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<title>The myths of Greece and Rome</title>
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<bibl><author>Guerber, Hélène Adeline (1869-1929)</author>, <title>The Myths of Greece and Rome : Their Stories, Signification and Origin, by H. A. Guerber, Author of “Contes et Légendes”, “Märchen und Erzählungen”, etc.</title>, <pubPlace>London</pubPlace>, <publisher>George G. Harrap and Company</publisher>, <date>1909</date>, <biblScope>XIV-394 p.</biblScope> Source: <ref target="https://archive.org/details/mythsofgreecerom00gueuoftr">Internet Archive</ref>.</bibl>
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<div>
<head>[Frontispiece]</head>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img000.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">A Bacchante. </hi><lb/>
<author key="Leighton">Lord Leighton</author>. <lb/>By Permission of Heary Graves and Co. Ltd.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>Preface</head>
<p><hi rend="sc">The</hi> myths of Greece and Rome have inspired so much of the best thought in English literature that a knowledge of them is often essential to the understanding of what we read.</p>
<p>
<quote>“When </quote>
<author key="Byron">Byron</author>
<quote> calls Rome,” says </quote>
<author key="Bulfinch Th.">Thomas Bulfinch</author>
<quote>, the ‘Niobe of nations,’ or says of Venice, ‘She looks a Sea-Cybele fresh from Ocean,’ he calls up to the mind of one familiar with our subject illustrations more vivid and striking than the pencil could furnish, but which are lost to the reader ignorant of mythology.”</quote> Literature abounds in such poetic borrowings from the classics, and it is impossible to enjoy fully the works of some of our best writers if we cannot immediately appreciate their imagery.</p>
<p>Again, expressions such as “the heel of Achilles” are part of the common language, but their meaning is lost upon those to whom the myths from which they are derived are unfamiliar.</p>
<p>But apart from the practical utility of the myths, as necessary to the comprehension of much that we read and hear, they have a great æsthetic value, presenting, as they do, a mine of imaginative material whose richness and beauty cannot fail to appeal even to the colder sensibilities of this more prosaic age. It would be difficult, indeed, to exaggerate the importance of these old-world stories, with their wonderful admixture of pagan faith and riotous imagination, in correcting the tendency to mere utilitarianism in the education of the young, and there is need to lay stress upon this because of the increased attention now being given to science and modern languages at the expense of the classics.</p>
<p>Translations of the exquisite writings of the Greek and Latin poets cannot, of course, convey the same rich impressions. They arc, at the best, weak and imperfect vehicles for reproducing the literary and imaginative wealth of a golden age; but they are, nevertheless, capable of imparting something of the atmosphere of the great originals, and, in whatever tongue they may be told, the stories themselves cannot easily be spoilt; they will assuredly appeal to thousands to whom the ancient languages of Greece and Rome are as a sealed book.</p>
<p>The writings of many of the great English classical translators, it may be added, are instinct with the spirit of the ancients. We might fancy that they, too, had caught sight of Proteus rising from the sea, and had heard</p>
<quote>
<l>“Old Triton blow his wreathéd horn.”</l>
</quote>
<p>But properly to understand even these translations we first require a knowledge of mythology which it would take a lifetime to acquire piece by piece from general reading, and the aims, therefore, of this book are: first, to present outlines of the stories in a simple form pleasurable to the reader who has no desire further than to obtain a general knowledge of the myths, or to be entertained; and, second, to furnish a practical guide for the student who wishes to prosecute his mythological studies, and who desires to acquire the means whereby he will be enabled to follow intelligently the allusions to other myths which meet him at every turn, and to know something of the origin and significance of the stories.</p>
<p>The numerous quotations throughout will show the way to the noble pasturage from which these “flowers of Parnassus” have been culled, and they will enable the reader to appreciate the great: influence of the myths upon our literature. The large selection of reproductions from famous pictures and statuary, also, will show something of the debt which art, both ancient and modern, owes to the same inspiration.</p>
<p>The myths are told as graphically and accurately as possible, great care being taken, however, to avoid the more repulsive features of heathen mythology; and when two or more versions of the same myth occur, the preference has invariably been given to the most popular, that is to say, to the one which has inspired the greatest works.</p>
<p>Both the Latin and the Greek forms of proper names are given, but the Latin names are usually retained throughout the narrative, because more frequently used in poetry and art.</p>
<p>The closing chapter includes an analysis of myths by the light of philology and comparative mythology, and the philological explanation of the stories related in the preceding chapters.</p>
<p>A map, genealogical table, and complete glossary and index adapt this volume for constant use in the library, the school, and the arm-chair.</p>
<p>Thanks are due to Messrs. Longmans, Green and Co. for permission to include numerous quotations from Mr.
<author key="Conington">Conington</author>’s translation of the “<title>Æneid</title>,” and to
<author key="Morris L.">Sir Lewis Morris</author> and others whose works have similarly been placed under contribution.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>Chapter I: The Beginning</head>
<div>
<head>Myths of Creation</head>
<p><hi rend="sc">Mythology</hi> is the science which treats of the early traditions, or myths, relating to the religion of the ancients, and includes, besides a full account of the origin of their gods, their theory concerning the beginning of all things.</p>
<p>Among all the nations scattered over the face of the earth, the Hebrews alone were instructed by God, who gave them not only a full account of the creation of the world and of all living creatures, but also a code of laws to regulate their conduct. All the questions they fain would ask were fully answered, and no room remained for conjecture.</p>
<p>It was not so, however, with the other nations. The Greeks and Romans, for instance, lacking the definite knowledge which we obtain from the <title>Scriptures</title>, and still anxious to know everything, were forced to construct, in part, their own theory. As they looked about them for some clue to serve as guide, they could not help but observe and admire the wonders of nature. The succession of day and night, summer and winter, rain and sunshine; the fact that the tallest trees sprang from tiny seeds, the greatest rivers from diminutive streams, and the most beautiful flowers and delicious fruits from small green buds, — all seemed to tell them of a superior Being, who had fashioned them to serve a definite purpose.</p>
<p>They soon came to the conclusion that a hand mighty enough to call all these wonders into life, could also have created the beautiful earth whereon they dwelt. These thoughts gave rise to others; suppositions became certainties; and soon the following myth or fable was evolved, to be handed down from generation to generation.</p>
<p>At first, when all things lay in a great confused mass, —</p>
<quote>
<l>“Ere earth and sea, and covering heavens, were known,</l>
<l>The face of nature, o’er the world, was one;</l>
<l>And men have called it Chaos; formless, rude,</l>
<l>The mass; dead matter’s weight, inert, and crude;</l>
<l>Where, in mix’d heap of ill-compounded mould,</l>
<l>The jarring seeds of things confusedly roll’d.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The Earth did not exist. Land, sea, and air were mixed up together; so that the earth was not solid, the sea was not fluid, nor the air transparent.</p>
<quote>
<l>“No sun yet beam’d from yon cerulean height;</l>
<l>No orbing moon repair’d her horns of light;</l>
<l>No earth, self-poised, on liquid ether hung;</l>
<l>No sea its world-enclasping waters flung;</l>
<l>Earth was half air, half sea, an embryo heap;</l>
<l>Nor earth was fix’d, nor fluid was the deep;</l>
<l>Dark was the void of air; no form was traced;</l>
<l>Obstructing atoms struggled through the waste;</l>
<l>Where cold, and hot, and moist, and dry rebell’d;</l>
<l>Heavy the light, and hard the soft repell’d.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Over this shapeless mass reigned a careless deity called Chaos, whose personal appearance could not be described, as there was no light by which he could be seen. He shared his throne with his wife, the dark goddess of Night, named Nyx or Nox, whose black robes, and still blacker countenance, did not tend to enliven the surrounding gloom.</p>
<p>These two divinities wearied of their power in the course of time, and called their son Erebus (Darkness) to their assistance. His first act was to dethrone and supplant Chaos; and then, thinking he would be happier with a helpmeet, he married his own mother, Nyx. Of course, with our present views, this marriage was a heinous sin; but the ancients, who at first had no fixed laws, did not consider this union unsuitable, and recounted how Erebus and Nyx ruled over the chaotic world together, until their two beautiful children, Æther (Light) and Hemera (Day), acting in concert, dethroned them, and seized the supreme power.</p>
<p>Space, illumined for the first time by their radiance, revealed itself in all its uncouthness. Æther and Hemera carefully examined the confusion, saw its innumerable possibilities, and decided to evolve from it a “thing of beauty”; but quite conscious of the magnitude of such an undertaking, and feeling that some assistance would be desirable, they summoned Eros (Amor, or Love), their own child, to their aid. By their combined efforts, Pontus (the Sea) and Gæa (Ge, Tellus, Terra), as the Earth was first called, were created.</p>
<p>In the beginning the Earth did not present the beautiful appearance that it does now. No trees waved their leafy branches on the hillsides; no flowers bloomed in the valleys; no grass grew on the plains; no birds flew through the air. All was silent, bare, and motionless. Eros, the first to perceive these deficiencies, seized his life-giving arrows and pierced the cold bosom of the Earth. Immediately the brown surface was covered with luxuriant verdure; birds of many colours flitted through the foliage of the new-born forest trees; animals of all kinds gambolled over the grassy plains; and swift-darting fishes swam in the limpid streams. All was now life, joy, and motion.</p>
<p>Gæa, roused from her apathy, admired all that had already been done for her embellishment, and, resolving to crown and complete the work so well begun, created Uranus (Heaven).</p>
<p>This version of the creation of the world, although but one of the many current with the Greeks and Romans, was the one most generally adopted.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Her first-born Earth produc’d,</l>
<l>Of like immensity, the starry Heaven;</l>
<l>That he might sheltering compass her around</l>
<l>On every side.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Hésiode">Hesiod</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Another popular version stated that the first divinities, Erebus and Nyx, produced a gigantic egg, from which Eros, the god of love, emerged to create the Earth.</p>
<quote>
<l>In the dreary chaotical closet</l>
<l>Of Erebus old, was a privy deposit,</l>
<l>By Night the primæval in secrecy laid;</l>
<l>A Mystical Egg, that in silence and shade</l>
<l>Was brooded and hatched; till time came about:</l>
<l>And Love, the delightful, in glory flew out.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Aristophane">Aristophanes</author> (
<author key="Frere">Frere</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The Earth thus created was supposed by the ancients to be a disc, instead of a sphere as science has proved. The Greeks fancied that their country occupied a central position, and that Mount Olympus, a very high mountain, the mythological abode of their gods, was placed in the exact centre. Their Earth was divided into two equal parts by Pontus (the Sea, — equivalent to our Mediterranean and Black Seas); and all around it flowed the great river Oceanus in a
<quote>“steady, equable current,”</quote> undisturbed by storm, from which the Sea and all the rivers were supposed to derive their waters.</p>
<p>The Greeks also imagined that the portion of the Earth directly north of their country was inhabited by a fortunate race of men, the Hyperboreans, who dwelt in continual bliss, and enjoyed a never-ending springtide. Their homes were said to be
<quote>“inaccessible by land or by sea.”</quote> They were “
<quote>exempt from disease, old age, and death,”</quote> and were so virtuous that the gods frequently visited them, and even condescended to share their feasts and games. A people thus favoured could not fail to be happy, and many were the songs in praise of their sunny land.</p>
<quote>
<l>“I come from a land in the sun-bright deep,</l>
<l> Where golden gardens grow;</l>
<l>Where the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep,</l>
<l> Their conch shells never blow.</l>
<l/>
<l>“So near the track of the stars are we,</l>
<l> That oft, on night’s pale beams,</l>
<l>The distant sounds of their harmony</l>
<l> Come to our ears, like dreams.</l>
<l/>
<l>“The Moon, too, brings her world so nigh,</l>
<l> That when the night-seer looks</l>
<l>To that shadowless orb, in a vernal sky,</l>
<l> He can number its hills and brooks.</l>
<l/>
<l>“To the Sun god all our hearts and lyres</l>
<l> By day, by night, belong;</l>
<l>And the breath we draw from his living fires</l>
<l> We give him back in song.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Moore Th.">Moore</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>South of Greece, also near the great river Oceanus, dwelt another nation, just as happy and virtuous as the Hyperboreans, — the Ethiopians. They, too, often enjoyed the company of the gods, who shared their innocent pleasures with great delight.</p>
<p>And far away, on the shore of this same marvellous river, according to some mythologists, were the beautiful Isles of the Blest, where mortals who had led virtuous lives, and had thus found favour in the sight of the gods, were transported without tasting of death, and where they enjoyed an eternity of bliss. These islands had sun, moon, and stars of their own, and were never visited by the cold wintry winds that swept down from the north.</p>
<quote>
<l>“The Isles of the Blest, they say,</l>
<l> The Isles of the Blest,</l>
<l>Are peaceful and happy, by night and by day.</l>
<l> Far away in the glorious west.</l>
<l/>
<l>“They need not the moon in that land of delight,</l>
<l> They need not the pale, pale star;</l>
<l>The sun is bright, by day and night,</l>
<l> Where the souls of the blessed are.</l>
<l/>
<l>“They till not the ground, they plough not the wave,</l>
<l> They labour not, never! oh, never!</l>
<l>Not a tear do they shed, not a sigh do they heave,</l>
<l> They are happy, for ever and ever!”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Pindare">Pindar</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Chaos, Erebus, and Nyx were deprived of their power by Æther and Hemera, who did not long enjoy the possession of the sceptre; for Uranus and Gæa, more powerful than their progenitors, soon forced them to depart, and began to reign in their stead. They had not dwelt long on the summit of Mount Olympus, before they found themselves the parents of twelve gigantic children, the Titans, whose strength was such that their father, Uranus, greatly feared them. To prevent their ever-making use of it against him, he seized them immediately after their birth, hurled them down into a dark abyss called Tartarus, and there chained them fast.</p>
<p>This chasm was situated far under the earth; and Uranus knew that his six sons (Oceanus, Cœus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus), as well as his six daughters, the Titanides (Ilia, Rhea, Themis, Thetis, Mnemosyne, and Phœbe), could not easily escape from its cavernous depths. The Titans did not long remain sole occupants of Tartarus, for one day the brazen doors were again thrown wide open to admit the Cyclopes— Brontes (Thunder), Steropes (Lightning), and Arges (Sheet-lightning), — three later-born children of Uranus and Gæa, who helped the Titans to make the darkness hideous with their incessant clamour for freedom. In due time their number was increased by the three terrible Centimani (Hundred-handed), Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes, who were sent thither by Uranus to share their fate.</p>
<p>Greatly dissatisfied with the treatment her children had received at their father’s hands, Gæa remonstrated, but all in vain. Uranus would not grant her request to set the giants free, and whenever their muffled cries reached his ear, he trembled for his own safety. Angry beyond all expression, Gæa swore revenge, and descended into Tartarus, where she urged the Titans to conspire against their father, and attempt to wrest the sceptre from his grasp.</p>
<p>All listened attentively to the words of sedition; but none were courageous enough to carry out her plans, except Cronus, the youngest of the Titans, more familiarly known as Saturn or Time, who found confinement and chains peculiarly galling, and who hated his father for his cruelty. Gæa finally induced him to lay violent hands upon his sire, and, after releasing him from his bonds, gave him a scythe, and bade him be of good cheer and return victorious.</p>
<p>Thus armed and admonished, Cronus set forth, came upon his father unawares, defeated him, thanks to his extraordinary weapon, and, after binding him fast, took possession of the vacant throne, intending to rule the universe for ever. Enraged at this insult, Uranus cursed his son, and prophesied that a day would come when he, too, would be supplanted by his children, and would suffer just punishment for his rebellion.</p>
<p>Cronus paid no heed to his father’s imprecations, but calmly proceeded to release the Titans, his brothers and sisters, who, in their joy and gratitude to escape the dismal realm of Tartarus, expressed their willingness to be ruled by him. Their satisfaction was complete, however, when he chose his own sister, Rhea (Cybele, Ops) for his consort, and assigned to each of the others some portion of the world to govern at will. To Oceanus and Thetis, for example, he gave charge over the ocean and all the rivers upon earth; while to Hyperion and Phœbe he entrusted the direction of the sun and moon, which the ancients supposed were daily driven across the sky in brilliant golden chariots.</p>
<p>Peace and security now reigned on and around Mount Olympus; and Cronus, with great satisfaction, congratulated himself on the result of his enterprise. One fine morning, however, his equanimity was disturbed by the announcement that a son was born to him. The memory of his father’s curse then suddenly returned to his mind. Anxious to avert so great a calamity as the loss of his power, he hastened to his wife, determined to devour the child, and thus prevent him from causing further annoyance. Wholly unsuspicious, Rhea heard him inquire for his son. Gladly she placed him in his extended arms; but imagine her surprise and horror when she beheld her husband swallow the babe.</p>
<p>Time passed, and another child was born, but only to meet with the same cruel fate. One infant after another disappeared down the capacious throat of the voracious Cronus—a personification of Time, who creates only to destroy. In vain the bereaved mother besought the life of one little one: the selfish, hardhearted father would not relent. As her prayers seemed unavailing, Rhea finally resolved to obtain by stratagem the boon her husband denied; and as soon as her youngest son, Jupiter (Jove, Zeus), was born, she concealed him.</p>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img008.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">The Childhood of Zeus.</hi><lb/>From the painting by
<author key="Watts">G. F. Watts</author>. <lb/>By Permission of Mr. Frederick Hollyer.</p>
<p>Cronus, aware of his birth, soon made his appearance, determined to dispose of him in the usual summary manner. For some time Rhea pleaded with him, but at last pretended to yield to his commands. Hastily wrapping a large stone in swaddling clothes, she handed it to Cronus, simulating intense grief. Cronus was evidently not of a very inquiring turn of mind, for he swallowed the whole without investigating the real contents of the shapeless bundle.</p>
<quote>
<l>“To th’ imperial son of Heaven,</l>
<l>Whilom the king of gods, a stone she gave</l>
<l>Inwrapt in infant swathes; and this with grasp</l>
<l>Eager he snatch’d, and in his ravening breast</l>
<l>Convey’d away: unhappy! nor once thought</l>
<l>That for the stone his child behind remain’d</l>
<l>Invincible, secure; who soon, with hand</l>
<l>Of strength o’ercoming him, should cast him forth</l>
<l>From glory, and himself th’ immortals rule.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Hésiode">Hesiod</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Ignorant of the deception practised upon him, Cronus then took leave, and the overjoyed mother clasped her rescued treasure to her breast. It was not sufficient, however, to have saved young Jupiter from imminent death: it was also necessary that his father should remain unconscious of his existence.</p>
<p>To ensure this, Rhea entrusted her babe to the tender care of the Melian nymphs, who bore him off to a cave on Mount Ida. There a goat, Amalthea, was procured to act as nurse, and fulfilled her office so acceptably that she was eventually placed in the heavens as a constellation, a brilliant reward for her kind ministrations. To prevent Jupiter’s cries being heard in Olympus, the Curetes (Corybantes), Rhea’s priests, uttered piercing screams, clashed their weapons, executed fierce dances, and chanted rude war-songs.</p>
<p>The real significance of all this unwonted noise and commotion was not at all understood by Cronus, who, in the intervals of his numerous affairs, congratulated himself upon the cunning he had shown to prevent the accomplishment of his father’s curse. But all his anxiety and fears were aroused when he suddenly became aware of the fraud practised upon him, and of young Jupiter’s continued existence. He immediately tried to devise some plan to get rid of him; but, before he could put it into execution, he found himself attacked by his son, and, after a short but terrible encounter, he was signally defeated.</p>
<p>Jupiter, delighted to have triumphed so quickly, took possession of the supreme power, and aided by Rhea’s counsels, and by a nauseous potion prepared by Metis, a daughter of Oceanus, compelled Cronus to produce the unfortunate children he had swallowed; <hi rend="i">i.e.</hi>, Neptune, Pluto, Vesta, Ceres, and Juno.</p>
<p>Following the example of his predecessor, Jupiter gave his brothers and sisters a fair share of his new kingdom. The wisest among the Titans — Mnemosyne, Themis, Oceanus, and Hyperion — submitted to the new sovereign without murmur, but the others refused their allegiance; which refusal, of course, occasioned a deadly conflict.</p>
<quote>
<l> “When gods began with wrath,</l>
<l>And war rose up between their starry brows,</l>
<l>Some choosing to cast Cronus from his throne</l>
<l>That Zeus might king it there, and some in haste</l>
<l>With opposite oaths that they would have no Zeus</l>
<l>To rule the gods for ever.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Browning E.">E. B. Browning</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Giants’ War</head>
<p>Jupiter, from the top of Mount Olympus, discerned the superior number of his foes, and, quite aware of their might, concluded that reinforcements to his party would not be superfluous. In haste, therefore, he released the Cyclopes from Tartarus, where they had languished so long, stipulating that in exchange for their freedom they should supply him with thunderbolts, —-weapons which only they knew how to forge. This new engine caused great terror and dismay in the ranks of the enemy, who, nevertheless, soon rallied, and struggled valiantly to overthrow the usurper and win back the sovereignty of the world.</p>
<p>During ten long years the war raged incessantly, neither party wishing to submit to the dominion of the other, but at the end of that time the rebellious Titans were obliged to yield. Some of them were hurled into Tartarus once more, where they were carefully secured by Neptune, Jupiter s brother, while the young conqueror joyfully proclaimed his victory.</p>
<quote>
<l>“League all your forces then, ye powers above,</l>
<l>Join all, and try th’ omnipotence of Jove;</l>
<l>Let down our golden everlasting chain,</l>
<l>Whose strong embrace holds heaven and earth and main:</l>
<l>Strive all, of mortal and immortal birth,</l>
<l>To drag, by this, the Thunderer down to earth</l>
<l>Ye strive in vain! if I but stretch this hand,</l>
<l>I heave the gods, the ocean, and the land;</l>
<l>I fix the chain to great Olympus’ height,</l>
<l>And the vast world hangs trembling in my sight!</l>
<l>For such I reign, unbounded and above;</l>
<l>And such are men and gods, compar’d to Jove.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Homère">Homer</author> (
<author key="Pope">Pope</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The scene of this mighty conflict was supposed to have been in Thessaly, where the country bears the imprint of some great natural convulsion; for the ancients imagined that the gods, making the most of their gigantic strength and stature, hurled huge rocks at each other, and piled mountain upon mountain to reach the abode of Jupiter, the Thunderer.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Mountain on mountain, as the Titans erst,</l>
<l>My brethren, scaling the high seat of Jove,</l>
<l>Heaved Pelion upon Ossa’s shoulders broad</l>
<l>In vain emprise.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Lowell">Lowell</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Saturn, or Cronus, the leader and instigator of the revolt, weary at last of bloodshed and strife, withdrew to Italy, or Hesperia, where he founded a prosperous kingdom, and reigned in peace for many long years.</p>
<p>Jupiter, having disposed of all the Titans, now fancied he would enjoy the power so unlawfully obtained; but Gæa, to punish him for depriving her children of their birthright, created a terrible monster, called Typhœus, or Typhon, which she sent to attack him. This Typhœus was a giant, from whose trunk one hundred dragon heads arose; flames shot from his eyes, nostrils, and mouths; while he incessantly uttered such bloodcurdling screams, that the gods, in terror, fled from Mount Olympus and sought refuge in Egypt. In mortal fear lest this terror-inspiring monster would pursue them, the gods there assumed the forms of different animals; and Jupiter became a ram, while Juno, his sister and queen, changed herself into a cow.</p>
<p>The king of the gods, however, soon became ashamed of his cowardly flight, and resolved to return to Mount Olympus to slay Typhœus with his terrible thunderbolts. A long and fierce struggle ensued, at the end of which, Jupiter, again victorious, viewed his fallen foe with boundless pride; but his triumph was very short-lived.</p>
<p>Enceladus, another redoubtable giant, also created by Gæa, now appeared to avenge Typhœus. He too was signally defeated, and bound with adamantine chains in a burning cave under Mount Ætna. In early times, before he had become accustomed to his prison, he gave vent to his rage by outcries, imprecations, and groans; sometimes he even breathed forth fire and flames, in hopes of injuring his conqueror. But time, it is said, somewhat cooled his resentment; and now he is content with an occasional change of position, which, owing to his huge size, causes the earth to tremble over a space of many miles, producing what is called an earthquake.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Tis said, that thunder-struck Enceladus,</l>
<l>Grovelling beneath the incumbent mountain’s weight,</l>
<l>Lies stretched supine, eternal prey of flames;</l>
<l>And, when he heaves against the burning load,</l>
<l>Reluctant, to invert his broiling limbs,</l>
<l>A sudden earthquake shoots through all the isle,</l>
<l>And Ætna thunders dreadful under ground,</l>
<l>Then pours cut smoke in wreathing curls convolved,</l>
<l>And shades the sun’s bright orb, and blots out day.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Addison">Addison</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img012.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Enceladus under Mount Ætna.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Picart">B. Picart</author>.</p>
<p>Jupiter had now conquered all his foes, asserted his fight to the throne, and could at last reign over the world undisturbed; but he knew that it would be no small undertaking to rule well heaven, earth, and sea, and resolved to divide the power with his brothers. To avoid quarrels and recriminations, he portioned the world out into lots, allowing each of his brothers the privilege of drawing his own share.</p>
<p>Neptune thus obtained control over the sea and all the rivers, and immediately expressed his resolve to wear a symbolic crown, composed exclusively of marine shells and aquatic plants, and to abide within the bounds of his watery realm.</p>
<p>Pluto, the most taciturn of the brothers, received for his portion the sceptre of Tartarus and all the Lower World, where no beam of sunlight was ever allowed to find its way; while Jupiter reserved for himself the general supervision of his brothers’ estates, and the direct management of Heaven and Earth.</p>
<p>Peace now reigned throughout all the world. Not a murmur was heard, except from the Titans, who at length, seeing that further opposition would be useless, grew reconciled to their fate.</p>
<p>In the days of their prosperity, the Titans had intermarried. Cronus had taken Rhea “for better or for worse”; and Iapetus had seen, loved, and wedded the fair Clymene, one of the ocean nymphs, or Oceanides, daughters of Oceanus. The latter pair became the proud parents of four gigantic sons, — Atlas, Menetius, Prometheus (Forethought), and Epimetheus (Afterthought), — who were destined to play prominent parts in Grecian mythology.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Prometheus</head>
<p>At the time of the creation, after covering the newborn Earth with luxuriant vegetation, and peopling it with living creatures of all kinds, Eros perceived that it would be necessary to endow them with instincts which would enable them to preserve and enjoy the life they had received. He therefore called the youngest two sons of Iapetus to his aid, and bade them make a judicious distribution of gifts to all living creatures, and create and endow a superior being, called Man, to rule over all the others.</p>
<p>Prometheus’ and Epimetheus’ first care was, very naturally, to provide for the beings already created. These they endowed with such reckless generosity, that all their favours were soon dispensed, and none remained for the endowment of man. Although they had not the remotest idea how to overcome this difficulty, they proceeded to fashion man from clay.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Prometheus first transmuted</l>
<l>Atoms culled for human clay.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Horace">Horace</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>They first moulded an image similar in form to the gods; bade Eros breathe into its nostrils the spirit of life, and Minerva (Pallas) endow it with a soul; whereupon man lived, and moved, and viewed his new domain.</p>
<p>Justly proud of his handiwork, Prometheus observed man and longed to bestow upon him some great power, unshared by any other creature of earth, which would raise him far above all other living beings, and bring him nearer to the perfection of the immortal gods.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Of Prometheus, how undaunted</l>
<l> On Olympus’ shining bastions</l>
<l>His audacious foot he planted,</l>
<l>Myths are told and songs are chanted,</l>
<l> Full of promptings and suggestions.</l>
<l/>
<l>“Beautiful is the tradition</l>
<l> Of that flight through heavenly portals,</l>
<l>The old classic superstition</l>
<l>Of the theft and the transmission</l>
<l> Of the fire of the Immortals.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Longfellow">Longfellow</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Fire alone, in his estimation, could effect this; but fire was the special possession and prerogative of the gods, and Prometheus knew they would never willingly share it with man, and that, should any one obtain it by stealth, they would never forgive the thief. Long he pondered the matter, and finally determined to obtain fire, or die in the attempt.</p>
<p>One dark night, therefore, he set out for Olympus, entered unperceived into the gods’ abode, seized a lighted brand, hid it in his bosom, and departed unseen, exulting in the success of his enterprise. Arrived upon earth once more, he consigned the stolen treasure to the care of man, who immediately adapted it to various purposes, and eloquently expressed his gratitude to the benevolent deity who had risked his own life to obtain it for him.</p>
<p>From his lofty throne on the topmost peak of Mount Olympus Jupiter beheld an unusual light upon earth. Anxious to ascertain its exact nature, he watched it closely, and before long discovered the theft. His anger then burst forth, terrible to behold; and the gods all quailed when they heard him solemnly vow he would punish the unhappy Prometheus without mercy. To seize the offender in his mighty grasp, bear him off to the Caucasian Mountains, and bind him fast to a great rock, was but a moment’s work. There a voracious vulture was summoned to feast day by day, upon his liver, the tearing of which from his side by the bird’s cruel beak and talons caused the sufferer intense anguish. All day long the vulture gorged himself; but during the cool night, while the bird slept, Prometheus’ suffering abated, and the liver grew again, thus prolonging the torture, which bade fair to have no end.</p>
<p>Disheartened by the prospect of long years of unremitting pain, Prometheus at times could not refrain from pitiful complaints; but generation after generation of men lived on earth, and died, blessing him for the gift he had obtained for them at such a terrible cost. After many centuries of woe, Hercules, son of Jupiter and Alcmene, found Prometheus, killed the vulture, broke the adamantine chains, and liberated the long-suffering god.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Thy godlike crime was to be kind,</l>
<l> To render with thy precepts less</l>
<l> The sum of human wretchedness,</l>
<l>And strengthen man with his own mind.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Byron">Byron</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>Epimetheus and Pandora</head>
<p>The first mortals lived on earth in a state of perfect innocence and bliss. The air was pure and balmy; the sun shone brightly all the year; the earth brought forth delicious fruit in abundance; and beautiful, fragrant flowers bloomed everywhere. Man was content. Extreme cold, hunger, sickness, and death were unknown. Jupiter, who justly ascribed a good part of this beatific condition to the gift conferred by Prometheus, was greatly displeased, and tried to devise some means to punish mankind for the acceptance of the heavenly fire.</p>
<p>With this purpose in view, he assembled the gods on Mount Olympus, where, in solemn council, they decided to create woman; and as soon as she had been artfully fashioned, each one endowed her with some special charm, to make her more attractive.</p>
<quote>
<l> “The crippled artist-god,</l>
<l>Illustrious, moulded from the yielding clay</l>
<l>A bashful virgin’s image, as advis’d</l>
<l>Satumian Jove.</l>
<l>……………………………………………………</l>
<l>“But now when the fair mischief, seeming-good,</l>
<l>His hand had perfected, he led her forth</l>
<l>Exulting in her grac’d attire, the gift</l>
<l>Of Pallas, in the midst of gods and men.</l>
<l>On men and gods in that same moment seiz’d</l>
<l>The ravishment of wonder, when they saw</l>
<l>The deep deceit, th’ inextricable snare.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Hésiode">Hesiod</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Their united efforts were crowned with the utmost success.’ Nothing was lacking, except a name for the peerless creature; and the gods, after due consideration, decreed she should be called Pandora. They then bade Mercury take her to Prometheus as a gift from heaven; but he, knowing only too well that nothing good would come to him from the gods, refused to accept her, and cautioned his brother Epimetheus to follow his example. Unfortunately Epimetheus was of a confiding disposition, and when he beheld the maiden he exclaimed, “Surely so beautiful and gentle a being can bring no evil!” and accepted her most joyfully.</p>
<p>The first days of their union were spent in blissful wanderings, hand in hand, under the cool forest shade; in weaving garlands of fragrant flowers; and in refreshing themselves with the luscious fruit, which hung so temptingly within reach.</p>
<p>One lovely evening, while dancing on the green, they saw Mercury, Jupiter’s messenger, coming towards them. His step was slow and weary, his garments dusty and travel-stained, and he seemed almost to stagger beneath the weight of a huge box which rested upon his shoulders. Pandora immediately ceased dancing, to speculate with feminine curiosity upon the contents of the chest. In a whisper she begged Epimetheus to ask Mercury what brought him thither. Epimetheus complied with her request; but Mercury evaded the question, asked permission to deposit his burden in their dwelling for safe-keeping, professing himself too weary to convey it to its destination that day, and promised to call for it shortly. The permission was promptly granted. Mercury, with a sigh, of relief, placed the box in one corner, and then departed, refusing all hospitable offers of rest and refreshment.</p>
<p>He had scarcely crossed the threshold, when Pandora expressed a strong desire to have a peep at the contents of the mysterious box; but Epimetheus, surprised and shocked, told her that her curiosity was unseemly, and then, to dispel the frown and pout seen for the first time on the fair face of his beloved, he entreated her to come out into the fresh air and join in the merry games of their companions. For the first time, also, Pandora refused to comply with his request. Dismayed, and very much discouraged, Epimetheus sauntered out alone, thinking she would soon join him, and perhaps by some caress atone for her present wilfulness.</p>
<p>Left alone with the mysterious casket, Pandora became more and more inquisitive. Stealthily she drew near and examined it with great interest, for it was curiously wrought of dark wood, and surmounted by a delicately carved head, of such fine workmanship that it seemed to smile and encourage her. Around the box a glittering golden cord was wound, and fastened on top in an intricate knot. Pandora, who prided herself specially on her deft fingers, felt sure she could unfasten it, and, reasoning that it would not be indiscreet to untie it if she did not raise the lid, she set to work. Long she strove, but all in vain. Ever and anon the laughing voices of Epimetheus and his companions, playing in the luxuriant shade, were wafted in on the summer breeze. Repeatedly she heard them call and beseech her to join them; yet she persisted in her attempt. She was just on the point of giving up in despair, when suddenly the refractory knot yielded to her fumbling fingers, and the cord, unrolling, dropped on the floor.</p>
<p>Pandora had repeatedly fancied that sounds like whispers issued from the box. The noise now seemed to increase, and she breathlessly applied her ear to the lid to ascertain whether it really proceeded from within. Imagine, therefore, her surprise when she distinctly heard these words, uttered in the most pitiful accents: “Pandora, dear Pandora, have pity upon us! Free us from this gloomy prison! Open, open, we beseech you!”</p>
<p>Pandora’s heart beat so fast and loud, that it seemed for a moment to drown all other sounds. Should she open the box? Just then a familiar step outside made her start guiltily. Epimetheus was coming, and she knew he would urge her again to come out, and would prevent the gratification of her curiosity. Precipitately, therefore, she raised the lid to have one little peep before he came in.</p>
<p>Now, Jupiter had malignantly crammed into this box all the diseases, sorrows, vices, and crimes that afflict poor humanity; and the box was no sooner opened, than all these ills flew out, in the guise of horrid little brown-winged creatures, closely resembling moths. These little insects fluttered about, alighting, some upon Epimetheus, who had just entered, and some upon Pandora, pricking and stinging them most unmercifully. They then flew out through the open door and windows, and fastened upon the merrymakers without, whose shouts of joy were soon changed into wails of pain and anguish.</p>
<p>Epimetheus and Pandora had never before experienced the faintest sensation of pain or anger; but, as soon as these winged evil spirits had stung them, they began to weep, and, alas! quarrelled for the first time in their lives. Epimetheus reproached his wife in bitterest terms for her thoughtless action; but in the very midst of his vituperation he suddenly heard a sweet little voice entreat for freedom. The sound proceeded from the unfortunate box, whose cover Pandora had dropped again, in the first moment of her surprise and pain. “Open, open, and I will heal your wounds! Please let me out!” it pleaded.</p>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img020.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Pandora.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Bates">Harry Bates</author>.</p>
<p>The tearful couple viewed each other inquiringly, and listened again. Once more they heard the same pitiful accents; and Epimetheus bade his wife open the box and set the speaker free, adding very amiably, that she had already done so much harm by her ill-fated curiosity, that it would be difficult to add materially to its evil consequences, and that, perchance, the box contained some good spirit, whose ministrations might prove beneficial.</p>
<p>It was well for Pandora that she opened the box a second time, for the gods, with a sudden impulse of compassion, had concealed among the evil spirits one kindly creature. Hope, whose mission was to heal the wounds inflicted by her fellow prisoners.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Hope sole remain’d within, nor took her flight,</l>
<l>Beneath the vessel’s verge conceal’d from light.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Hésiode">Hesiod</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Lightly fluttering hither and thither on her snowy pinions, Hope touched the wounded places on Pandora’s and Epimetheus’ creamy skin, and relieved their suffering, then quickly flew out of the open window, to perform the same gentle office for the other victims, and to cheer their downcast spirits.</p>
<p>Thus, according to the ancients, evil entered into the world. bringing untold misery: but Hope followed closely in its footsteps, to aid struggling humanity, and point to a happier future.</p>
<quote>
<l><hi rend="i">‘‘</hi>Hope rules a land for ever green:</l>
<l>All powers that serve the bright-eyed Queen</l>
<l> Are confident and gay;</l>
<l>Clouds at her bidding disappear;</l>
<l>Points she to aught? —the bliss draws near,</l>
<l> And Fancy smooths the way.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Wordsworth">Wordsworth</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>During many centuries, therefore, Hope continued to be revered, although the other divinities had ceased to be worshipped.</p>
<p>According to another version, Pandora was sent down to man, bearing a vase in which the evil spirits were imprisoned, and on the way, seized by a fit of curiosity, raised the cover, and allowed them all to escape.</p>
<p>Little by little the world was peopled; and the first years of man’s existence upon earth were, as we have seen, years of unalloyed happiness. There was no occasion for labour, for the earth brought forth spontaneously all that was necessary for man’s subsistence. “Innocence, virtue, and truth prevailed; neither were there any laws to restrict men, nor judges to punish.” This time of bliss has justly borne the title of the Golden Age, and the people in Italy then throve under the wise rule of good old Saturn, or Cronus.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, nothing in this world is lasting; and the Golden Age was followed by another, not quite so prosperous, hence called the Silver Age, when the year was first divided into seasons, and men were obliged to toil for their daily bread.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Succeeding times a silver age behold,</l>
<l>Excelling brass, but more excell’d by gold.</l>
<l>Then summer, autumn, winter, did appear,</l>
<l>And spring was but a season of the year;</l>
<l>The sun his annual course obliquely made,</l>
<l>Good days contracted, and enlarg’d the bad.</l>
<l>The air with sultry heats began to glow,</l>
<l>The wings of winds were clogg’d with ice and snow;</l>
<l>And shivering mortals into houses driven,</l>
<l>Sought shelter from the inclemency of heaven.</l>
<l>Those houses, then, were caves or homely sheds,</l>
<l>With twining osiers fenc’d, and moss their beds.</l>
<l>Then ploughs, for seed, the fruitful furrows broke,</l>
<l>And oxen labour’d first beneath the yoke.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Dryden J.">Dryden</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Yet, in spite of these few hardships, the people were happy, far happier than their descendants during the Age of Brass, which speedily followed, when strife became customary, and differences were settled by blows.</p>
<p>But by far the worst of all was the Iron Age, when men’s passions knew no bounds, and they even dared refuse all homage to the immortal gods. War was waged incessantly; the earth was saturated with blood; the rights of hospitality were openly violated; and murder, rape, and theft were committed on all sides.</p>
<p>Jupiter had kept a close watch over men’s actions during all these years; and this evil conduct aroused his wrath to such a point, that he vowed he would annihilate the human race. But the modes of destruction were manifold, and, as he could not decide which would eventually prove most efficacious, he summoned the gods to deliberate and aid him by their counsels. The first suggestion offered, was to destroy the world by fire, kindled by Jupiter’s much dreaded thunderbolts; and the king of gods was about to put it into instant execution, when his arm was stayed by the objection that the rising flames might set fire to his own abode, and reduce its magnificence to unsightly ashes. He therefore rejected the plan as impracticable, and bade the gods devise other means of destruction.</p>
<p>After much delay and discussion, the immortals agreed to wash mankind off the face of the earth by a mighty deluge. The winds were instructed to gather together the rain clouds over the earth. Neptune let loose the waves of the sea, bidding them rise, overflow, and deluge the land. No sooner had the gods spoken, than the elements obeyed: the winds blew; the rain fell in torrents; lakes, seas, rivers, and oceans broke their bonds; and terrified mortals, forgetting their petty quarrels in a common impulse to flee from the death which threatened them, climbed the highest mountains, clung to uprooted trees, and even took refuge in the light skiffs they had constructed in happier days. Their efforts were all in vain, however; for the waters rose higher and higher, overtook them one after another in their ineffectual efforts to escape, closed over the homes where they might have been so happy, and drowned their last despairing cries in their seething depths.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Now hills and vales no more distinction know,</l>
<l>And levell’d nature lies oppress’d below;</l>
<l>The most of mortals perish in the flood.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Dryden J.">Dryden</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>Deucalion and Pyrrha</head>
<p>The rain continued to fall, until, after many days, the waves covered all the surface of the earth except the summit of Mount Parnassus, the highest peak in Greece. On this mountain, surrounded by the ever-rising flood, stood the son of Prometheus, Deucalion, with his faithful wife Pyrrha, a daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. From thence they, the sole survivors, viewed the universal desolation with tear-dimmed eyes.</p>
<p>In spite of the general depravity, the lives of this couple had always been pure and virtuous; and when Jupiter saw them there alone, and remembered their piety, he decided not to include them in the general destruction, but to save their lives. He therefore bade the winds return to their cave, and the rain to cease. Neptune, in accordance with his decree, blew a resounding blast upon his conch shell to recall the wandering waves, which immediately returned within their usual bounds.</p>
<p>Deucalion and Pyrrha followed the receding waves step by step down the steep mountain side.</p>
<quote>
<l> “At length the world was all restor’d to view,</l>
<l>But desolate, and of a sickly hue;</l>
<l>Nature beheld herself, and stood aghast,</l>
<l>A dismal desert and a silent waste.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Dryden J.">Dryden</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>As they talked upon how they should repeople the desolate earth, they came to the shrine of Delphi, which alone had been able to resist the force of the waves. There they entered to consult the wishes of the gods. Their surprise and horror were unbounded, however, when a voice exclaimed, “Depart from hence with veiled heads, and cast your mothers’ bones behind you!” To obey such a command seemed sacrilegious in the extreme; for the dead had always been held in deep veneration by the Greeks, and the desecration of a grave was considered a heinous crime, and punished accordingly. But, they reasoned, the god’s oracles can seldom be accepted in a literal sense; and Deucalion, after due thought, explained to Pyrrha what he conceived to be the meaning of this mysterious command.</p>
<p>“The Earth,” said he, “is the mother of all, and the stones may be considered her bones.” Husband and wife speedily decided to act upon this premise, and continued their descent, casting stones behind them. All those thrown by Deucalion were immediately changed into men, while those cast by Pyrrha became women.</p>
<p>Thus the earth was peopled for the second time with a blameless race of men, sent to replace the wicked beings slain by Jupiter. Deucalion and Pyrrha shortly after became the happy parents of a son named Hellen, who gave his name to all the Hellenic or Greek race; while his sons Æolus and Dorus, and grandsons Ion and Achæus, became the ancestors of the Æolian, Dorian, Ionian, and Achaian nations.</p>
<p>Other mythologists, in treating of the diluvian myths, state that Deucalion and Pyrrha took refuge in an ark, which, after sailing about for many days, was stranded on the top of Mount Parnassus. This version was far less popular with the Greeks, although it betrays still more plainly the common source whence all these myths are derived.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Who does not see in drown Deucalion’s name,</l>
<l>When Earth her men and Sea had lost her shore,</l>
<l> Old Noah!”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Fletcher">Fletcher</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<head>Chapter II: Jupiter</head>
<div>
<head>The Power of Jupiter</head>
<p><hi rend="sc">Jupiter</hi>, Jove, or Zeus, king of the gods, supreme ruler of the universe, the special deity of mankind, the personification of the sky and of all the phenomena of the air, and the guardian of political order and peace, was the most prominent of all the Olympian divinities: the others were obliged to submit to his will, and trembled at his all-powerful nod.</p>
<quote>
<l>“He, whose all-conscious eyes the world behold,</l>
<l>The eternal Thunderer sat, enthroned in gold,</l>
<l>High heaven the footstool of his feet he makes,</l>
<l>And wide beneath him all Olympus shakes.”</l>
<l/>
<l>“He spoke, and awful bends his sable brows,</l>
<l>Shakes his ambrosial curls, and gives the nod,</l>
<l>The stamp of fate and sanction of the god:</l>
<l>High heaven with trembling the dread signal took,</l>
<l>And all Olympus to the centre shook.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Homère">Homer</author> (
<author key="Pope">Pope</author>’s tr.)</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The Fates and Destiny alone dared oppose Jupiter’s sovereign will, and they continued to issue their irrevocable decrees, even after he supplanted his father and began to rule over all.</p>
<p>In common with all other Greek and Roman divinities, Jupiter, though immortal, was subject to pleasure, pain, grief, and anger, and a prey to all the passions which rule the hearts of men.</p>
<p>It was he who presided at the councils held on the top of “many-peaked Olympus,” and summoned the gods whenever he wished to discuss with them any matter of importance, or to indulge in a sumptuous repast, when they ate the celestial ambrosia and quaffed the fragrant nectar.</p>
<p>He is generally represented as a fine majestic figure, with long curling hair and beard, clad in flowing drapery, his redoubtable thunderbolts or sceptre in one hand, and a statue of Victory in the other. The world is his footstool; and the eagle, emblem of strength and power, is usually seen close beside him.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>His Attendants</head>
<p>Jupiter had his own special attendants, such as Victoria, or Nice, the goddess of victory, who was ever ready to obey his slightest behest, and it is said her master loved her so dearly that he generally held an image of her in his hand.</p>
<p>The hundred-tongued goddess of fame, Fama, trumpet in hand, proclaimed, at his bidding, anything he wished, never questioning whether it were true or false.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Fame than who never plague that runs</l>
<l> Its way more swiftly wins:</l>
<l>Her very motion lends her power:</l>
<l>She flies and waxes every hour.</l>
<l>At first she shrinks, and cowers for dread:</l>
<l> Ere long she soars on high:</l>
<l>Upon the ground she plants her tread,</l>
<l> Her forehead in the sky.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Virgile">Virgil</author> (
<author key="Conington">Conington</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Close by Jupiter’s side was sometimes seen Fortuna, goddess of fortune, poised on a constantly revolving wheel, whereon she journeyed throughout the world, scattering with careless hands her numerous gifts, and lavishing with indifference her choicest smiles; while Hebe, or Juventas, the goddess of youth, was ever ready at his wish to pour out the nectar, in which the gods were wont to pledge each other.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Hebe, honoured of them all,</l>
<l>Ministered nectar, and from cups of gold</l>
<l>They pledged each other.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Homère">Homer</author> (
<author key="Bryant W.">Bryant</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img028.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Jupiter.</hi><lb/>Capitol, Rome.</p>
<p>But this fair goddess awkwardly tripped and fell on a solemn occasion, and was forced to resign her office. To replace her, the father of the gods was obliged to go in quest of another cup-bearer.</p>
<p>To facilitate his search, he assumed the form of an eagle, and winged his flight over the earth. He had not flown far, before he beheld a youth of marvellous beauty, alone on a neighbouring hill. To swoop down, catch him up in his mighty talons, and bear him safely off to Olympus, was but a moment’s work; and there the kidnapped youth Ganymede, the son of a king of Troy, was carefully instructed in the duties he was called upon to perform in the future.</p>
<quote>
<l>“And godlike Ganymede, most beautiful</l>
<l>Of men; the gods beheld and caught him up</l>
<l>To heaven, so beautiful was he, to pour</l>
<l>The wine to Jove, and ever dwell with them.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Homère">Homer</author> (
<author key="Bryant W.">Bryant</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>Philemon and Baucis</head>
<p>Solicitous for the welfare of mankind, Jupiter often visited the earth, taking great care to assume some disguise which would enable him to ascertain all he wished without any risk of detection. One day he and Mercury, his special messenger and favourite among the gods, took the forms of needy belated travellers, and entered the lowly hut of a worthy old couple, Philemon and Baucis.</p>
<p>Eager to offer their best to the strangers, these poor people decided to kill their sole remaining goose; but their efforts to secure it were vain, and finally the persecuted fowl took refuge between Jupiter’s knees. Touched with their zeal, yet anxious to prevent the death of the confiding goose, Jupiter revealed himself to his faithful worshippers, and in gratitude for their intended sacrifice bade them ask any boon, promising by the great river Styx — the most binding and solemn oath a god could utter — to grant their request.</p>
<p>Contrary to the custom current in similar cases, Philemon and Baucis made a modest and judicious choice, and proffered a timid request that they might serve the gods as long as life and strength endured, and finally die together. This most reasonable wish was immediately granted; and Jupiter, moreover, changed their humble abode into a superb temple, where they could offer daily sacrifices on his altars.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Their little shed, scarce large enough for two,</l>
<l>Seems, from the ground increased, in height and bulk to grow.</l>
<l>A stately temple shoots within the skies,</l>
<l>The crotches of their cot in columns rise;</l>
<l>The pavement polish’d marble they behold,</l>
<l>The gates with sculpture grac’d the spires and tiles of gold.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Dryden J.">Dryden</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>After many years of faithful service, when age had made them long for death, Philemon and Baucis were transformed into majestic oaks, which stood for many a century in front of the temple, monuments of the-love and faith which had bound the pair through life.</p>
<p>Although married to Juno, Jupiter often indulged in love affairs with other goddesses, and even with mortal maidens. The ancients themselves did not practise polygamy, but their gods were supposed to be able to indulge all their passions with impunity. As the personification of the sky, Jupiter, therefore, consorted at times with Juno (the Atmosphere), with Dione (Moisture), with Themis (Justice), &c., without incurring any reproach; for these marriages, in their estimation, were all symbolical.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Europa</head>
<p>But Juno being of a jealous disposition, Jupiter was forced to conduct his courtships with great secrecy and circumspection, and therefore generally adopted the precaution of a disguise. To win Europa, the fair daughter of Agenor, for instance, he became a bull.</p>
<quote>
<l> “The gods themselves,</l>
<l>Humbling their deities to love, have taken</l>
<l>The shapes of beasts upon them.</l>
<l>Jupiter Became a bull and bellow’d.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Shakespeare">Shakespeare</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>One day Europa was playing in her father’s meadows with her three brothers, Cadmus, Phœnix, and Cilix, when she suddenly saw a white bull coming towards her; not with fiery eyes and lowered horns, but gently, as if to express a mute request to be petted. The maiden, delighted, stroked the beast, and decked him with bright garlands of meadow-blossoms. Then, seeing him kneel, as if to invite her to mount, she lightly sprang upon his broad back, calling to her companions to follow her example; but, before they could do as she wished, the bull had risen to his feet, and galloped off towards the sea with his fair burden on his back.</p>
<p>Instead of turning when he saw the foam-crested waves, he plunged into the midst of them, and in a few minutes disappeared from view, so rapidly did he swim away. To reassure the frightened girl, the bull now spoke in gentle accents, bidding her dismiss all fear, for he was the great Jupiter in disguise.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Take courage, gentle maid! nor fear the tide:</l>
<l>I, though near-seen a bull, am heavenly Jove:</l>
<l>I change my shape at will.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Moschos">Moschus</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Pleased with the novelty of her situation, and flattered by the god’s evident admiration, Europa ceased to struggle, wound her arms more closely round the bull’s neck to prevent the waves from washing her off her perilous seat, and allowed herself to be carried away.</p>
<p>Jupiter finally deposited his fair burden upon the shores of a new land, to which he gallantly gave her name, Europe. He then resumed his wonted form, explained at length his reasons for so unceremoniously kidnapping her, and finally won her consent to their union. Their three sons were Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon. The two former were subsequently appointed judges in the Infernal Regions, while the third found an early but glorious death during the Trojan War.</p>
<p>All unconscious of their sister’s fate, the young princes had returned in haste to their father’s palace to announce her sudden involuntary departure. Agenor, whose favourite she had always been, rent his garments in grief, and bade his sons go forth and seek her, and not to return till they had found her. Accompanied by their mother, Telephassa, they immediately set out on their journey, inquiring of all they met if they had seen their sister. Search and inquiry proved equally fruitless.</p>
<p>At last, weary of this hopeless quest, Phœnix refused his further aid, and allowed his sorrowing relatives to continue without him, remaining in a land which from him was called Phœnicia. Cilix, too, soon followed his example, and settled in a fertile country which they had reached, hence called Cilicia; and finally Telephassa, worn out with grief and fatigue, lay down to die, charging her eldest son to go on alone.</p>
<p>Cadmus wandered on till he came to Delphi, where he consulted the oracle; but, to his great dismay, the only reply he received was, “Follow the cow, and settle where she rests.”</p>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img032.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">The Delphic Sibyl.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Michelangelo">Michael Angelo</author>.</p>
<p>In deep perplexity he left the temple, and, from force of habit, journeyed on, patiently questioning all he met. Soon he perceived a cow leisurely walking in front of him, and, mindful of the oracle, he ceased his search and followed her. Urged by curiosity, many adventurers joined him on the way, and, when the cow at last lay down in the land since called Bœotia, they all promised to aid Cadmus, their chosen leader, to found their future capital, which was to be called Thebes.</p>
<p>Parched with thirst after their long walk, the men then hastened to a neighbouring spring, but, to Cadmus’ surprise, time passed and still they did not return. Armed with his trusty sword, he finally went down to the spring to discover the cause of their delay, and found that they had all been devoured by a huge dragon, which lived in the hollow. The prince raised his sword to avenge their death, and dealt the dragon such a deadly blow upon the head, that he put an immediate end to its existence.</p>
<p>While Cadmus stood there contemplating his lifeless foe, a voice bade him extract the dragon’s teeth, and sow them in the ground already broken for his future city. No human being was within sight: so Cadmus knew the order proceeded from the immortal gods, and immediately prepared to obey it. The dragon’s teeth were no sooner planted, than a crop of giants sprang from the soil, full grown, and armed to the teeth. They were about to fall upon Cadmus, when the same voice bade him cast a stone in the midst of their close-drawn phalanx. Cadmus, seeing the giants were almost upon him, and that no time was to be lost, quickly threw a stone. The effect produced was almost instantaneous; for the giants, each fancying it had been thrown by his neighbour, began fighting among themselves. In a few minutes the number of giants was reduced to five, who sheathed their bloodstained weapons, and humbly tendered their services to Cadmus. With their aid, the foundations of the city were laid; but their labour was not very arduous, as the gods caused some of the public buildings to rise up out of the ground, all complete, and ready for use.</p>
<p>To reward Cadmus for his loving and painstaking search for Europa, Jupiter gave him the hand of the fair princess Harmonia, a daughter of Mars and Venus, in marriage. Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, is supposed to have invented the alphabet, and introduced its use into Greece. Although his career was very prosperous at first, he finally incurred the wrath of the gods by forgetting, on a solemn occasion, to offer them a suitable sacrifice; and, in anger at this dereliction of duty, they changed him and Harmonia into huge serpents.</p>
<p>Jupiter was, of course, very widely and generally worshipped by the ancients; and his principal temples — the Capitol at Rome, and the shrine of Jupiter Ammon in Libya — were world-renowned. He also had a famous temple at Dodona, where an oak-tree gave forth mysterious prophecies, which were supposed to have been inspired by the king of gods; this long-lost shrine has recently been discovered.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Oh, where, Dodona! is thine aged grove,</l>
<l>Prophetic fount, and oracle divine?</l>
<l>What valley echoed the response of Jove?</l>
<l>What trace remaineth of the Thunderer’s shrine?</l>
<l>All, all forgotten?”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Byron">Byron</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>A magnificent temple at Olympia, on the Peloponnesus, was also dedicated to Jupiter; and here every fifth year the people of Greece were wont to assemble to celebrate games, in honour of Jupiter’s great victory over the Titans. These festivals were known as the Olympian Games; and the Greeks generally reckoned time by Olympiads, that is to say, by the space of time between the celebrations. Within the temple at Olympia stood a wonderful statue of gold and ivory, the work of
<author key="Phidias">Phidias</author>. Its proportions and beauty were such, that it was counted one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It is said, too, that the artist, having completed this masterpiece, longed for some sign of approval from heaven, and fervently prayed for a token that the god accepted his labour. Jupiter, in answer to this prayer, sent a vivid flash of lightning, which played about the colossal image, illuminating it, but leaving it quite unharmed.</p>
<p>The Greeks were indebted to
<author key="Phidias">Phidias</author> for many of their most exquisite statues of the gods; but none of the others equalled this figure of Jupiter in size, dignity of attitude, or elaborate finish.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Wise
<author key="Phidias">Phidias</author>, thus his skill to prove,</l>
<l>Through many a god advanc’d to Jove,</l>
<l>And taught the polish’d rocks to shine</l>
<l>With airs and lineaments divine;</l>
<l>Till Greece, amaz’d, and half afraid,</l>
<l>Th’ assembled deities survey’d.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Addison">Addison</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<head>Chapter III: Juno</head>
<div>
<head>The Consort of Jupiter</head>
<p><hi rend="sc">Juno</hi> (Hera, Here), queen of heaven, and goddess of the atmosphere and of marriage, was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and consequently the sister of Jupiter; but, as soon as the latter had dethroned his parents and seized the sceptre, he began to look about him for a suitable helpmate. Juno won his affections by her great beauty; and he immediately began his courtship, which he carried on in the guise of a cuckoo, to infuse a little romance into it. He evidently found favour in her sight, and won her consent to share his throne; for shortly afterward their wedding was celebrated with great pomp on Mount Olympus. It was on this solemn occasion that the immortal conclave of the gods declared that Juno should be henceforth honoured as goddess of marriage.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Juno, who presides</l>
<l>Supreme o’er bridegrooms and o’er brides.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Virgile">Virgil</author> (
<author key="Conington">Conington</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>But although in the beginning this union seemed very happy, there soon arose subjects for contention; for unfortunately Jupiter was inclined to be faithless, and Juno jealous, and, like the element she personified, exceedingly variable in her moods. On such occasions she gave way to her violent temper, and bitterly reproached her husband, who, impatient of her censure, punished her severely, and, instead of reforming, merely continued his numerous intrigues with renewed zest.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>Callisto and Arcas</head>
<p>On one occasion he fell deeply in love with a maiden named Callisto, gentle, fair, and slender; but, in spite of all the precautions which he took when visiting her, Juno discovered the object of his affections. Night and day she thought and planned, until she devised a species of revenge which seemed adequate. The graceful girl was suddenly bereft of speech, changed into a rough, ungainly bear, and driven out into the solitudes of the great forests, which were from that time forth to be her home. Jupiter vainly sought his absent mistress, and it was only long afterward that he discovered her and her little bear son Areas. In pity for all they had suffered, he transferred them both to the sky, where they are still known as the constellations of the Great and Little Bear.</p>
<p>Juno, like her husband, had also her special attendant, Iris (the Rainbow), whom she frequently employed as messenger, — a task which this deity accomplished with as much celerity as Mercury. Her flight through the air was so rapid, that she was seldom seen; and no one would have known she had passed, had it not been for the brilliant trail her many-coloured robe left behind her in the sky.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Like fiery clouds, that flush with ruddy glare,</l>
<l>Or Iris gliding through the purple air;</l>
<l>When loosely girt her dazzling mantle flows,</l>
<l>And ’gainst the sun in arching colours glows.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Valerius Flaccus">Flaccus</author> (
<author key="Elton">Elton</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Juno is the mother of Mars, Hebe, and Vulcan, and is always described and represented as a beautiful, majestic woman, clad in flowing robes, with a diadem and sceptre. The peacock and cuckoo were both sacred to her, and are therefore often seen at her side.</p>
<p>Her principal places of worship were at Mycenæ, Sparta, Argos, Rome, and Heræum. She had also numerous other sanctuaries scattered throughout the ancient world, and was worshipped in the same temples as Jupiter. Many fine statues of this goddess were found in Greece and Italy, some of which are still extant, and serve to show the ancients’ exalted conception of the Queen of Heaven.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>Cleobis and Biton</head>
<p>Juno’s festivals, the Matronalia, in Rome, were always celebrated with great pomp. Less important feasts were held in each city where a temple was dedicated to her. On one of these occasions an old priestess was very anxious to go to the temple at Argos, where she had ministered to the goddess for many years, and which she had left only to be married. The way was long and dusty: so the aged woman, who could no longer walk such a distance, bade her sons, Cleobis and Biton, harness her white heifers to her car. The youths hastened to do her bidding; but, although they searched diligently, the heifers could not be found. Rather than disappoint their aged mother, who had set her heart upon attending the services, these kind-hearted sons harnessed themselves to the cart, and drew her through the city to the temple gates, amid the acclamations of all the people, who admired this trait of filial devotion.</p>
<p>The mother was so touched by her sons’ affection, that, as she knelt before the altar, she fervently prayed Juno to bestow upon them the greatest boon in her power. At the conclusion of the services the ex-priestess went into the portico, where her sons had thrown themselves down to rest after their unwonted exertions; but instead of finding them merely asleep, as she expected, she found them dead. The Queen of Heaven had transported them while asleep to the Elysian Fields, the place of endless bliss, where such as they enjoyed eternal life.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<head>Chapter IV: Minerva</head>
<div>
<head>The Birth of Minerva</head>
<p><hi rend="sc">Although</hi> immortal, the gods were not exempt from physical pain. One day Jupiter suffered intensely from a sudden headache, and, in hopes that some mode of alleviation would be devised, he summoned all the gods to Olympus. Their united efforts were vain, however; and even the remedies suggested by Apollo, god of medicine, proved inefficacious. Unwilling, or perchance unable, to endure the racking pain any longer, Jupiter bade one of his sons, Vulcan, cleave his head open with an axe. With cheerful alacrity the dutiful god obeyed; and no sooner was the operation performed, than Minerva (Pallas, Athene) sprang out of her father’s head, full-grown, clad in glittering armour, with poised spear, and chanting a triumphant song of victory.</p>
<quote>
<l> “From his awful head</l>
<l>Whom Jove brought forth, in warlike armour drest,</l>
<l>Golden, all radiant.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Shelley">Shelley</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The assembled gods recoiled in fear before this unexpected apparition, while at the same time a mighty commotion over land and sea proclaimed the advent of a great divinity.</p>
<p>The goddess, who had thus joined the inhabitants of Olympus, was destined to preside over peace, defensive war, and needlework, to be the incarnation of wisdom, and to put to flight the obscure deity called Dulness, who until then had ruled the world.</p>
<quote>
<l>‘‘Ere Pallas issu’d from the Thund’rer’s head,</l>
<l>Dulness o’er all possess’d her ancient right,</l>
<l>Daughter of Chaos and eternal Night.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Pope">Pope</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Minerva, having forced her unattractive predecessor to beat an ignominious retreat, quickly seized the sceptre and immediately began to rule in her stead.</p>
<p>Not long after her birth, Cecrops, a Phœnician, came to Greece, where he founded a beautiful city in the province since called Attica. All the gods watched his undertaking with great interest; and finally, seeing the town promised to become a thriving place, each wished the privilege of naming it. A general council was held, and after some deliberation most of the gods withdrew their claims. Soon none but Minerva and Neptune were left to contend for the coveted honour.</p>
<p>To settle the quarrel without evincing any partiality, Jupiter announced that the city would be entrusted to the protection of the deity who would create the most useful object for the use of man. Raising his trident, Neptune struck the ground, from which a noble horse sprang forth, amid the exclamations of wonder and admiration of all the spectators. His qualities were duly explained by his proud creator, and all thought it quite impossible for Minerva to surpass him. Loudly they laughed, and scornfully too, when she, in her turn, produced an olive tree; but when she had told them the manifold uses to which wood, fruit, foliage, twigs, &c., could be applied, and explained that the olive was the sign of peace and prosperity, and therefore far more desirable than the horse, the emblem of war and wretchedness, they could but acknowledge her gift the most serviceable, and award her the prize.</p>
<p>To commemorate this victory over her rival, Minerva, gave her own name of Athene to the city, whose inhabitants, from that time forth, were taught to honour her as their tutelary goddess.</p>
<p>Ever at Jupiter’s side, Minerva often aided him by her wise counsels, and in times of war borrowed his terrible shield, the Ægis, which she flung over her shoulder when she sallied forth to give her support to those whose cause was just.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Her shoulder bore</l>
<l>The dreadful Ægis with its shaggy brim</l>
<l>Bordered with Terror. There was Strife, and there</l>
<l>Was Fortitude, and there was fierce Pursuit,</l>
<l>And there the Gorgon’s head, a ghastly sight,</l>
<l>Deformed and dreadful, and a sign of woe.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Homère">Homer</author> (
<author key="Bryant W.">Bryant</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The din of battle had no terrors for this doughty goddess, and on every occasion she was wont to plunge into the thickest of the fray with the utmost valour.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Arachne</head>
<p>These virile tastes were, however, fully counterbalanced by some exclusively feminine, for Minerva was as deft with her needle as with her sword. In Greece, there lived in those olden times a maiden by the name of Arachne. Pretty, young, and winsome, she would have been loved by all had it not been for her inordinate pride, not in her personal advantages, but in her skill as a needlewoman.</p>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img040.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Arachne.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Moreau">Moreau</author>.</p>
<p>Arachne, in her conceit, fancied that no one could equal the work done by her deft fingers, so she boasted far and wide that she would not hesitate to match her skill with Minerva’s. She made this remark so loudly and so frequently, that the goddess finally was annoyed, and left her seat in high Olympus to punish the maiden. In the guise of an old crone, she entered Arachne’s house, seated herself, and began a conversation. In a few minutes the maiden had resumed her usual strain, and renewed her rash boast. Minerva gently advised her to be more modest, lest she should incur the wrath of the gods by her presumptuous words; but Arachne was so blinded by her conceit, that she scorned the well-meant warning, saucily tossed her head, and declared she wished the goddess would hear her, and propose a contest, in which she would surely be able to prove the truth of her assertions. This insolent speech so incensed Minerva, that she cast aside her disguise and accepted the challenge.</p>
<p>Both set up their looms, and began to weave exquisite designs in tapestry: Minerva choosing as her subject her contest with Neptune; and Arachne, the kidnapping of Europa. In silence the fair weavers worked, and their webs grew apace under their practised fingers. The assembled gods, the horse, the olive tree, seemed to live and move under Minerva’s flashing shuttle.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Emongst these leaves she made a Butterflie,</l>
<l>With excellent device and wondrous slight,</l>
<l>Fluttring among the Olives wantonly,</l>
<l>That seem’d to live, so like it was in sight:</l>
<l>The velvet nap which on his wings doth lie,</l>
<l>The silken downe with which his backe is dight,</l>
<l>His broad outstretched homes, his hayrie thies,</l>
<l>His glorious colours, and his glistering eies.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Spenser">Spenser</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Arachne, in the meanwhile, was intent upon her swimming bull, against whose broad breast the waves splashed, and upon a half-laughing, half-frightened girl, who clung to the bull’s horns, while the wind played with her flowing tresses and garments.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Sweet Europa’s mantle blew unclasp’d,</l>
<l> From off her shoulder backward borne:</l>
<l>From one hand droop’d a crocus: one hand grasp’d</l>
<l> The mild bull’s golden horn.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Tennyson A.">Tennyson</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The finishing touches all given, each turned to view her rival’s work, and at the very first glance Arachne was forced to acknowledge her failure. To be thus outstripped, after all her proud boasts, was humiliating indeed. Bitterly did Arachne now repent of her folly; and in her despair she bound a rope about her neck, and hung herself. Minerva saw her discomfited rival was about to escape: so she quickly changed her dangling body into a spider, and condemned her to weave and spin without ceasing—a warning to all conceited mortals.</p>
<p>Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, was widely worshipped. Temples and altars without number were dedicated to her service, the most celebrated of all being the Parthenon at Athens. Naught but the ruins of this mighty pile now exist; but they suffice to testify to the beauty of the edifice, which served, in turn, as temple, church, mosque, and finally as powder magazine.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Fair Parthenon! yet still must Fancy weep</l>
<l>For thee, thou work of nobler spirits flown.</l>
<l>Bright, as of old, the sunbeams o’er thee sleep.</l>
<l>In all their beauty still — and thine is gone!</l>
<l>Empires have sunk since thou wert first revered,</l>
<l>And varying rites have sanctified thy shrine.</l>
<l>The dust is round thee of the race that rear’d</l>
<l>Thy walls; and thou — their fate must soon be thine!”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Hemans">Hemans</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img042.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Varvakeion Statuette.</hi><lb/>Antique copy of the Athena of
<author key="Phidias">Phidias</author>. <lb/>National Museum, Athens.</p>
<p>Statues of Minerva — a beautiful, majestic woman, fully clothed and armed — were very numerous. The most celebrated of all, by the renowned Greek sculptor
<author key="Phidias">Phidias</author>, measured full forty feet in height. Festivals were celebrated in honour of Minerva wherever her worship was held — some, the Greek Panathenæa, for instance, only every four years; others, such as the Minervalia and Quinquatria, every year. At these festivals the Palladium, a statue of the goddess, said to have fallen from heaven, was carried in procession through the city, where the people hailed its appearance with joyful cries and songs of praise.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<head>Chapter V: Apollo</head>
<div>
<head>The Beautiful God</head>
<p><hi rend="sc">The</hi> most glorious and beautiful among all the gods was Apollo (Phœbus, Sol, Helios, Cynthius, Pytheus), god of the sun, of medicine, music, poetry, and all fine arts.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Bright-hair’d Apollo! — thou who ever art</l>
<l>A blessing to the world — whose mighty heart</l>
<l>Forever pours out love, and light, and life;</l>
<l>Thou, at whose glance, all things of earth are rife</l>
<l>With happiness; to whom, in early spring,</l>
<l>Bright flowers raise up their heads, where’er they cling</l>
<l>On the steep mountain side, or in the vale</l>
<l>Are nestled calmly. Thou at whom the pale</l>
<l>And weary earth looks up, when winter flees,</l>
<l>With patient gaze: thou for whom wind-stripped trees</l>
<l>Put on fresh leaves, and drink deep of the light</l>
<l>That glitters in thine eye: thou in whose bright</l>
<l> And hottest rays the eagle fills his eye</l>
<l>With quenchless fire, and far, far up on high</l>
<l>Screams out his joy to thee, by all the names</l>
<l>That thou dost bear — whether thy godhead claims</l>
<l>Phœbus or Sol, or golden-hair’ d Apollo,</l>
<l>Cynthian or Pythian, if thou dost follow</l>
<l>The fleeing night, oh, hear</l>
<l>Our hymn to thee, and willingly draw near!”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Pike">Pike</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Latona</head>
<p>Apollo was the son of Jupiter and Latona, or Leto, the goddess of dark nights. Juno’s jealousy had been aroused by Jupiter’s preference for her rival. To avenge herself, she banished Latona to earth, and declared that if any one, mortal or immortal, showed her any pity or gave her any assistance, he would incur her lasting resentment.</p>
<p>After long, painful wanderings on earth, poor Latona, weary and parched with thirst, drew near to a small pool by the wayside to refresh herself; but, urged by Juno, some reapers bade her pass on, and then, seeing she paid no heed to their commands, they sprang into the shallow waters, and stirred up the mud at the bottom until it was quite unpalatable. With tear-dimmed eyes, Latona prayed these cruel men might never leave the spot whereon they now stood; and Jupiter, in answer to her prayer, immediately transformed them into huge green frogs, which creatures have since then showed great preference for muddy pools.</p>
<p>Driven on once more by Juno’s unrelenting hatred, Latona finally came to the seashore, where she stretched out imploring hands to Neptune, who sent a dolphin to bear her in safety to the floating island of Delos, raised in her behalf from the depths of the sea. The rocking motion, however, proving disagreeable to the goddess, Neptune chained the island fast in the Ægean Sea; and there in that delightful climate, justly praised by poets, were born to Jupiter and Latona twin children, Apollo and Diana, the divinities of the sun and moon.</p>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img044.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Latona and Her Children.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Rinehart">W. H. Rinehart</author>.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Coronis</head>
<p>Apollo, having attained manhood, could not avoid the usual lot of the gods, as well as of mortal men — the pangs of love. They were first inspired by Coronis, a fair maiden, who kindled within his breast an ardent flame. The sun-god wooed the girl warmly and persistently, and at length had the deep satisfaction of seeing his affections returned. His bliss, however, proved but fleeting; for Coronis, reasoning that if one lover were so delightful, two would be doubly so, secretly encouraged another suitor.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Flirted with another lover</l>
<l> (So at least the story goes)</l>
<l>And was wont to meet him slyly,</l>
<l> Underneath the blushing rose.” —</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Saxe">Saxe</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Although so cleverly managed, these trysts could not escape the bright eyes of Apollo’s favourite bird, the snowy raven, — for such was his hue in those early times, — so <hi rend="i">he</hi> flew off in haste to his master to report the discovery he had made. Desperate with love and jealousy, Apollo did not hesitate, but, seizing his bow and deadly arrows, shot Coronis through the heart.</p>
<p>The deed was no sooner accomplished, than all his love returned with tenfold power; and, hastening to Coronis’ side, he vainly tried all his remedies to recall her to life.</p>
<quote>
<l> “The god of Physic</l>
<l> Had no antidote; alack!</l>
<l>He who took her off so deftly</l>
<l> Couldn’t bring the maiden back!”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Saxe">Saxe</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Bending over the lifeless body of his beloved one, he bewailed his fatal haste, and cursed the bird which had brought him the unwelcome tidings of her faithlessness.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Then he turned upon the Raven,</l>
<l> ‘Wanton babbler! see thy fate!</l>
<l>Messenger of mine no longer,</l>
<l> Go to Hades with thy prate!</l>
<l/>
<l>“‘Weary Pluto with thy tattle!</l>
<l> Hither, monster, come not back;</l>
<l>And — to match thy disposition —</l>
<l> Henceforth be thy plumage black!’”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Saxe">Saxe</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img046.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Apollo Citharædus.</hi><lb/>Vatican.</p>
<p>The only reminder of this unfortunate episode was a young son of Apollo and Coronis, Æsculapius (Asklepios), who was carefully instructed by Apollo in the healing art. The disciple’s talent was so great, that he soon rivalled his master, and even, it is said, recalled the dead to life. Of course, these miracles did not long remain concealed from Jupiter’s all-seeing eye; and he, fearing lest the people would forget him and worship their physician, seized one of his thunderbolts, hurled it at the clever youth, and thus brought to an untimely end his brilliant medical career.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Then Jove, incensed that man should rise</l>
<l>From darkness to the upper skies,</l>
<l>The leech that wrought such healing hurled</l>
<l>With lightning down to Pluto’s world.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Virgile">Virgil</author> (
<author key="Conington">Conington</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Æsculapius’ race was not entirely extinct, however, for he left two sons — Machaon and Podalirius, who inherited his medical skill — and a daughter, Hygeia, who watched over the health of man.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>Admetus and Alcestis</head>
<p>Maddened with grief at the unexpected loss of his son, Apollo would fain have wreaked his vengeance upon the Cyclopes, the authors of the fatal thunderbolt; but ere he could execute his purpose, Jupiter interfered, and, to punish him, banished him to earth, where he entered the service of Admetus, King of Thessaly. One consolation alone now remained to the exiled god, — his music. His dulcet tones soon won the admiration of his companions, and even that of the king, who listened to his songs with pleasure, and to reward him gave him the position of head shepherd.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Then King Admetus, one who had</l>
<l> Pure taste by right divine,</l>
<l>Decreed his singing not too bad</l>
<l>To hear between the cups of wine:</l>
<l/>
<l>“And so, well pleased with being soothed</l>
<l> Into a sweet half sleep,</l>
<l>Three times his kingly beard he smoothed</l>
<l>And made him viceroy o’er his sheep.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Lowell">Lowell</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Time passed. Apollo, touched by his master’s kindness, wished to bestow some favour in his turn, and asked the gods to grant Admetus eternal life. His request was complied with, but only on condition, that, when the time came which had previously been appointed for the good king’s death, some one should be found willing to die in his stead. This divine decree was reported to Alcestis, Admetus’ beautiful young wife, who in a passion of self-sacrifice offered herself as substitute, and cheerfully gave her life for her husband. But immortality was too dearly bought at such a price; and Admetus mourned until Hercules, pitying his grief, descended into Hades, and brought her back from the tomb.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Did not Hercules by force</l>
<l>Wrest from the guardian Monster of the tomb</l>
<l> Alcestis, a reanimated Corse,</l>
<l>Given back to dwell on earth in vernal bloom?”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Wordsworth">Wordsworth</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Apollo, after endowing Admetus with immortality, left his service, and went to assist Neptune, who had also been banished to earth, to build the walls of Troy. Scorning to perform any menial tasks, the God of Music seated himself near by, and played such inspiring tunes that the stones moved into place of their own accord.</p>
<p>Then, his term of exile being ended, he returned to heaven, and there resumed his wonted duties. From his exalted position he often cast loving glances down upon men, whose life he had shared for a short time, whose every privation he had endured; and, in answer to their prayers, he graciously extended his protection over them, and delivered them from misfortunes too numerous to mention. Among other deeds done for men was the slaying of the monster serpent Python, born from the slime and stagnant waters which remained upon the surface of the earth after the Deluge. None had dared approach the monster; but Apollo fearlessly drew near, and slew him with his golden shafts The victory over the terrible Python won for Apollo the surname of Pytheus (the Slayer), by which appellation he was frequently invoked.</p>
<p>This annihilation of Python is, of course, nothing but an allegory, illustrating the sun’s power to dry up marshes and stagnant pools, thus preventing the lurking fiend malaria from making further inroads.</p>
<p>Apollo has always been a favourite subject for painters and sculptors. The most beautiful statue of him is the Apollo Belvedere, which represents him at the moment of his conquest of the Python.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Hyacinthus</head>
<p>Although successful in war, Apollo was very unfortunate indeed in friendship. One day he came down to earth to enjoy the society of a youth of mortal birth, named Hyacinthus. To pass the time agreeably, the friends began a game of quoits, but had not played long, before Zephyrus, god of the south wind, passing by, saw them thus occupied. Jealous of Apollo, for he too loved Hyacinthus, Zephyrus blew Apollo’s quoit aside so violently that it struck his playmate, and felled him to the ground. Vainly Apollo strove to check the stream of blood which flowed from the ghastly wound. Hyacinthus was already beyond aid, and in a few seconds breathed his last in his friend’s arms. To keep some reminder of the departed, Apollo changed the fallen blood-drops into clusters of flowers, ever since called, from the youth’s name, hyacinths; while Zephyrus, perceiving too Tate the fatal effect of his jealousy, hovered inconsolable over the sad spot, and tenderly caressed the dainty flowers which had sprung from his friend’s life-blood.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Zephyr penitent,</l>
<l>Who now, ere Phœbus mounts the firmament,</l>
<l>Fondles the flower.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Keats">Keats</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Cyparissus</head>
<p>To divert his mind from the mournful fate of Hyacinthus, Apollo sought the company of Cyparissus, a clever young hunter; but this friendship was also doomed to a sad end, for Cyparissus, having accidentally killed Apollo’s pet stag, grieved so sorely over this mischance, that he pined away and finally died. Apollo then changed his lifeless clay into a cypress tree, which he declared should henceforth be used to shade the graves of those who had been greatly beloved through life.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Daphne</head>
<p>Some time after this episode, Apollo encountered in the forest a beautiful nymph by the name of Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus. Love at first sight was the immediate consequence on Apollo’s part, and he longed to speak to the maid and win her affections. He first tried to approach her gently, so as not to frighten her; but, before he could reach her side, she fled, and he, forgetful of all else, pursued her flying footsteps. As he ran he called aloud to Daphne, entreating her to pause were it only for a moment, and promising to do her no harm.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Abate, fair fugitive, abate thy speed,</l>
<l>Dismiss thy fears, and turn thy beauteous head;</l>
<l>With kind regard a panting lover view;</l>
<l>Less swiftly fly, less swiftly I’ll pursue;</l>
<l>Pathless, alas! and rugged is the ground,</l>
<l>Some stone may hurt thee, or some thorn may wound.</l>
<l> “You fly, alas! not knowing whom you fly;</l>
<l>No ill-bred swain, nor rustic clown, am I.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Prior">Prior</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img050.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Apollo and Daphne.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Bernini">Bernini</author>.</p>
<p>The terrified girl paid no heed to promises or entreaties, but sped on until her strength began to fail, and she perceived, that, notwithstanding her utmost efforts, her pursuer was gaining upon her. Panting and trembling, she swerved aside, and rushed down to the edge of her father’s stream, calling out loudly for his protection. No sooner had she reached the water’s edge, than her feet seemed rooted to the ground. A rough bark rapidly enclosed her quivering limbs, while her trembling hands were filled with leaves. Her father had answered her prayer by changing her into a laurel tree.</p>
<p>Apollo, coming up just then with outstretched arms, clasped nothing but a rugged tree trunk. At first he could not realise that the fair maiden had vanished from his sight for ever; but, when the truth dawned upon him, he declared that from henceforth the laurel would be considered his favourite tree, and that prizes awarded to poets, musicians, &c… should consist of a wreath of its glossy foliage.</p>
<quote>
<l> “I espouse thee tor my tree:</l>
<l>Be thou the prize of honour and renown;</l>
<l>The deathless poet, and the poem, crown;</l>
<l>Thou shalt the Roman festivals adorn,</l>
<l>And, after poets, be by victors worn.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Ovide">Ovid</author> (
<author key="Dryden J.">Dryden</author>’s tr.).</bibl>
</quote>
<p>This story of Apollo and Daphne was an illustration of the effect produced by the sun (Apollo) upon the dew (Daphne). The sun is captivated by its beauty, and longs to view it more closely; the dew, afraid of its ardent lover, flies, and, when its fiery breath touches it, vanishes, leaving nothing but verdure in the self-same spot where but a moment before it sparkled in all its purity.</p>
<quote>
<l> “Climbing Heaven’s blue dome,</l>
<l>I walk over the mountains and the waves,</l>
<l>Leaving my robe upon the ocean foam;</l>
<l>My footsteps pave the clouds with fire; the caves</l>
<l>Are filled with my bright presence, and the air</l>
<l>Leaves the green earth to my embraces bare.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Shelley">Shelley</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img052.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Apollo and Daphne.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Rae">Henrietta Rae</author>.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>Cephalus and Procris</head>
<p>The ancients had many analogous stories, allegories of the sun and dew, amongst others the oft-quoted tale of Cephalus and Procris. Cephalus was a hunter, who fell in love with and married one of Diana’s nymphs, Procris. She brought him as dowry a hunting dog, Lelaps, and a javelin warranted never to miss its mark. The newly-married pair were perfectly happy but their content was viewed with great displeasure by Eos (Aurora), goddess of dawn, who had previously tried, but without success, to win Cephalus’ affections, and who now resolved to put an end to the bliss she envied.</p>
<p>All day long Cephalus hunted in the forest, and, when the evening shadows began to fall, joined his loving wife in their cosy dwelling. Her marriage gifts proved invaluable, as Lelaps was swift of foot, and tireless in the chase. One day, to test his powers, the gods from Olympus watched him course a fox, a special creation of theirs; and so well were both animals matched in speed and endurance, that the chase bade fair to end only with the death of one or both of the participants. The gods, in their admiration for the fine run, declared the animals deserved to be remembered for ever, and changed them into statues, which retained all the spirited action of the living creatures.</p>
<p>In the warm season, when the sun became oppressive, Cephalus was wont to rest during the noon hour in some shady spot, and as he flung himself down upon the short grass he often called for a breeze, bidding it cool his heated brow.</p>
<quote>
<l> “A hunter once in that grove reclin’d,</l>
<l> To shun the noon’s bright eye,</l>
<l>And oft he woo’d the wandering wind,</l>
<l> To cool his brow with its sigh.</l>
<l>While mute lay ev’n the wild bee’s hum,</l>
<l> Nor breath could stir the aspen’s hair,</l>
<l>His song was still, ‘Sweet air, oh come!’</l>
<l>While Echo answered, ‘<hi rend="i">Come</hi>, sweet air!’”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Moore Th.">Moore</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>Eos heard of this habit, and was fully aware that he merely addressed the passing wind; nevertheless she sought Procris, and informed her that her husband was faithless, and paid court to a fair maid who daily met him at noonday in the forest solitudes. Procris, blinded by sudden jealousy, gave credit to the false story, and immediately resolved to follow her husband.</p>
<p>The morning had well-nigh passed, and the sun was darting its perpendicular rays upon the earth, when Cephalus came to his usual resort, near which Procris was concealed.</p>
<p>“Sweet air, oh come!” the hunter cried; and Procris, cut to the heart by what she considered an infallible proof of his infidelity, sank fainting to the ground. The rustle caused by her swoon attracted Cephalus’ attention. Under the mistaken impression that some wild beast was lurking there ready to pounce upon him, he cast his unerring javelin into the very midst of the thicket, and pierced the faithful bosom of his wife. Her dying moan brought him with one bound to her side; ere she breathed her last, an explanation was given and received; and Procris died with the blissful conviction that her husband had not deserved her unjust suspicions, and that his heart was all her own.</p>
<p>There are, of course, many other versions of these self-same myths; but one and all are intended to illustrate the same natural phenomena, and are subject to the same interpretation.</p>
<p>Apollo’s principal duty was to drive the sun chariot. Day after day he rode across the azure sky, nor paused on his way till he reached the golden boat awaiting him at the end of his long day’s journey, to bear him in safety back to his eastern palace.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Helios all day long his allotted labour pursues;</l>
<l> No rest to his passionate heart and his panting horses given,</l>
<l>From the moment when roseate-fingered Eos kindles the dews</l>
<l> And spurns the salt sea-floors, ascending silvery the heaven,</l>
<l>Until from the hand of Eos Hesperos, trembling, receives</l>
<l> His fragrant lamp, and faint in the twilight hangs it up.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Lytton">Owen Meredith</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Clytie</head>
<p>A fair young maiden, named Clytie, watched Apollo’s daily journey with strange persistency; and from the moment when he left his palace in the morning until he came to the far western sea in the evening, she followed his course with loving eyes, thought of the golden-haired god, and longed for his love. But, in spite of all this fervour, she never won favour in Apollo’s eyes, and languished until the gods, in pity, changed her into a sunflower.</p>
<p>Even in this altered guise Clytie could not forget the object of her love; and now, a fit emblem of constancy, she still follows with upturned face the glowing orb in its daily journey across the sky.</p>
<quote>
<l>“No, the heart that has truly lov’d never forgets,</l>
<l> But as truly loves on to the close;</l>
<l>As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets</l>
<l> The same look which she turn’d when he rose.”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Moore Th.">Moore</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<figure>
<graphic url="http://obvil.github.io/mythographie/images/guerber_myths_1909_img054.png"/>
</figure>
<p rend="center noindent"><hi rend="b">Clytie.</hi><lb/>
<author key="Leighton">Lord Leighton</author>. <lb/>By Permission of the Fine Art Society, Ltd.</p>
</div>
<div>
<head>The Story of Marsyas</head>
<p>A young shepherd, tying in the cool grass one summer afternoon, became aware of a distant sound of music, so sweet, so thrilling, that he fairly held his breath to listen. These weird, delightful tones were produced by Minerva, who, seated by the banks of a small stream, was trying her skill on the flute. As she bent over the limpid waters, she suddenly beheld her puffed cheeks and distorted features, and impetuously threw the instrument into the water, vowing never to touch it again.</p>
<quote>
<l>“Hence, ye banes of beauty, hence!</l>
<l>What? shall I my charms disgrace</l>
<l>By making such an odious face?”</l>
<bibl>
<author key="Mélanippide de Mélos">Melanippides</author>.</bibl>
</quote>
<p>The sudden break in the entrancing music caused the youth, Marsyas, to start from his abstraction and look about him. He then perceived the rejected flute sailing gently down the stream past his feet. To seize the instrument and convey it to his lips was the work of an instant; and no sooner had he breathed into it than the magic strain was renewed. No recollection of his pastoral duties could avail to tear Marsyas away from his new-found treasure; and so rapidly did his skill increase, that he became insufferably conceited, and boasted he could rival Apollo, whom he actually challenged to a musical contest.</p>
<p>Intending to punish him for his presumption, Apollo, accompanied by the nine Muses, the patronesses of poetry and music, appeared before the musician and challenged him to make good his boastful words. Marsyas was called upon first to exhibit his proficiency, and charmed all by his melodious strains.</p>
<quote>
<l>“So sweet that alone the south wind knew,</l>