, 206 Melian nymphs, 41 Melicerta, 174, 296 Melpémene, 147 Memnon, 54, 439 Mendes, 199 Menelaus, 382, 437, 444: Merciirius, 460. Hermes. Metaneira, 135 Methe, 177 Metis, 63, 214 Midas, 94, 204 Milky Way, 77 Minerva, 462. See Pal- las Athena. Minos, 70, 409 Minotaur, 353, 410 Minye, 306 Minyas, 306 Mnemésyne, 41, 63 Momus, 41, 161 Mopsus, 306 Morpheus, 161 Mountains, 41 Malciber, 41 Muses, 146 Mygdon, 319 Myrrha, 109 Myrtilus, 402 Mythic views of the worldand its origin, 29 Mythic wars and ex- peditions, 420 Mythology, 1 , origin of 2 , theories of the, 9 ——_——-, Grecian, origin of, 12 historic view of, 14 ——_—_——-, literature of, 21 ——_——-, Roman, 449 Sane 7 Naiades, or Water- nymphs, 206 Napexe, Dale-nymphs, 206 Narcissus, 210 Neleus, 67,396 Neméan Lion, 314 INDEX. See | Némesis, 41, 260 Néphele, 296 Neptainus, 459. See Poseidon. Neréides, 216 Nereus, 42, 215 Nessus, 331 Nestor, 397, 439 Nicea, 176 Night or Nyx, 41 Niobe, 86, 300, 366 Nisus, 348 Nosti or Returns, 441 Notus or South-wind, 42, 227 Nymphs, 206 Nyx or Night, 41 Oceanides, 214 Océanus, Ocean, 228, 35, 41, 60 Ocypete, 42, 226 Odysseus, 361, 243, 439, 446 C/dipus, 301 (Eneus, 286 Ogyges, 269 Old-age, 41 O’mphale, 326 Ops, 191, 470 O’rchamus, 57 Orchémenus, 307 Orcus, 468. See Hades. Order, 62 Oreiades, or Moun- tain-nymphs, 206 Oreithyia, 346 Orestes, 443 Orion, 64, 415 Orontes, 177 Orpheus, 92, 149 Osiris, 195 Otus, 42, 67 Pzéon, Peon, 94, 160 Palemon, 220 Pales, 478 Palladium, 437 489 Pallantias, 53 Pallantides, 351 Pallas, 42 Pallas Athéna, 63, 119 Palléne, 185 Pan, 198 Panathenea, 354 Panchea, 18 Pandion, 341, 347 Pandéra, 83, 262 Pandrosos, 130 Panic terrors, 201 Panope, 216 Parce, 153 Paris or Alexander, 437 Pasiphae, 410 Patroclus, 439 Peace, 62 Pégasus, 364 Peirithous, 282, 355 Peitho, 152 Pelasgians, 270 Peleus, 279, 414 Pélias, 67, 277 Pelopia, 382 Pelops, 381, 401 Penates, 482 Pentheus, 183, 298 Pephrédo, 224 Periclymenus, 396 Periphates, 350 Pero, 397 Perse, 243 Perséphone, 63, 69, 133 Perses, 42 Perseus, 184, 223, 374 Personifications,9,161 Pheacians of Scheria, Q51 Phedra, 356, 411 Phaenna, 152 Phaethon, 53, 56 Phaethtsa, 57, 249 Phantasos, 161 Pheres, 277 Philemon, 64 490 Philoméla, 341. Philyra, 49 Phineus, 347, 421 Phlégyz, 306 Phlégyas, 306 Phebe, 41, 59 Pheebus Apollo, 87 Pholus, 283 Phorcys, 42, 216 Phoésphorus, 56 Phrasius, 323 Phrixus, 296 Phyleus, 317, 328 Picus, 477 Piérides, 148 Pittheus, 348 Platea, 75 Pleisthenes, 381 Pluto, 68, 400 Podarge, 226 Pollux. See Poly- deukes. Polybotes, 238 Polydectes, 375 Polydeukes, 391 Polyidus, 411 Polyméla, 129 Polymnia, 147 Polyneices, 303, 431 Polyphémus, 234 Poména, 478 Pontus, 41 Portumnus, 480. See Palemon. Poseidon, 42, 66 Priamus, 327,437 Priapus, 205 Procne, 341 Procris, 344 Proe'tides, 373 Preetus, 362, 372 Prométheus, 52, 263 Prosérpina. See Per- sephone. Protogeneia, 275 Proteus, 218 Psamathe, 216 Psammitichus, 196 INDEX. Psyche, 114 Ptélion, $44 Pterolaus, 379 Pylades, 443 Pyréneus, 148 Pyrrha, 267 Pytho, Python, 90 Quirinus, 472 Religion, Etruscan, 452 ———, Latin, 453 , Sabellian, 454. Rhadamanthus, 70, 312, 409 Rhea, 41, 49, 191 Rhesus, 149 Rhode, 66 Rheecus, 209 River-gods, 221 Sabellian religion, 454 Salacia and Venilia, 431 Salméneus, 395 Sarpédon, 364, 409, 439 Saturnus, 465. See Kronus. Satyrs, 203 Sciron, 351 Scylla, 247, 348 Sea-nymphs, 42, 214 Seasons, 62 Selemnus, 406 Seléna, 42, 58, 63 Selli, 64 Sémele, 64, 165, 174, 294 Semi-gods, 259 Silénus, 177, 204 Silvanus, 476 Silver race of men, 259 Sinis, 350 Sirens, 149, 246 Sisyphus, 361 Sleep, 41, 160 Sol, 469. See Helius. Sélymi, 363 Sparti, 292 Spelo, 216 Sphinx, 302 Staphylus, 177. Stéropes, 41, 237 Stheino, 222 Sthenobeea, 364. Strength, 42 Strife, 41, 162 Stymphalide birds, 317 Styx, 42, 63, 214 Summanus, 468 Syrinx, 201 Talus, 83 Tantalus, 381, 400 Tartarus, $7, 41, 70 Téctamus, 408 Téctaphus, 179 Teirésias, 120, 304 Télamon, 413 Télephus, 329 Télete, 176 Tellus, Téllumo, 470 Terambus, 212 Tereus, 344 Terminus, 475 Terpsichore, 147 Terror, 162 Tethys, 41, 59, 60, 234 Teucer, 415 Thalia, 147, 152 Thamyras, 148 - Thaumas, 42 | Thea, 41 Theban Wars, 430 Thelxiepeia, 246 Themis, 41, 62, 158 Theocrasy, 16 Thedgony, 39 Thedphane, 67 Theseus, 349 Thessaly, legends of, 276 Théstius, 312 Thetis, 41, 216, 280 Thureus, 178 Thyestes, 381 Tisiphone, 156 Titanomachia, 42 Titans, 41 Tithonus, 54 Tityri, 203 Tityus, 87 Triptélemus, 138 Tritogeneia, 119 Triton, 66, 216 Trojan War, 435 Trophénius, 308 Page 38, a > sew HOG) a = ak 8, line 10, for were 6, read who was unwilling to be outdone by Zeus who, 29, for in her — 153, 22, 25,28, — Aisa last line, — Ditys INDEX. Tydeus, 286 Tyndareus, 390 Typhoeus, 171 Typhon, 239 Tyro, 67, 395 Véjovis or Védius, 468 Venilia, 481 Venus, 464. Aphrodite. Vertumnus, 474 Vesta, 462. See Hestia. Victory, 42 Ulysses. See Odysseus. Urania, 147 Uranides, 41, 49 Uranus, Heaven, 41 See ERRATA. read was. read her in. = Aisa. — Dictys. 491 Vulcanus or Malci- ber, 460 War, 41 Water-deities, 214 Winds, Wind-gods, 227 Woe, (Oizys,) 41 World, ages of, 258 Xuthus, 275, 346 Zagreus, 141, 173 Zephyrus or West- wind, 42, 227 Zérethra, 7 Zetes, 227, 346 Zethus, 63, 298 Zeus, 42, 62. PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, mi) hal’ uy } we ‘ mais, iM 1 Ng is iy A nn At Pag: t r Oe ih a i i a i Fi ‘ CE oe Bt rhe gata By ey " ee ae | wee Sha PP ts peyote 7 he g 4 LEW Bete ee biney bey “ : i ; oo Wi Ba podes ek " Dih- tier / f P poe oh pe HERE RE re Ed emp wey: " Wg LA Deg ger ee wi oe Rr Fed Both tee bee ? ? * He IPE Bre HOW « y EP SP Hae are ter rep Ke Phe eran Oct Hee: aes 3 Ad hs tse Fhe et * ¥ poe a at. 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