THE GREAT PYRAMID AND SPHINX.THE GREAT PYRAMID AND SPHINX.ToList
THE GREAT PYRAMID AND SPHINX.ToList
Baalbec is situated on a plain now called Bukaa, at the northern end of a low range of black hills, about one mile from the base of Anti-Lebanon.
It is unknown just how old it is, or by whom it was built. Dr. Kitto, in his "History of the Bible," ascribes the building of it to Solomon. But the present remains are mostly of a later period, probably about 3,000 years old. Some of the materialand some of the original foundations were used again for the second structures.
Baalbec has justly received a world-wide celebrity, owing to the magnificence of its ruins, which have excited the wonder and admiration of travelers who have enjoyed the privilege of seeing them. Its temples are among the most magnificent of Grecian architecture. The temples of Athens no doubt excel them in taste and purity of style, but they are vastly inferior in dimensions.
While the edifices of Thebes exceed them in magnitude, they bear no comparison with the symmetry of the columns, with the richness of the doorways, and the friezes, which abound at Baalbec. The foundations of the great temple are themselves entitled to rank with the pyramids among the wonders of the world, being raised twenty feet above the level of the ground, and have in them stones of one solid mass ninety feet long, eighteen feet wide, and thirteen feet thick.
The main attractions, however, are the three temples or main chambers. The first, which may be called the great temple, consists of a peristyle, of which only six columns remain, two courts and a portico are standing on an artificial platform, nearly thirty feet high, and having vaults underneath. Beneath the whole platform is an immense court of two hundred feet across; it is a hexagon or nearly round shape. It is accessible by a vaulted passage, which leads to a triplet gateway, with deep mouldings, which opens into the first court.
The great court is 440 feet long by 370 feet wide, and has on each of its sides niches and columns, which, even in their ruins, are magnificent.
The two sides exactly correspond with each other, but the south is in better condition than the other. These niches have columns in front of them in the style of the hexagon, with chambers at the angles of the great court or square. The visitorentering through the portico, and passing into the great court, has before him on the opposite side (the west) of the court, the Great Temple originally dedicated to Baal. This was a magnificent peristyle measuring 290 feet by 160 feet, with nineteen huge columns on each side, and ten on each end, making fifty-eight in all. The circumference of these columns at the base is twenty-three feet and two inches, and at the top twenty feet; and their height, including base and capital, was seventy-five feet, while over this was the entablature fourteen feet more. In the walls of the foundation are seen those enormous stones, some ninety feet in length; others, sixty-four, sixty-three, sixty-two, etc., and all from thirteen to eighteen feet wide, and very frequently thirteen feet thick. These stones mark the extent of a platform of unknown antiquity, but far older than the peristyle temple, and it is from this that the temple took its early date and name. It is probable that the great stones lying in the adjoining quarry were intended for it, as the temple at that date seems to have been left unfinished.
Temple of KarnacEngraved & Printed by Illman Brothers.TEMPLE OF KARNACToListFOR THE MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITY
Engraved & Printed by Illman Brothers.
TEMPLE OF KARNACToList
FOR THE MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITY
The second temple has not quite the dimensions that the first has, but it is one of the grandest monuments of the ancient art in Syria. It is 227 feet by 117. Its peristyle is composed of forty-two columns, fifteen on each side and eight on each end. At the portico was an immense row of six fluted columns, and within these, and opposite to the ends of the antæ, were two others. The height of these columns is sixty-five feet, and their circumference nineteen feet and two inches, while the entablature, richly ornamented above the columns, was about twelve feet high.
The portico is destroyed, only a few pieces of the shafts remaining, and the steps by which it was approached are also destroyed. The columns of the peristyle have mostly fallen; but four remain with their entablatures on the south side near the portico; on the west end there are six remaining, and on thenorth there are nine. The cut on page 473 gives somewhat of an idea of this temple.
In 1759 an earthquake threw down three columns of the great temple and nine of the peristyle of the Temple of the Sun. It would appear as though nothing but an earthquake could destroy these remains, and they even seem to withstand this with wonderful resistance. At the western end is thecella, or innermost sacred part of the edifice, it is 160 feet by 85. A modern wall was built across the vestibule and the only entrance is through a low hole broken in the wall. Entering through this aperture the spectator has before him the gem of the structure, thegreat portal. It was twenty-one feet high and forty-two feet long and gorgeously ornamented. The sides are each of a single stone, and the lintels are composed of three huge blocks. Borders of fruit, flowers and leaves are profuse on the architrave, and on the soffit of the door is the celebrated figure of the eagle with a caduceus in his talons, and in his beak strings of long twisted garlands, which are extended on each side and have the opposite ends borne by flying genii.
In 1751 the portal was perfect. When Wood sketched it, but eight years afterwards, the shock of an earthquake rent the wall and permitted the central stone to sink about two feet. Yet, even in this state, it is one of the most striking and beautiful gateways in the world. The first compartment measures ninety-eight feet by sixty-seven, having fluted columns on each side, and the sanctum, or place for the altar and statue, occupies a space of twenty-nine feet deep at the western end and considerably raised above the floor of the nave. Such were the arrangements of this vast magnificent edifice.
It may be well to mention here another building although not so old nor large, but we wish to speak of it because it is so remarkable in withstanding time.
RUINS OF BAALBECRUINS OF BAALBEC.ToList
RUINS OF BAALBEC.ToList
We are speaking of the Pantheon, the splendid buildingerected by M. Agrippa, the friend of Augustus, in immediate connection with the Thermæ, built and dedicated to Jupiter Ultor by him. This building, which embodied, as it were, the highest aspirations of Roman national pride and power, was completed, according to the original inscription preserved on it, B.C. 25, in which year Agrippa was consul for the third time. According to the statement of Pliny ("His. Nat.," 36, 24, I), which however, has been disputed, it was originally dedicated to Jupiter Ultor, whose statue, therefore, undoubtedly stood in the chief niche opposite the entrance. The other six niches contained the statues of as many gods; those of the chief deities of the Julian family, Mars and Venus, and of the greatest son of that family, the divine Cæsar, being the only ones amongst the number of which we have certain knowledge. Was it that the statues of Mars and Venus showed the attributes of the other principal gods, or that the statues of the latter stood in the small chapels (ædiculæ) between the niches, or that the unequaled enormous cupola was supposed to represent heaven, that is, the house of all the gods? Certain it is that, together with the old appellation the new name of the Pantheon,i.e., temple of all the gods, was soon applied to the building. The latter name has been unanimously adopted by posterity, and has even originated the Christian destination of the edifice as church of all the martyrs (S. Maria ad Martyres). Without entering into the consecutive changes the building has undergone in the course of time, we will now attempt a description of its principal features. The temple consists of two parts, the round edifice and the portico. The former was 132 feet in diameter, exclusive of the thickness of the wall, which amounts to 19 feet. The wall is perfectly circular, and contains eight apertures, one of which serves as entrance, while the others form, in a certain order, either semicircular or quadrangular niches; the former are covered by semi-cupolas, the latter by barrel-vaults. Only the niche opposite the entrance is,at the present time, uninterrupted, and open up to its full height, thus corresponding with the formation of the entrance section; in front of each of the others, two columns have been erected, the beams of which close the opening of the semicircular vault. To this chief portion of the building is attached the splendid portico which, in the manner of the above-mentioned temples, projects by three columns, besides a massive wall-structure. The frontageshows eight columns. As a rule, the whole space of the pronaos was without columns; contrary to the rule we here see it divided into three naves by means of two pairs of columns. The center nave, which was also the widest, led to the entrance-door, each of the two others being terminated by an enormous niche. Not to mention æsthetical considerations, these columns were required as props of the roof covering the vast space (the portico is about 100 feet long).
INSIDE VIEW OF PANTHEON.INSIDE VIEW OF PANTHEON.ToList
INSIDE VIEW OF PANTHEON.ToList
THE PANTHEON AT ROME.THE PANTHEON AT ROME.ToList
THE PANTHEON AT ROME.ToList
The columns of the portico carried beams, on the frieze of which the following inscription in large letters has been placed: M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT. Another inscription below this one, in smaller characters, states the building to have been restored by Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The beams carry a large pediment, originally adorned with groups of statues representing Jupiter's victories over the Gigantes. Behind and above this gable rises a second one of the same proportions, serving as an ornament of the projecting wall which connects the round building with the portico. The roof of the portico was supported by beams made of brass. According to the drawing of Serlio, these beams were not massive, but consisted of brass plates riveted together into square pipes—a principle frequently applied by modern engineers on a larger scale in building bridges, etc. Unfortunately, the material of the roof, barring some of the large rivets, has been used by Pope Urban VIII. for guns and various ornaments of doubtful taste in St. Peter's Cathedral. The large columns carrying the ugly tabernacle on the grave of St. Peter are one of the results of this barbarous spoliation. The old door, also made of brass, which leads from the portico into the interior has, on the contrary, been preserved. The outer appearance of the round building is simple and dignified. It most likely was originally covered with stucco and terra-cotta ornaments, of which, however, little remains at present; but the simple bricks, particularly in the upper stripes,where the insertion of the vault becomes visible, look, perhaps, quite as beautiful as the original coating. The whole cylinder of masonry is divided into three stripes by means of cornices, which break the heaviness of the outline, the divisions of the inner space corresponding to those of the outer surface. The first of these stripes is about forty feet high, and rests on a base of Travertine freestone. It consists of simple horizontal slabs of stone, broken only by doors which lead to chambers built in the thickness of the wall between the niches. It corresponds to the columns forming the first story of the interior, the two cornices, in and outside, being on a level. The second stripe, about thirty feet in height, answers to the second story of the interior, where the semicircular arches of the niches are situated. The horizontal stone layers outside are accordingly broken by large double arches, destined to balance the vaults in the interior. They alternate with smaller arches, thus forming a decoration of the exterior at once dignified and in harmony with the general design of the building. The two cornices in and outside are again on a level. The third stripe corresponds to the cupola, the tension of which is equal to 140 feet. The outer masonry reaches up to about a third of its height, from which point the cupola proper begins to rise in seven mighty steps.
The height of the dome is equal to the diameter of the cylindrical building, 132 feet, which adds to the sober and harmonious impression of the whole building. The lower of theabove-mentioned interior stories is adorned with columns and pilasters, the latter of which enclosed the niches. Eight of these columns, over thirty-two feet in height, are monoliths ofgiallo antico—a yellow kind of marble beautifully veined, and belonging to the most valuable materials used by ancient architects. Six other columns are made of a kind of marble known aspavonazzetto; by an ingenious mode of coloring these columns are made to harmonize with those consisting of the rarer material. Above the first lies a second lower story, the architectural arrangements of which may be recognized from Adler's ingenious attempt at reconstruction. Its original decoration consisted of tablets ofcolored marble, the effect being similar to that of a sequence of narrow pilasters. This original decoration has later been changed for another. Above the chief cornice which crowns this story, and at the same time terminates the circular walls, rises the cupola, divided into five stripes, each of which contains twenty-five "caskets" beautifully worked and in excellent perspective. In the center at the top is an opening, forty feet in diameter, through which the light enters the building. Near this opening a fragment has been preserved of the bronze ornamentation which once seems to have covered the whole cupola. Even without these elegant decorations the building still excites the spectator's admiration, as one of the masterpieces of Roman genius.
HALF-SECTION OF THE PANTHEON.HALF-SECTION OF THE PANTHEON.ToList
HALF-SECTION OF THE PANTHEON.ToList
Obelisks were in Egypt commemorative pillars recording the style and the title of the king who erected them, his piety, and the proof he gave of it in dedicating those monoliths to the deity whom he especially wished to honor. They are made of a single block of stone, cut into a quadrilateral form, the width diminishing gradually from the base to the top of the shaft, which terminates in a small pyramid (pyramidion). They were placed on a plain square pedestal, but larger than the obelisk itself. Obelisks are of Egyptian origin. The Romans and the moderns have imitated them, but they never equaled their models.
Egyptian obelisks are generally made of red granite of Syene. There are some, however, of smaller dimensions made of sandstone and basalt. They were generally placed in pairs at the entrances of temples, on each side of the propyla. The shaft was commonly ten diameters in height, and a fourth narrower at the top than at the base. Of the two which were before the palace of Luxor at Thebes, one is seventy-two feet high, and six feet, two inches wide at the base; the other is seventy-seven feet high, and seven feet, eight inches wide. Each face is adorned with hieroglyphical inscriptions inintaglio, and the summit is terminated by a pyramid, the four sides of which representreligious scenes, also accompanied by inscriptions. The corners of the obelisks are sharp and well cut, but their faces are not perfectly plane, and their slight convexity is a proof of the attention the Egyptians paid to the construction of their monuments. If their faces were plane they would appear concave to the eye; the convexity compensates for this optical illusion. The hieroglyphical inscriptions are in a perpendicular line, sometimes there is but one in the middle of the breadth of the face, and often there are three. The inscription was a commemoration by the king who had the temple or palace built before which the obelisk was placed. It contained a record stating the houses and titles which the king who erected, enlarged, or gave rich presents to a temple, had received in return from the priesthood, and setting forth, for instance, that Rameses was the lord of an obedient people, and the beloved of Ammon. Such is the subject of the inscription which is in the middle of each face of the obelisks; and though the name of the same king and the same events are repeated on the four sides, there exists in the four texts, when compared, some difference, either in the invocation to the particular divinities or in the titles of the king. Every obelisk had, in its original form, but a single inscription on each face, and of the same period of the king who had erected it; but a king who came after him, adding a court, a portico, or colonnade to the temple or palace, had another inscription relative to his addition, with his name engraved on the original obelisk; thus, every obelisk adorned with many inscriptions is of several periods. The pyramidion which terminates them generally represents in its sculptures the king who erected the obelisk making different offerings to the principal deity of the temple, and to other divinities. Sometimes also the offering is of the obelisk itself. The short inscriptions of the pyramidion bear the oval of the king and the name of the divinity. By these ovals can be known the names of the kings who erected the obelisks still existing,whether in Egypt or elsewhere. The largest obelisk known is that of St. John Lateran, Rome. It was brought from Heliopolis to Alexandria by the emperor Constantine, and was conveyed to Rome by Constantius, who erected it in the Circus Maximus. The height of the shaft is 105 feet, 7 inches. The sides are ofunequal breadth at the base, two measure nine feet, eight and one-half inches, the other two only nine feet. It bears the name of Thohtmes III. in the central, and that of Thohtmes IV. in the lateral lines, kings of the eighteenth dynasty, in the fifteenth century B.C. The two obelisks at Luxor were erected by the king Rameses II., of the nineteenth dynasty, 1311 B.C. (Wilkinson). One of these has been taken to Paris. The obelisk of Heliopolis bears the name of Osirtasen I., 2020 B.C. (Wilkinson), and is consequently the most ancient. It is about sixty-seven feet high. The obelisks at Alexandria were brought from Heliopolis about 2,000 years ago. The one that was lying in the sand, and the smaller of the two, was removed to London some years ago, and the other, which was still standing, was presented to the United States by Ismail Pasha, father of the present Khedive. This monument of antiquity is an inestimable treasure to our country. It bears the name of Thohtmes III. In the lateral lines are the ovals of Rameses the Great. It is of red granite of Syene. It bears the name of Cleopatra's Needle, is about seventy feet high, with a diameter at its base of seven feet, seven inches. We can hardly appreciate that we should have standing in New York a relic so ancient—a column upon which Moses and Aaron looked, and doubtless read its hieroglyphic inscription; that Rameses the Great (Sesostris) had his knightly banner carved upon it; that Darius, Cambyses, Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies, Julius Cæsar, Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Augustus knew it; that it was equally known and beheld of Pythagoras, Herodotus and Strabo; that a long procession of the most illustrious characters of the middle ages have passed before it, from the days of Clement and Anastasius to those of Don John of Austria; and, finally, that it was the first herald of Egypt to Napoleon and Mohammed Ali. A monument like this will truly be cherished by every citizen. The obelisk of the Piazza del Popolo claims great interest, as italso stood before the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis. Lepsius attributes it to Meneptha. It was removed to Rome by Augustus, B.C. 19, to ornament the Circus Maximus. The obelisk in front of St. Peter's was brought to Rome by Caligula, and placed on the Vatican in the Circus of Caligula. It is about eighty-three feet high. There are several other Egyptian obelisks in Rome. Nothing can afford a greater idea of the skill of the Egyptians, and of their wonderful knowledge of mechanism, than the erection of these monoliths.
OBELISK OF HELIOPOLIS.OBELISK OF HELIOPOLIS. (Over 4000 years old).ToListThe following is a translation of the hieroglyphic writing which is set into it: "The Horus; the living from his birth; the king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Ra Kheper Ka; Lord of the two diadems; Son of the sun; Osirtasen; the loved of the God of Heliopolis from his birth; Ever-living; The golden Horus; the Good God; Ra Kheper Ka to the first celebration of the panegyry. He (has) made (this obelisk) the eternal generator."
OBELISK OF HELIOPOLIS. (Over 4000 years old).ToList
The following is a translation of the hieroglyphic writing which is set into it: "The Horus; the living from his birth; the king of Upper and Lower Egypt; Ra Kheper Ka; Lord of the two diadems; Son of the sun; Osirtasen; the loved of the God of Heliopolis from his birth; Ever-living; The golden Horus; the Good God; Ra Kheper Ka to the first celebration of the panegyry. He (has) made (this obelisk) the eternal generator."
The Greeks never made obelisks outside of Egypt. The Macedonian kings, or Ptolemies, who reigned in that country, from Alexander to Augustus, erected, terminated, or enlarged many monuments, but always according to Egyptian rules. Egyptian artists executed obelisks for their Greek princes, but they did not depart, any more than in the other monuments, from their ancient customs. The Egyptian style and proportions are always to be recognized, and the inscriptions are also traced in hieroglyphics. The obelisk found at Philæ was erected in honor of Ptolemy Evergetes II. and of Cleopatra, his sister, or Cleopatra, his wife, and placed on a base bearing a Greek inscription relating the reason and occasion of this monument. It was removed from Philæ by Belzoni, and has been now erected at Kingston Hall, Dorset, by Mr. Bankes. It is very far from equaling the Pharaonic obelisks in dimensions, it being only twenty-two feet high.
After the Romans had made Egypt a Roman province they carried away some of its obelisks. Augustus was the first who conceived the idea of transporting these immense blocks to Rome; he was imitated by Caligula, Constantine, and others. They were generally erected in some circus. Thirteen remain at the present day at Rome, some of which are of the time of the Roman domination in Egypt. The Romans had obelisks made in honor of their princes, but the material and theworkmanship of the inscriptions cause them to be easily distinguished from the more ancient obelisks. The Barberini obelisk, on the Monte Pincio, is of this number; it bears the names of Adrian, of Sabina, his wife, and of Antinous, his favorite. The obelisk of the Piazza Navona, from the style of its hieroglyphics, is supposed to be a Roman work of the time of Domitian. The name of Santus Rufus can be read on the Albani obelisk, now at Munich, and as there are two Roman prefects of Egypt known of that name, it was, therefore, one of those magistrates who had executed in that country these monuments in honor of the reigning emperors, and then had them sent to Rome. The Romans also attempted to make obelisks at Rome; such is the obelisk of the Trinita de' Monti, which formerly stood in the Circus of Sallust. It is a bad copy of that of the Porta del Popolo. The Roman emperors in the east had also some Egyptian obelisks transported to Constantinople. Fragments of two of these monuments have been found in Sicily, at Catania; one of them has eight sides, but it is probably not a genuine Egyptian work. The use of the obelisk as a gnomon, and the erection of it on a high base in the center of an open space, were only introduced on the removal of single obelisks to Rome.
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Mythology is from the word myth, meaning fable, it is therefore a system of fabulous opinions and doctrines respecting the deities which the heathen nations have supposed to preside over the world or to influence its affairs.
They had twelve gods, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Mercury, Mars, Vulcan, Apollo, Diana, Minerva, Juno, Ceres and Vesta. Besides these there were other lesser gods, Bacchus, Isis, Hebe, the Muses and the Fates, etc.; also Sleep, Dreams and Death; and there were still others who had free will and intelligence, and having mixed forms, such as the Pegasus, or winged horse, the Centaur, half man and half horse, Hydra, etc.
The Greek theory of the origin of things was that the beginning was chaos laden with the seed of all nature, then came the Earth and the Heavens, or Uranus; these two were married and from this union came a numerous and powerful brood. First were the six Titans, all males, and then the six females, and the Cyclops, three in number; these latter were of gigantic size, having but one eye, and that in the center of the forehead. They represented Thunder, Lightning and Fire, or the rapid flame.
The Titans made war upon their father and wounded him, and from the drops of blood which flowed from the wound andfell upon the earth sprang the Furies, whose names signified "Unceasing," "Envier," and "Blood-Avenger;" and the Giants and melian Nymphs, and from the blood drops which fell into the sea sprang Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.
The youngest and bravest son, Saturn, who wounded and dethroned his father, was, by the consent of his brethren, permitted to reign with an understanding that his male children should all be destroyed. But his wife, Rhea, hid from him three of her sons, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, who, waging a ten-year war against their father, finally dethroned him and divided the kingdom among themselves. The oldest, Jupiter, had the heavens, and reigned over all gods, Neptune over the sea, and Pluto the lower regions.
Jupiter then built his courts on Mount Olympos, reigned supreme god over heaven and earth; he was called the father of man and gods, and is placed at the head of the entire creation.
He is generally represented as majestic in appearance, seated on a throne with a sceptre in one hand and thunderbolts in the other. Jupiter had a number of wives; he also married his sister Juno, who was the queen goddess. Besides Jupiter, Juno, Neptune and Pluto the other eight gods were the children of Jupiter.
Neptune was second to Jupiter in power. He is represented as carrying a trident or three-tined fork, with which he strikes the earth and shakes it; he is therefore often called the "earth-shaker." He is usually represented like Jupiter, of a serene and majestic aspect, seated in a chariot made of shells and drawn by dolphins and sea-horses, while the Tritons and the Nymphs gambol about him.
Pluto is represented as the grim, stern ruler over hell. He is also called Hades and Orcus. He has a throne of sulphur, from beneath which flows the Rivers Lethe, or "Oblivion," Phlegethon, Cocytus and Acheron. In one hand he holds his fork and in the other the keys of hell, and beside him is the dog withthree heads. He is described as being well qualified for his position, being inexorable and deaf to supplications, and an object of aversion and hatred to both gods and men. From his realms there is no return, and all mankind, sooner or later, are sure to be gathered into his kingdom.
As none of the goddesses would marry the stern and gloomy god, he seized Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres, while she was gathering flowers, and opened the earth and carried her through into his dominion.
Mercury was the messenger and ambassador of the gods. He was represented by wings on his hat, and sandals, and usually carrying a wand, or staff, with two serpents twined around it. He himself was a god of eloquence and the patron of orators, merchants, thieves, robbers, travelers and shepherds.
Mars was the god of war. Sorrow and fear accompanied him, disorder and discord in tattered garments go before him and anger and clamor follow. He is of huge size and gigantic strength, and his voice was louder than those of ten thousand mortals.
Vulcan was the forger, and is generally represented at an anvil in a short tunic, with a hammer in his right hand. He was lame when he was born, and his mother, Juno, was so shocked that she flung him headlong from the Mt. Olympos.
Apollo was the god of archery, prophecy and music, and is usually seen with a harp in his hand and of beautiful figure.
Diana was the goddess of chase, and appears with a bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows at her back, and on her side is a hound. She devoted herself to perpetual celibacy, and her chief joy was to speed like a Dorian maid over the hills, followed by a train of nymphs in pursuit of the flying game.
Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and skill, and the teacher in warfare. She has a serious and thoughtful countenance, a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, while a helmet covers her head. She is said to have sprung from the brains of Jupiter.
Juno, the wife of Jupiter, was haughty, jealous and inexorable; a goddess of dignified and matronly air, often found with a peacock at her feet.
Ceres is the goddess of grain and harvest. She is represented riding on a chariot drawn by dragons, and distributing grain to the different regions of the earth. She holds in one hand corn and wheat, in the other a lighted torch, and wears on her head a garland of wheat heads.
After Pluto stole her daughter, Proserpine, she searched for her throughout the whole world.
Vesta, the goddess of the household and domestic hearths, is represented in a long-flowing robe, with a veil on her head, a lamp in one hand, and a spear or javelin in the other. In her temple at Rome, the sacred fire was guarded by six priestesses, called the Vestal Virgins.
Among the lesser gods there were many, but the most common was Bacchus, who was the god of lust, wine, and the patron of drunkenness and debauchery. He is represented as an effeminate young man, with long flowing hair. In one hand he holds a goblet, in the other a bunch of grapes and a short dagger.
The Muses were goddesses who presided over music and poetry, and all the liberal arts and sciences. They were nine in number.
The Graces were three in number, and personified Splendor, Joy and Pleasure. They were three beautiful sisters, standing with their arms entwined.
The Fates were also three goddesses, who presided over the destiny of mortals. The first was the staff of life, the second spun the cord, and the third cut it off.
This is a brief outline of the origin and nature of the gods and goddesses: and the legends are numerous, and some of them are of exceeding interest and beauty, while others shock and disgust us by the gross impossibilities and hideous deformities which theyreveal. We have concluded to give a direct translation of them from the Greek, so that the reader may have them in the pure original form, and thereby have not only the beauty and interest retained, but at the same time an idea of the style of the ancient writings; only a few stories have been modified to bring them nearer to the level of the rest. We will, however, be obliged to use the Greek names instead of the Latin in this translation, as it is from the Greek, and will therefore give the names translated below:
Greek.Latin.Zeus,Jupiter.Here,Juno.Poseidon,Neptune.Plouton,Pluto.Demeter,Ceres.Apollo,Apolo.Artemis,Diana.Hephaistos,Vulcan.Athene,Minerva.Ares,Mars.Aphrodite,Venus.Hermes,Mercury.Hestia,Vesta.
The most of the Greek people appear to have believed that their divinities were real persons, but their philosophers explained the legends concerning them as allegorical representations of general physical and moral truths. The Greeks, therefore, instead of favoring nature, worshiped the powers of nature personified.
From land to land the lady Leto wandered in fear and sorrow, for no city or country would give her a home where she might abide in peace. From Crete to Athens, from Athens to Ægina, from Ægina to the heights of Pelion and Athos, through all the islands of the wide Ægæan Sea, Skyros and Imbros and Lemnos, and Chios the fairest of all, she passed, seeking a home.But in vain she prayed each land to receive her, until she came to the Island of Delos, and promised to raise it to great glory if only there she might rest in peace. And she lifted up her voice and said, "Listen to me, O island of the dark sea. If thou wilt grant me a home, all nations shall come unto thee, and great wealth shall flow in upon thee; for here shall Phœbus Apollo, the lord of light and life, be born, and men shall come hither to know his will and win his favor." Then answered Delos, and said, "Lady, thou promisest great things; but they say that the power of Phœbus Apollo will be such as nothing on the wide earth may withstand; and mine is but a poor and stony soil, where there is little to please the eye of those who look upon me. Wherefore I fear that he will despise my hard and barren land, and go to some other country where he will build a more glorious temple, and grant richer gifts to the people who come to worship him." But Leto swore by the dark water of Styx, and the wide heaven above, and the broad earth around her, that in Delos should be the shrine of Phœbus, and that there should the rich offerings burn on his altar the whole year round.
So Leto rested in the Island of Delos, and there was Phœbus Apollo born. And there was joy among the undying gods who dwell in Olympos, and the earth laughed beneath the smile of heaven. Then was his temple built in Delos, and men came to it from all lands to learn his will and offer rich sacrifices on his altar.
Long time Apollo abode in Delos; and every year all the children of Ion were gathered to the feast which was held before his temple. But at length it came to pass that Apollo went through many lands, journeying towards Pytho. With harp inhand he drew nigh to the gates of Olympos, where Zeus and the gods dwell in their glory; and straightway all rejoiced for the sweetness of his harping. The Muses sang the undying gifts of the gods, and the griefs and woes of mortal men who can not flee from old age and death. The bright Horai joined hands together with Hebe and Harmonia; and Ares stood by the side of Aphrodite with Hermes the slayer of Argos, gazing on the face of Phœbus Apollo, which glistened as with the light of the new-risen sun. Then from Olympos he went down into the Pierian land, to Iolkos and the Lelantian plain; but it pleased him not there to build himself a home. Thence he wandered on to Mykalessos, and, traversing the grassy plains of Teumessos, came to the sacred Thebes; but neither would he dwell there, for no man had yet come hither, neither was there road nor path, but only wild forests in all the land.
JUPITER (Zeus).JUPITER. (Zeus)ToList
JUPITER. (Zeus)ToList
Further and further he roamed, across the stream of Kephisos and beyond Okalea and Haliartos, until he came to Telphusa. There he thought to build himself a temple, for the land was rich and fair, so he said, "Beautiful Telphusa, here would I rest in thy happy vale, and here shall men come to ask my will and seek for aid in the hour of fear; and great glory shall come to thee while I abide in thy land." But Telphusa was moved with anger as she saw Phœbus marking out the place for his shrine and laying its foundations; and she spake craftily to him, and said, "Listen to me, Phœbus Apollo. Thou seekest here to have a home, but here thou canst never rest in peace; for my broad plain will tempt men to the strife of battle, and the tramp of war-horses shall vex the stillness of thy holy temple. Nay, evenin the time of peace, the lowing cattle shall come in crowds to my fountain, and the tumult will grieve thine heart. But go thou to Krisa, and make for thyself a home in the hidden clefts of Parnassos, and thither shall men hasten with their gifts from the utmost bounds of the earth." So Apollo believed her words, and he went on through the land of the Phlegyes until he came to Krisa. There he laid the foundations of his shrine in the deep cleft of Parnassos; and Trophonios and Agamedes, the children of Erginos, raised the wall. There also he found the mighty dragon who nursed Typhaon, the child of Here, and he smote him, and said, "Rot there upon the ground, and vex not more the children of men. The clays of thy life are ended, neither can Typhoeus himself aid thee now, nor Chimæra of the evil name. But the earth and the burning sun shall consume and scorch thy body." So the dragon died, and his body rotted on the ground; wherefore the name of the place is called Pytho, and they worship Phœbus Apollo as the great Pythian king.
But Phœbus knew now that Telphusa had deceived him, because she said nothing of the great dragon of Krisa, or of the roughness of the land. So he hastened back in his anger and said, "Thou hast beguiled me, Telphusa, with thy crafty words; but no more shall thy fountain send forth its sweet water, and the glory shall be mine alone." Then Apollo hurled great crags down and choked the stream near the beautiful fountain, and the glory departed from Telphusa.
Then he thought within himself what men he should choose to be his priests at Pytho; and far away, as he stood on the high hill, he saw a ship sailing on the wine-faced sea, and the men who were in it were Cretans, sailing from the land of King Minos to barter their goods with the men of Pylos. So Phœbus leaped into the sea, and changed his form to the form of a dolphin, and hastened to meet the ship. None knew whence the great fish came which smote the side of their vessel with itsmighty fins; but all marveled at the sight, as the dolphin guided the ship through the dark waters, and they sat trembling with fear, as they sped on without a sail by the force of the strong south wind. From the headland of Malea and the land of the Lakonians they passed to Helos and to Tænaron where Helios dwells, in whom the sons of men take delight, and where his cattle feed in the rich pastures. There the sailors would have ended their wanderings; but they sought in vain to land, for the ship would not obey its helm. Onward it went along the coast of the Island of Pelops, for the mighty dolphin guided it. So from Arene and Arguphea it came to the sandy Pylos, by Chalkis and Dyme to the land of the Epeians, to Pheræ and to Ithaka. There the men saw spread out before them the waters which wash the shores of Krisa; and the strong west wind came with its fierce breath, and drove them off to the east and towards the sunrising until they came to Krisa.
APOLLO.APOLLO. (From an ancient Sculpture.)ToList
APOLLO. (From an ancient Sculpture.)ToList
Then Phœbus Apollo came forth from the sea, like a star, and the brightness of his glory reached up to the high heaven. Into his shrine he hastened, and on the altar he kindled the undying fire, and his bright arrows were hurled abroad, till all Krisa was filled with the blaze of his lightnings, so that fear came upon all, and the cries of the women rose shrill on the sultry air. Then, swift as a thought of the heart, he hastened back to the ship; but his form was now the form of a man in his beauty, and his golden locks flowed over his broad shoulders. From the shore he called out to the men in the Cretan ship, and said "Who are ye, strangers? and do ye come as thieves and robbers, bringing terror and sorrow whithersoever ye may go? Why stay ye thus, tarrying in your ships, and seek not to come out on the land? Surely ye must know that all who sail on the wide sea rejoice when their ship comes to the shore, that they may come forth and feast with the people of the land?" So spake Phœbus Apollo; and the leader of the Cretans took courage and said, "Stranger, sure I am thatthou art no mortal man, but one of the bright heroes or the undying gods. Wherefore tell us now the name of this land and of the people who dwell in it. Hither we never sought to come, for we were sailing from the land of Minos to barter our wares at Pylos; but some one of the gods hath brought us hither against our will."
Then spake the mighty Apollo, and said to them, "O, strangers, who have dwelt in Knossos of the Cretan land, think not to return to your ancient home, to your wives or to your children. Here ye must guard and keep my shrine, and ye shall be honored of all the children of men. For I am the son of Zeus, and my name is Phœbus Apollo. It was I who brought you hither across the wide sea, not in guile or anger, but that in all time to come ye may have great power and glory, that ye may learn the counsel of the undying gods and make known their will to men. Hasten then to do my bidding; let down your sails, and bring your ship to the shore. Then bring out your goods, and build an altar on the beach, and kindle a fire, and offer white barley as an offering; and because I led you hither under the form of a dolphin, so worship me as the Delphian god. Then eat bread and drink wine, as much as your soul may lust after; and after that come with me to the holy place, where ye shall guard my temple."
So they obeyed the words of Phœbus; and when they had offered the white barley, and feasted richly on the sea-shore, they arose to go, and Apollo led them on their way. His harp was in his hand, and he made sweet music, such as no mortal ear had heard before; and they raised the chant Io Pæan, for a new power was breathed into their hearts, as they went along. They thought not now of toil or sorrow; but with feet unwearied they went up the hill until they reached the clefts of Parnassos, where Phœbus would have them dwell.
Then out spake the leader of the Cretans, and said, boldly,"O king, thou hast brought us far away from our homes to a strange land; whence are we to get food here? No harvest will grow on these bare rocks, no meadows are spread out before our eyes. The whole land is bare and desolate." But the son of Zeus smiled and said, "O foolish men, and easy to be cast down, if ye had your wish ye would gain nothing but care and toil. But listen to me and ponder well my words. Stretch forth your hands and slay each day the rich offerings, for they shall come to you without stint and sparing, seeing that the sons of men shall hasten hither from all lands, to learn my will and ask for aid in the hour of fear. Only guard ye my temple well, and keep your hands clean and your hearts pure; for if ye deal rightly no man shall take away your glory; but if ye speak lies and do iniquity, if ye hurt the people who come to my altar, and make them to go astray, then shall other men rise up in your place, and ye yourselves shall be thrust out forever, because ye would not obey my words."