Let ev’ry swain adore her power divine,And milk and honey mix with sparkling wine;Let all the choir of clowns attend this show,In long procession, shouting as they go;Invoking her to bless their yearly stores,Inviting plenty to their crowded floors.Thus in the spring, and thus in summer’s heat,Before the sickles touch the rip’ning wheat,On Ceres call; and let the lab’ring hindWith oaken wreaths his hollow temples bind;On Ceres let him call, and Ceres praise,With uncouth dances, and with country-lays.Georg. I.
Let ev’ry swain adore her power divine,And milk and honey mix with sparkling wine;Let all the choir of clowns attend this show,In long procession, shouting as they go;Invoking her to bless their yearly stores,Inviting plenty to their crowded floors.Thus in the spring, and thus in summer’s heat,Before the sickles touch the rip’ning wheat,On Ceres call; and let the lab’ring hindWith oaken wreaths his hollow temples bind;On Ceres let him call, and Ceres praise,With uncouth dances, and with country-lays.Georg. I.
Let ev’ry swain adore her power divine,And milk and honey mix with sparkling wine;Let all the choir of clowns attend this show,In long procession, shouting as they go;Invoking her to bless their yearly stores,Inviting plenty to their crowded floors.Thus in the spring, and thus in summer’s heat,Before the sickles touch the rip’ning wheat,On Ceres call; and let the lab’ring hindWith oaken wreaths his hollow temples bind;On Ceres let him call, and Ceres praise,With uncouth dances, and with country-lays.Georg. I.
Ques.Who was Themis?
Ans.She instructed both gods and men, and was generally considered the goddess of law and justice. Her origin is uncertain; but she is said to have been a Titaness.
Ques.Who was Astræ´a?
Ans.She was also goddess of justice; according to some, she was the daughter of Jupiter and Themis. When the Titans took up arms against Jupiter, Astræ´a descended to earth, and mingled with the human race. This intercourse was uninterrupted during the Golden Age; in the Silver Age, Astræ´a dwelt in the mountains, and descended only amid the shades of evening, when she was unseen by men. When the Brazen Age commenced, she fled altogether from the human race, being the last among the Immortals to abandon the earth. Jupiter then changed her into the constellation Virgo, one of the signs of the zodiac. This constellation is represented by the figure of a woman holding scales in one hand, and a swordin the other. The scales have been variously explained, but they are generally supposed to be an emblem of justice. According to some, Erigo´ne, a maiden who hung herself in despair, at the death of her father, was changed into the constellation Virgo.
Ques.Who was Nem´esis?
Ans.She was the daughter of Night, and the goddess of just vengeance. It was her office to follow and punish guilty men. She had wings, but generally went on foot, which signifies that the punishment of crime, although sure, is generally slow. An ancient poet says:
“Vengeance divine to punish sin moves slow;The slower is its pace, the surer is its blow.”
“Vengeance divine to punish sin moves slow;The slower is its pace, the surer is its blow.”
“Vengeance divine to punish sin moves slow;The slower is its pace, the surer is its blow.”
Ques.What do you say of the temple of Nem´esis at Rhamnus?
Ans.This temple was but a short distance from the plain of Marathon. The Persians had brought with them a great block of Parian marble for the trophy which they intended to erect in honor of their expected victory. This marble fell into the hands of the Athenians, and a sculptor, said by some to have been Phidias, afterwards carved from it a beautiful statue of Nem´esis, which was placed in the temple of Rhamnus. A fragment was found in the ruins of this edifice, which is supposed to be the head of this statue; and has been presented as such to the British Museum.
Ques.Who were the Muses?
Ans.They were the daughters of Jupiter and Mnemo´syne, and were supposed to preside over the liberal arts and sciences.
Ques.How many Muses were there?
Ans.They were nine in number, and each presided over some particular department of literature, art or science. Their names were:
Calli´ope, who was the Muse of epic poetry, she holds in her hand a roll of parchment, or a trumpet.
Clio presided over history. She holds a half opened scroll.
Melpo´mene was the Muse of tragedy. She leans on a club, and holds a tragic mask.
Euter´pe was the patroness of music. She holds two flutes.
Er´ato inspired those who wrote of love. She plays on a nine-stringed lyre.
Terpsich´ore presided over choral dance and song. She appears dancing, and holds a seven-stringed lyre.
Ura´nia, the Muse of astronomy, holds a globe, and traces mathematical figures with a wand.
Thalia, the Muse of comedy, holds in one hand a comic mask, in the other a crooked staff.
Polyhym´nia presided over eloquence. She holds her fore-finger to her lips, or carries a scroll.
The Muses are sometimes represented as crowned with palms, and seated in the shade of an arbor, playing upon different instruments; or again, as dancing in a circle with joined hands, while Apollo is seated in their midst.
Ques.How have some writers accounted for the number of Muses?
Ans.They say that in ancient times there were but three Muses. The citizens of Sicyon employed three sculptors to execute statues of these goddesses, promising to choose from among the nine images, those which they should consider the most beautiful. When the statues were finished, they were found to be so skillfully wrought, that it was impossible to make a choice. They were all placed in the temple, and the poet Hesiod afterwards assigned them names and attributes.
Ques.What punishment did the Muses inflict on the nine daughters of Pierus, king of Æmathia?
Ans.These maidens challenged the Muses to a contest in music; they were defeated and transformed into magpies by the indignant goddesses. Tham´yris, a musician of Thrace, was struck blind for the same offence.
Ques.Who was Pan?
Ans.He was a woodland deity, and was honored by the Romans as the god of shepherds and the patron of fishing and fowling. The Latins sometimes called him Incubus or the “Nightmare,” and at Rome he was worshipped as Lupercus, or Lynceus. His origin is uncertain, but he is said by some authors to have been a son of Mercury and a nymph of Arcadia.
Ques.How is Pan represented?
Ans.As half man, and half goat, having a human head ornamented with horns, and a garland of pine: he holds in one hand a crooked staff, and in the other a pipe of uneven reeds. The music which he made on this rude instrument was so sweet as to cheer the gods.
Ques.What famous action is related of Pan?
Ans.When the Gauls, under their King Brennus, made an irruption into Greece, and were about to plunder the temple of Apollo at Delphi, Pan suddenly showed himself, and so terrified themthat they fled in disorder. Hence it comes that any sudden and unreasonable terror which spreads through an assemblage of persons, particularly an army, is called a panic.
Ques.What was the origin of Pan’s reeds?
Ans.A beautiful nymph, named Syrinx, was so persecuted by this god, that she prayed the water-nymphs to help her, and change her into reeds, which they did. Pan saw the transformation, and was much grieved. He took some of the reeds away for a remembrance. On applying them to his lips, he found they produced the most melodious sounds, so that he formed them into a rustic pipe. Milk and honey were offered to Pan.
Ques.Who were these?
Ans.They were hideous monsters who dwelt in forests, and were, like Pan, half man and half goat.
Ques.Who was Terminus?
Ans.He was the god of boundaries. His statue was only a square stone, or a painted log of wood. It is probable that the Romans did not suppose Terminus to be a person, but only used the name as another term for justice, which forbids any one to trespass on another’s boundaries.
Landmarks and boundary stones were considered sacred by the Romans; they were crowned with garlands on festivals, offerings were laid upon them, and it was death for any one to remove one. When Constantine embraced Christianity, and placed the cross on his standard, he replaced these Terminal stones by the Christian emblem, and the custom of erecting wayside crosses, which became afterwards almost universal, is said to date from this epoch.
Terminus had a temple on the Tarpeian rock. It is said that when Tarquin the Proud wished to build a temple to Jupiter on the spot, the god of boundaries refused to give way.
Ques.Who was this deity?
Ans.He is generally reckoned as one of the rural divinities, and was worshipped as such by the ancient Sabines. The name comes from the Latin word verto, (to turn or change,) and was bestowed upon him in allusion to his power of taking any form he pleased. Vertumnus presided over the seasons; he was the husband of Pomona. Statues of this god were erected in every town of Italy. His festival called Vertumnalia, was kept in October.
Ques.Who was Diana?
Ans.She was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and the twin-sister of Apollo. This goddess had three names. On earth she was called Diana, and was honored as the goddess of woods and hunting; in heaven she was called Luna, and was identified with the moon, as her brother Apollo was with the sun. In hell, she was called Hec´ate, and as spirits were supposed to be subject to her, she was invoked under the latter name in all magical incantations.
Ques.What were the habits of Diana?
Ans.She shunned the society of men, and frequented the woods, attended by a train of virgins who had resolved, like her, never to marry.
Ques.Who were the attendants of Diana?
Ans.Sometimes the Ocean´ides or daughters of Ocean´us; sometimes the woodland nymphs. Diana often led a chorus of the Muses and Graces, and joined them in singing the praises of her mother Latona.
Ques.How is Diana represented?
Ans.As a very stately and beautiful woman, dressed in the garb of a huntress; she holds a bow in her hand, and a quiver of arrows is hung across her shoulders. Her feet are covered with buskins, and a bright silver crescent glitters on her forehead. Sometimes she is represented as seated in a silver chariot drawn by hounds.
Ques.Who was Chi´one?
Ans.She was a nymph beloved by Apollo. She spoke scornfully of the beauty of Diana, and the goddess, in revenge, pierced her tongue with an arrow.
Ques.Relate the story of Ni´obe.
Ans.She was the daughter of Tan´talus, and the wife of Amphi´on, king of Thebes. She was enriched with all the gifts of nature and fortune, and being made insolent by prosperity, she insulted Latona, and refused to offer incense at her shrine. Ni´obe had seven beautiful sons, and as many lovely daughters, and had boasted of their number as rendering her superior to Latona. The indignant goddess called upon Apollo and Diana to revenge the insult offered to their mother, and humble the haughty Ni´obe. This they effected by slaying, in one day, all the children of the unhappy queen. Her sons expired by the arrows of Apollo, and her daughters by those of Diana. Amphi´on killed himself in despair, and the wretched Ni´obe, widowed and childless, wept without ceasing until the pitying godschanged her into stone. This story has furnished the subject of a very beautiful group of statuary, in which Ni´obe is represented as vainly endeavoring to shelter, beneath her mantle, the youngest and last of her children.
Ques.Where was the most celebrated temple of Diana?
Ans.At Ephesus in Asia Minor; it was so beautiful that it was counted among the seven wonders of the world. Two hundred and twenty years were spent in the building, although an incredible number of workmen were employed. The entire length of the temple was 425 feet, and the breadth 220; the whole was supported by 127 superb columns, each the gift of a king. The statue of the goddess was of ebony, and the most skillful painters and sculptors were employed in the decorations of the edifice.
A man named Erostratus, who was anxious to make himself famous, by whatever means, set fire to this magnificent building. This event took place on the very day on which Alexander the Great was born.
The temple was but partially destroyed, and was soon afterwards restored to its former splendor. The inhabitants of Ephesus seem to have been particularly attached to the worship of Diana. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that when they began to make converts in that city, the people were very indignant; in their zeal for their goddess they ran about the streets for the spaceof about two hours, crying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
This temple was despoiled by Nero, who removed many costly offerings and images, together with a large quantity of silver and gold. It was afterwards plundered by the Goths in the reign of Gallienus; and the materials of the building have been since used in the construction of other edifices. The great dome of Santa Sophia, in Constantinople, rests upon pillars of green jasper which were removed from the temple of Diana by order of Justinian.
Two pillars of the great church of Pisa were also taken from this temple, which has been so completely destroyed that the exact site is not known.
Ques.Who were the Nymphs?
Ans.They were graceful young women who attended on Diana and the greater goddesses. Some, also, had charge of certain fountains and rivers, and were called Na´iades; the nymphs of Ocean were Nere´ides and Ocean´ides. The Ore´ades were mountain nymphs, and others presided over groves and even single trees.
Ques.What were the woodland nymphs called?
Ans.Those who watched over the forests, and always lived among the trees, were called Dry´ades, from a Greek word which means an oak; the Hamadry´ades were so called because they wereattached, each to some particular oak. The Hamadryad was born with the tree, flourished and died with it. This belief lingered for a long time amid the German forests, as also the superstition about water spirits.
Ques.What was the story of Arethusa?
Ans.This nymph was the daughter of Ocean´us, and an attendant of Diana. She was admired by the god of the river Alphe´us, but refused to listen to his addresses. As she fled from his presence, he pursued. The terrified nymph had sped through all Arcadia; the shades of evening were gathering, and Alphe´us pressed close upon her fainting steps. In this extremity, Arethusa prayed to Diana for relief, and was immediately dissolved into a fountain. Alphe´us resumed his watery form, and sought to mingle his current with hers, but Diana opened for her a passage under the sea, and she rose in the island of Ortygia, in Sicily, still followed by the stream of the Alphe´us. In proof of this fable, and of the Grecian origin of this famous fount, it was asserted that a cup which fell into the river Alphe´us in Greece, rose in the fountain of Arethusa, and that its clear waters were reddened with the blood of the victims slain at the Olympic games.
Ques.Who was Echo?
Ans.Echo was a nymph, the daughter of Air and Tellus; she was one of Juno’s attendants, but offended that goddess by her talkativeness. She was so far deprived of speech, that she couldonly repeat the last words of every sentence which she heard. Echo loved the youth Narcissus, and seeing that he despised her affection, she pined away till nothing remained of her but her voice and bones. The latter were changed into stones, but the voice is still heard among rocks and in solitary places, repeating always the last words that are spoken.
Ques.What was the fate of Narcissus?
Ans.One legend is that he saw his image reflected in a fountain, and, not perceiving that it was but his own shadow, gazed at it, lost in admiration, until he was changed into the flower that bears his name. According to another version, Narcissus had a twin-sister who resembled him closely in form and feature, and was his constant companion. This sister died young, and Narcissus, deeply lamenting her death, used to go to a neighboring fountain, and try to recall the image of his sister by gazing at his own reflection in the waters.
Ques.Were there many rural divinities?
Ans.Yes, a great number; but only a few were well known. Among those we may mention Pomona, the goddess of orchards, and Flora, the goddess of flowers. Pales was the goddess of shepherds and pastures. The Romans celebrated feasts, called Pallia, in her honor. They offered milk, and cakes of millet, that she might drive away the wolves, and prevent diseases among the cattle.
Ques.Who was Neptune?
Ans.He was the son of Saturn and Ops, and was worshipped as the god of the sea, and the father of rivers and fountains.
Ques.How is he represented?
Ans.As standing upright in a chariot made of a sea-shell; for a sceptre, he holds a trident, that is, a fork with three barbed tines; he is arrayed in a blue mantle, and is generally accompanied by his queen Amphitri´te. Neptune’s chariot is drawn by sea-horses, and his attendants, who swim on either side, are human only to the waist, the body terminating like that of a fish. Whenever Neptune’s chariot moved upon the waters, the sea grew calm, and tempests were appeased.
Ques.What were the offices of Neptune?
Ans.He conducted ships safely to port, and presided over horse-races.
Ques.Why was he supposed to preside over horses?
Ans.In memory of his contest with Minerva, when he produced a horse by striking on the ground with his trident. Neptune was obliged by Jupiter to aid Apollo in building the walls of Troy.
Ques.How was Neptune worshipped?
Ans.Neptune had an altar in the Circus at Rome where sacrifices were offered, and plays were acted, representing the carrying off of the Sabine women. The solemn games in honor of this god were called Consualia, and were celebrated in the month of March. While these lasted, horses were released from work, and mules were adorned with garlands.
Ques.Who were the most remarkable of Neptune’s children?
Ans.Triton, and Phorcus or Proteus.
Ques.What is told of Phorcus?
Ans.He was vanquished by Atlas, and drowned in the sea; after which the people worshipped him as a god. There was another Phorcus who had three daughters, concerning whom a remarkable circumstance is related. The sisters had but one eye for their common use; each one wore it in turn, in the middle of her forehead. They were the guardians of the Gorgons, of whom Medusa was one. The hero Perseus, when about to attack Medusa, visited them, and, watching his opportunity, while one of the sisters was handing the eye to the other, he snatched it from her, and left all three in darkness.
Ques.For what was Proteus remarkable?
Ans.For his power of transforming himself instantaneously into any shape he wished.
Ques.Who was Triton?
Ans.He was the son of Neptune and Amphitri´te, and was his father’s companion and trumpeter. The upper half of his body was like that of a man, but below the waist he resembled a fish; his tail was cleft and crooked, and his hair resembled wild parsley.
Ques.What other sea-monsters were celebrated?
Ans.The Sirens, also Scylla, and Charybdis.
Ques.Who were the Sirens?
Ans.They were monsters who had the faces of women, but the bodies of flying-fish; they dwelt near the promontory of Peloris, or in islands called Sirenusæ, south of Italy. By the magical sweetness of their singing, they allured all who sailed by those coasts; and after they had lulled them into a trance, drowned them in the sea.
Ques.What was there remarkable in the songs of the Sirens?
Ans.They blended the notes of different musical instruments with their voices, and adapted the style and matter of their songs to the inclination of their hearers. They had bold and stirring strains to entice the ambitious, softer melodies for the lovers of pleasure, and with still different notes, they drew on the covetous to their destruction.
Ques.Did any escape who passed those coasts?
Ans.History mentions only two; Ulys´ses and Or´pheus. The first was warned against the danger by the enchantress Circe; he therefore stopped the ears of his companions with wax, and had himself firmly bound to the mast of the ship, by which means he passed the fatal coasts in safety. Or´pheus overcame them in their own art; for he sang the praises of the gods, accompanying himself upon his lyre, and made such divine melody that the music of the Sirens attracted no attention. The Fates had decreed that the Sirens should live until some one who passed by, had listened to their songs unmoved. When they saw themselves overcome by Or´pheus, they knew that their hour had come, and flung themselves headlong into the sea, where they were transformed into rocks.
Ques.Who was Circe?
Ans.She was a skillful enchantress. Having poisoned her husband, the king of the Sarmatians, she was obliged to fly into Italy, where she fixed her dwelling on the promontory Circæum. She presented to all travellers an enchanted cup; and after they had drunk, transformed them into wolves, swine or other animals. Ulys´ses escaped by throwing an herb into the cup, which rendered it powerless; he then rushed upon the sorceress with his sword, and forced her to restore his companions whom she had transformed. After this, Circe entertained Ulys´ses in a friendly manner.
Ques.What did the poets endeavor to teach by the fables of the Sirens’ song, and the cup of Circe?
Ans.They wished to signify by the singing of the Sirens, the allurements of vice, and the dangers of listening to its seductions; by the story of Circe, they showed that when men drink of the cup of sensual pleasure, they become soon degraded to the level of the beasts.
Ques.Who was Scylla?
Ans.The fable relates that she was the daughter of Phorcus, and that she was transformed by the jealousy of Circe, into a frightful monster. Scylla was so much grieved by this transformation, that she cast herself into the sea, where she was changed into a rock, made famous by the many shipwrecks that occurred upon it. Over against this rock is the whirlpool of Charybdis, about which the poets relate a similar fable. They say that Charybdis was a very ravenous woman, who stole Hercules’s oxen. For this theft, Jupiter struck her dead with a thunderbolt, and changed her into the whirlpool which bears her name. The ancients placed Scylla and Charybdis in the straits of Messina. It was considered a great feat to steer successfully between them.
Ques.Who was Melicertes?
Ans.He was the son of Athamas, king of Thebes, and of Ino, the daughter of Cadmus and Hermi´one. Ino offended Juno, and the goddess, in revenge, deprived Athamas of reason. The king, in his frenzy, took thequeen and her children for wild beasts, and pursued them through the palace. He killed his son Learchus by dashing him against a wall, but Ino escaped, and threw herself into the sea with Melicertes in her arms. At the intercession of Venus, Neptune endowed them both with immortality. Ino became a sea-goddess under the name of Leucothea, while Melicertes was worshipped as Palæmon. He was supposed to have power in saving vessels from shipwreck, and was, therefore, invoked by mariners. The Romans called him Portunus, and honored him as the god of shores and harbors.
Ques.Who was Thetis?
Ans.She was a sea-goddess, the daughter of Nereus and Doris, and sister of the Nere´ides. She was endowed with such beauty that Jupiter himself sought her in marriage; but Prometheus, the Titan, prophesied that Thetis would give birth to a son who should be greater than his father. Jupiter thereupon desisted from his suit, and Thetis was betrothed to Peleus, king of Thessaly. Their marriage was celebrated with much pomp, all the deities of Olympus honoring the nuptial rites with their presence. Achilles, the son of Thetis, fulfilled the Titan’s prophecy by his heroic exploits.
Ques.Who was Pluto?
Ans.He was the son of Saturn and Ops, and the brother of Jupiter and Neptune. In the division of his father’s kingdom, the infernal regions were allotted to him, and he is therefore called the king of Hell.
Ques.How is Pluto represented?
Ans.He is seated on a throne in the midst of clouds and darkness; he wears a crown of ebony, and holds a key in his hand instead of a sceptre.
Ques.What does the key signify?
Ans.It seems to imply, that when once the dead are received into Pluto’s kingdom, the gates are locked upon them and there is no escape.
Ques.What does Pluto’s name signify?
Ans.The Greek name Pluto, and the Latin word Dis, signify wealth, because this god is supposed to control the hidden treasures of the earth. The thunder that happens in the night time is attributed to Pluto, and he is often styled the Infernal Jupiter.
Ques.Was Pluto the same as Plutus?
Ans.No; Plutus was the god of riches, and was supposed to be the son of Jason and Ceres. He is described as being blind and lame, injudicious, and timorous.
Ques.What does this mean?
Ans.Plutus is blind and injudicious, because he passes over the virtuous to heap riches on the wicked; he is lame because riches come slowly, and timorous, because the rich watch their treasures with great fear and anxiety.
Ques.To whom was Pluto married?
Ans.As we have learned before, Pluto was married to Proser´pine, daughter of Ceres.
Ques.How was Hell described?
Ans.The entrance to the infernal regions was by a wide, dark cave, through which the departed souls were obliged to pass; they next came to a gloomy grove, and a black lake, called Avernus; this was overhung with such poisonous vapors that no birds could fly over it. The ferryman, Charon, was always waiting on the shore to carry the dead to the other side of the lake. The ghosts of those who had not been buried with funeral rites, were obliged to wander for a hundred years by the gloomy waters of Avernus, before Charon could carry them to the other side. This superstitionmade the ancients very careful about burying their dead.
Ques.What do you say of the rivers of Hell?
Ans.The Styx was the most remarkable. When any of the gods swore by the Styx, the oath was sacred; if any deity was guilty of breaking such an oath, he was deprived of nectar, and excluded from the table of the gods for a year and nine days. Lethe was also a river of Hell; the name means oblivion; it is so called, because when the dead drank of its waters, they forgot all that had passed upon this earth.
Ques.What monster kept the gate of Pluto’s palace?
Ans.Cer´berus; a three-headed dog, whose body was clothed with snakes instead of hair.
Ques.Who were the Fates?
Ans.They were three sisters, the daughters of Chaos, who were appointed to watch over the thread of human life. Their names were, Clotho, Lach´esis and At´ropos; Clotho drew the thread between her fingers; Lach´esis turned the wheel, and, at the appointed moment, At´ropos cut the thread with her scissors.
Ques.Who were the Furies?
Ans.They were three sisters, Alec´to, Tisi´phone, and Megæ´ra. They are called by the poets the Daughters of Night; their office was to torment the wicked during life and after death.
Ques.How were they represented?
Ans.As hideous women with terrible countenances; they had twining serpents instead of hair, and carried snaky whips and lighted torches in their hands. They were often called by the Greeks Eumen´ides.
Ques.Of what were the Furies an emblem?
Ans.Of the evil passions of men, and the remorse which torments the wicked. When the ancients said of a man, that the Furies had taken up their abode with him, they meant that the remembrance of his crimes did not leave him any repose.
Ques.Besides Pluto, who were appointed judges of the dead?
Ans.Minos, Rhadamanthus and Æ´acus. These were princes, who governed so justly during life, that the fate of the dead was entrusted to them.
Ques.What offices were assigned to each?
Ans.Rhadamanthus judged the Asiatics, Æ´acus the Europeans; and when a very difficult case arose it was referred to Minos.
Ques.Who were the most famous among the condemned?
Ans.The giants whom Jupiter conquered. Typhon was the most enormous; when he was overthrown, Jupiter was obliged to lay the wholeIsland of Sicily upon him to keep him down. Briareus was another giant, remarkable for having fifty heads and a hundred hands. According to the ancient poets, he is imprisoned under Mount Etna, and whenever he tries to move he causes terrible eruptions of the volcano. Tityus was still more cruelly punished. He was chained to the ground in the infernal regions, and such was his stature, that he covered nine acres. A frightful vulture fed continually upon his liver, which grew as fast as it was consumed, that his punishment might be eternal.
Ques.Who was Ixion?
Ans.He was the son of Phlegyas, or, according to some, of Mars. He boasted falsely that he had gained the affections of Juno. For this insolence Jupiter cast him down into hell, where he was fastened to a wheel which revolved continually.
Ques.Who was Sis´yphus?
Ans.He was a famous robber who was slain by Theseus. In hell, he was obliged to roll a huge stone up a steep mountain. When it touched the top it rolled down again, so that he was tormented with unceasing toil.
Ques.Who was Tan´talus?
Ans.He was the son of Jupiter. He invited the gods to a feast, at which he served up the flesh of his son Pelops to try their divinity. In hell he is tormented by continual hunger and thirst. He stands up to his lips in a cool fountain,whose waters recede whenever he attempts to drink. Branches laden with tempting fruit hang over him, but they are carried out of reach by a sudden gust of wind whenever he attempts to pluck them.
Ques.Who were the Beli´des?
Ans.They were fifty maidens, daughters of Dan´aus and grand-daughter of King Belus, from whom they are called. They all murdered their husbands on the wedding night, for which crime they are obliged to draw water from a deep well until they have filled an immense sieve. Their labor is therefore perpetual.
Ques.Who was Salmo´neus?
Ans.Salmo´neus was king of Elis, and was cast into hell for imitating Jupiter’s thunder.
Ques.What became of the souls of good men?
Ans.After being purified from whatever slight offences they had committed in life, they were conducted to a place abounding in delights, called Elysium. When they had passed many ages in this blissful abode they returned to earth, but before doing so, they drank of the river Lethe, that they might forget the happiness they had enjoyed.
Ques.Were there any fabulous monsters besides those of Hell?
Ans.Yes, many; the Centaurs, who were half man and half horse; also Geryon, who was king of the three Balearic Islands, now known as Ivica, Minorca and Majorca. For this reason, he was said to have three heads and three bodies, and passed into fable as a monster. He was probably a wicked and cruel prince. There were also the Harpies, which had the faces of women and the bodies of birds.
Ques.What was the Chimæra?
Ans.A fabulous monster, which vomited fire. It had the head and breast of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon.
Ques.What was intended by this fable?
Ans.Poets thus described a volcano in Lycia, on the summit of which were lions; in the middle was pasture-land frequented by goats; and the lowest part was infested by serpents. Bellerophon made this mountain inhabitable, and was therefore said to have killed the Chimæra. At presentanything which is quite imaginary is called a Chimæra.
Ques.What was the Sphinx?
Ans.It was a monster with the head and shoulders of a woman, the wings of a bird, and the paws of a lion. She infested the country about Thebes, so that the people, in their distress, went to consult the oracle of Apollo. An answer was given that no remedy could be found until some one should solve the riddle that the Sphinx had proposed, and which she had learned from the Muses. The question was this: “What animal is that which goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?” The Thebans often met to try their skill, and when they had failed, the Sphinx carried off and devoured one of their number. At length Hæmon, son of Creon, was destroyed by the monster, and the king made a public proclamation, that he would give the throne, with the hand of his sister Jocasta, to that man who should solve the riddle. Œdipus, who was then at Thebes, came forward and answered the Sphinx, that the animal was Man, because when an infant he creeps on all fours; in manhood, he walks on two feet, and when old uses a staff as a third foot. Upon hearing this answer, the Sphinx dashed her head against a rock, and expired.
Ques.Why is the story of the Sphinx interesting?
Ans.Because there still remains in Egypt anenormous statue of the monster, carved in solid rock. Formerly, little was visible save the head and neck, but the sand which has been gathering around it for so many centuries, is now cleared away. The body is one hundred and twenty-five feet long; and the fore-paws extend about fifty feet more. The face has been much disfigured by the arrows and lances of the Arabs, who are taught by their religion to hold all images of men or animals in detestation.
Ques.What was the Phœnix?
Ans.A fabulous bird of which there never existed more than one at the same time. It excelled all other birds in beauty of plumage, and fed only on frankincense and sweet gums. When the Phœnix had attained the age of five hundred years, it built a funeral pile of odorous wood, on which it was consumed. A new Phœnix also immediately arose from the flames. The first care of the young bird was to collect the ashes of its parent, which it carried, enclosed in myrrh, to the temple of the Sun in Egypt.
Ques.What were the Pena´tes?
Ans.This name was given to a certain class of household deities, which were worshipped by the Romans in the penetralia, or innermost part of their dwellings. The greater Pena´tes governed kingdoms and provinces; others presided over cities; and the lesser Pena´tes watched over particular houses and families.
Ques.What were the Lares?
Ans.They were, according to some, the children of Mercury and the nymph Lara; they were domestic gods, and presided over houses, streets and roads. They warded off danger from without, while the Pena´tes watched over the interior of the dwelling. The spirits of ancestors sometimes watched as Lares, over the fortunes of families. This idea of the spirits of the deceased watching over their descendants, made the Romans wish to bury the dead within, or very near their dwellings. This custom was condemned bythe laws of the Twelve Tables. Besides the spirit which watched over the family, each individual was supposed to have his Lar, or familiar genius, who watched over him from his birth. In early times, children were sacrificed to the goddess Mania, who was supposed by some to be the mother of the Lares. After the expulsion of the Tarquins, Junius Brutus abolished this barbarous rite, and substituted little balls of wool, and heads of garlic and poppy, in place of the human heads which had been formerly offered. The ordinary altar of the Lares was the domestic hearth; hogs, sheep and steers were among the sacrifices offered to these divinities, but the first fruits of the season were always laid upon the hearth. No family repast was properly begun, unless some portion of the viands had been first cast into the fire; in the more solemn form of marriage, the bride always threw a piece of money on the hearth, to the Lares of her family, and another on the cross roads, that they might grant her free passage to her husband’s house. The Roman boy, on attaining the age of fifteen, put off his childish dress, and consecrated the golden bulla, which he had worn around his neck from infancy, to the domestic Lares.
The soldier whose term of service had expired dedicated his arms to these powerful genii; while captives, and slaves restored to freedom, hung up their fetters, in token of gratitude, by the altar of the Lares.
Ques.How were the Lares represented?
Ans.Variously; sometimes as children, sometimes as young warriors, but always accompanied by a dog.
Ques.What Virtues were particularly honored as divinities?
Ans.The ancients not only worshipped the different Virtues, but the abstract idea of virtue itself was personified as a goddess. The Romans dedicated two temples, one to this divinity, and another, adjoining, to Honor. As the temple of Honor could only be reached by passing through that dedicated to Virtue, the votaries were reminded that it was by walking in her paths, that true honor was to be attained.
Ques.What were the emblems of Truth?
Ans.She was generally represented as a beautiful and modest virgin, with garments as white as snow. She was the daughter of Time, or Saturn, because Time always brings truth to light.
Fides, or Fidelity, had a temple near the Capitol, which was said to have been founded by Numa Pompilius. The symbols of this goddess were, a white dog, two hands joined, or sometimes two maidens with joined hands.
Ques.What were the emblems of Peace?
Ans.Pax, or Peace, was represented as a matron holding ears of corn, and crowned with olives and laurel. Her particular symbol was a caduceus, a white staff anciently borne by ambassadors when sent to treat of peace. A magnificent temple was dedicated to this goddess in the Roman Forum.
Justice was worshipped by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Her emblems have been described in the article on the goddess Astræa.
Hope had a temple at Rome in the herb market. It was destroyed by lightning.
Misericordia, or Mercy, had an altar at Athens This was a public sanctuary for the unfortunate, and it was unlawful to take any one from it by force. This altar is said to have been erected by the kindred of Hercules, after the death of that hero.
Pudicitia, or Modesty, had two temples, much frequented by the Roman matrons. The second of these was founded under peculiar circumstances.
Virginia, the daughter of Aulus, a patrician of high rank, married into a plebeian family. The noble ladies of Rome were so indignant at this alliance, that they would not permit her to enter the temple of Pudicitia, nor to offer sacrifice with them. She desired to repair this public affront by some memorable action. For this purpose, she built, in the Via Longa, a temple similar to that from which she had been expelled, anddedicated it likewise to Pudicitia. Virginia then assembled the plebeian matrons, and exhorted them to honor this Virtue in such a manner, that however the patrician ladies should surpass them in power or rank, they might still excel in modest behavior and purity of life. The two temples were from that time distinguished as Pudicitia Patricia, and Pudicitia Plebeia.
Ques.Was Fortune honored as a goddess?
Ans.Yes, the ancients worshipped under this name, a certain unseen power which was supposed to exercise a supreme dominion over human affairs. Fortune had many splendid temples in Italy. Servius Tullius dedicated two at Rome; one to Bona Fortuna, the other to Fors Fortuna. This capricious goddess was sometimes represented with her eyes bandaged, her feet winged, and her right hand resting on a wheel. In the temple of Fortune at Thebes, the goddess held Wealth, represented as an infant, in her arms.
The goddess Salus, or Health, was much honored by the Romans. In ancient times, certain days in the year were set apart for her worship. Her emblems were a bowl and a serpent.
Liberty was honored as a divinity. Her emblem was the peculiar cap with which we are familiar from the representations on our own coins.
Ques.Were not the Vices also honored by the ancients?
Ans.It is certain that both the Greeks and Romans erected temples and altars to certain vices,but it does not appear that their intention was to do them honor. In some instances, they strove to propitiate the powers of evil, that they might abstain from doing them harm. When they built a temple at Rome to Febris, or Fever, they undoubtedly wished to appease the demon or malignant deity who was supposed to send this calamity. The same superstition has been remarked among the modern Hindoos, who are said to have dedicated temples to thunder and lightning, earthquake, pestilence, etc. The Vices were always represented in such a manner as to excite abhorrence. We have an instance of this in the altar erected to Calumny at Athens.
Apelles drew an allegorical picture, in which the odious features of this Vice were strikingly portrayed. A man sits in a listening attitude, beckoning Calumny to approach. Two counsellors, Ignorance and Suspicion, stand near him. Calumny is beautiful in form and feature, but has a malignant countenance, and flashing eyes. Envy goes before, while Fraud and Conspiracy accompany her on either side. Repentance follows with woful mien and torn garments. She looks behind her, as if calling upon Truth, who is seen advancing slowly in the distance.
Discord, Fraud, etc., were represented with appropriate symbols.
Ques.Who were the Demigods?
Ans.They were brave men, who had rendered themselves famous in life by illustrious actions. After their death, their countrymen believed that they were admitted among the gods, and gave them divine honors. The circumstance of a mortal taking his place among the gods, was called an Apotheosis.
Ques.Who was the most famous of the Demigods?
Ans.Hercules, the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. Juno hated him on his mother’s account, and resolved upon his destruction. For this purpose she sent two monstrous serpents to kill him as he was sleeping in his cradle. The infant hero awoke, and seizing the serpents in his hands, strangled them both. Juno was not discouraged, and when Hercules was grown up, devised new means to destroy him. She persuaded Jupiter to put Hercules under the authority of Eurys´theus, king of Mycenæ, who imposed upon the hero twelve Labors, or tasks, of great danger anddifficulty. Hercules was in doubt as to whether he should submit to this injustice, and consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The oracle told him that he must obey Eurys´theus, which he accordingly did. Hercules had been carefully instructed by the Centaur Chiron, and he was now equipped for his labors by the liberality of the gods. He received a sword from Mercury, a bow from Apollo, a golden breastplate from Vulcan, horses from Neptune, and a robe from Minerva.
Ques.Relate the Twelve Labors of Hercules.
Ans.They are briefly as follows:
First.He killed a terrible lion which raged in the Ne´mean forest. Hercules is usually represented as clothed in the skin of this animal, and leaning on the club which was his ordinary weapon.
Second.He destroyed the Hydra, a serpent with fifty heads, which lived in the marshes of Lerna, and ravaged the surrounding country.
Hercules noticed that where he cut off one of the heads of this serpent, two immediately sprang up. He commanded an attendant to burn the wound with a firebrand, and by this means he at length cut off the last head.
Third.He captured the savage wild boar of Mount Erymanthus, in Arcadia, and brought it bound to Eurys´theus. The tyrant was so frightened at the sight of the animal, that he shut himself up in a brazen apartment of his palace.
Fourth.He caught, after a chase which lasted an entire year, a famous stag which was sacred to Diana. It had golden horns and brazen feet.
Fifth.He killed, or drove away from Lake Stympha´lus, certain voracious birds which fed on human flesh.
Sixth.He defeated the Amazons, and obtained as a spoil, the girdle of their queen, Hippol´yte.
Seventh.Three thousand oxen had been kept thirty years in the stables of Au´geas, which had never been cleaned during the entire period. Hercules was required to perform this task, which he effected by turning the course of a river through the stables.
Eighth.He tamed the wild bull of Crete, and brought him bound to Eurys´theus.
Ninth.He overcame Diome´des, tyrant of Thrace, who fed his horses with the flesh of his guests. Hercules caused him, in turn, to serve as food to these same horses.
Tenth.He overcame Ger´yon, who had three heads and three bodies. Hercules brought into Italy the oxen of this monster, which were accustomed to feed on human flesh.
Eleventh.He killed the dragon that watched the golden apple in the garden of the Hesper´ides, and bore away the precious fruit.
Twelfth.Hercules descended alive into the infernal regions, and brought from thence the three-headed dog, Cerberus.
Ques.Did Hercules perform any other great actions?
Ans.A vast number of exploits are attributed to him. There is a plain near Narbonne, in France, covered with stones. The ancients said that Hercules was contending on this spot with two giants, when, his arrows becoming exhausted, he prayed to Jupiter for aid. The god sent down a shower of great stones, with which Hercules put the giants to flight.
Ques.Relate the death of Hercules?
Ans.This hero had slain the Centaur Nessus to revenge an insult offered to his wife, Deiani´ra. When the monster was dying, he gave Deiani´ra a charmed philter, telling her that if Hercules ever gave her cause to doubt his affection, she could secure his constancy by making him wear a garment which had been sprinkled with this potion. The credulous Deiani´ra accepted the philter, which was nothing else but the venom of the hydra which had been infused into the Centaur’s blood; and it was not long before her jealousy led her to use it as she had been directed. Hercules had plundered Œchalia, and carried off, among other captives, the beautiful I´ole, daughter of the king of that city. The hero, who wished to keep a festival, and to offer sacrifice in honor of his victory, sent for a splendid robe befitting the occasion. Deiani´ra’s jealousy was excited against I´ole by the reports of the messenger, and she sent her husband a tunic impregnatedwith the venom of the hydra. The poison soon began to work, and Hercules endeavored in vain to tear off the tunic, which clung to his flesh and consumed even the marrow of his bones. In his fury he caught the youth who had brought him the garment, by the foot, and hurled him into the sea. He then fled in his agony to the summit of Mount Œta, where he erected a funeral pyre with forest trees which he tore up by the roots. On this he laid the skin of the Ne´mean lion and his famous club, after which he ascended the pile and directed his followers to set it on fire. All refused except Philocte´tes, who pitied the sufferings of the dying hero, and obeyed his command. He received the bow and arrows of Hercules as a reward for this service. While the pyre was blazing, Jupiter sent a thunder-cloud, in which Hercules was conveyed to Olympus. Here he was endowed with immortality, and, according to some accounts, was reconciled with Juno, who gave him her daughter Hebe in marriage.
Ques.Who was Jason?
Ans.He was the son of Æson, king of Thessaly, and was celebrated on account of his expedition in search of the Golden Fleece. He is also known as the husband of the famous sorceress Mede´a.
Ques.What was the Golden Fleece?
Ans.Phryxus, son of Athamas, king of Thebes, received from his mother a ram of a golden color, or, according to fable, with a fleece of pure gold. Some time after, Phryxus and his sister Helle, to escape from their step-mother Ino, attempted to cross the sea on this ram. Helle became terrified, and was drowned in the straits which are called from her, Hellespont. Phryxus arrived in safety at Colchis, where he sacrificed the ram to Jupiter, who placed it among the signs of the Zodiac. The fleece was hung in a grove sacred to Mars, where it was guarded by bulls who breathed flame from their nostrils, and also by a sleepless dragon. When Jason demanded hisfather’s throne, his uncle, who wished to continue in the government, persuaded him to undertake an expedition for the recovery of the Golden Fleece. Jason, with some brave companions, among whom were Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, went on board a ship called the Argo, from which circumstance they were called Ar´gonauts. On arriving at Colchis, they demanded the fleece, which the king, Æetes, promised to Jason on condition that he would tame the wild bulls that guarded it, kill the dragon, sow his teeth in the ground, and afterwards destroy the soldiers who should spring from them. Jason accepted the conditions, but would inevitably have perished, had not Mede´a, the king’s daughter, saved him by her magical arts. Jason obtained the fleece, and fled by night from Colchis, carrying with him Mede´a, whom he married, in fulfilment of the engagement which he had made.
Ques.What else is related of Mede´a?
Ans.She lived for some time happily with Jason, upon whom she conferred an additional favor by restoring his aged and decrepit father to the vigor and beauty of youth. Jason was ungrateful for these benefits, and divorced Mede´a in order that he might marry Creusa, the daughter of the king of Corinth.
Ques.What was Mede´a’s revenge?
Ans.She murdered, in the sight of their father, the two children whom she had borne to Jason, and consumed his palace and bride in a conflagrationraised by her art. As Jason was about to rush upon the sorceress, she rose in the air in a flying chariot, and escaped to Athens.
Ques.Who was Theseus?
Ans.He was the son of Æ´geus, king of Athens. The Athenians were obliged to send every year, as tribute to Crete, seven of the noblest of their young men, and as many maidens. These were usually devoured by a horrible monster called Minotaur, whom Minos, the king of Crete, kept in the Labyrinth.
Ques.What was the Labyrinth?
Ans.It was a building with fifteen hundred rooms above ground, and as many underneath. These apartments had so many doors, and were connected by such intricate windings, that no one who was conducted a certain distance into the edifice, could find the entrance again.
Theseus resolved to deliver the Athenians from this dreadful tribute, and when the lots were about being cast for the fourth time, he offered himself as one of the victims. Æ´geus strove to dissuade the young hero, but in vain; and the tribute ship departed as usual under black sails, which Theseus promised his father to change for white, in case of his returning victorious.
When they arrived in Crete, the youths and maidens were exhibited before King Minos; andAriadne, the daughter of the king, was so much struck by the courage and generosity of Theseus that she resolved to save his life. For this purpose she gave him a ball of thread which she directed him to attach to the entrance of the Labyrinth, and to unwind as he proceeded. Theseus followed her instructions, and when he came to where the Minotaur lay, he slew him, and found his way out by the thread. The whole band then embarked for Athens.
Ques.What became of Ariadne?
Ans.She accompanied Theseus on his flight, but he was so ungrateful as to abandon her on the island of Naxos, where she had fallen asleep on the shore. Ariadne was afterwards married to Bacchus, who gave her a crown composed of seven stars, the same which we admire in the heavens as the Corona Borealis, or Northern Crown.
Ques.Of what negligence was Theseus guilty on his return to Athens?
Ans.He forgot his promise to his father with regard to the color of his sails, and Æ´geus, who watched every day for his son’s return, saw the black sails in the distance. He believed from this that his son was dead. In his despair he cast himself into the sea, which was called Æge´an from his name. Theseus, after performing many other wonderful actions, was banished from his country, and died in obscurity.