the original narrative; and what is a poetical myth when stripped of its poetry? The story of Ceyx and Halcyone, which fil

either Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so famous for its oracle. The circular disk of the earth was crosse

nto two equal parts by the Sea, as they called the Mediterranean, and its continuation the Euxine, the only seas with which

which they were acquainted. Around the earth flowed the River Ocean, its course being from south to north on the western s

nd Semele. He represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but its social and beneficent influences likewise, so tha

n her temple. As the safety of the city was held to be connected with its conservation, the neglect of the virgins, if they

s a problem naturally fitted to excite the liveliest interest of man, its inhabitant. The ancient pagans, not having the in

gistrate to threaten or punish. The forest had not yet been robbed of its trees to furnish timbers for vessels, nor had men

were not satisfied with what the surface produced, but must dig into its bowels, and draw forth from thence the ores of me

earth, and closed by announcing his intention to destroy the whole of its inhabitants, and provide a new race, unlike the f

, profaned. If any edifice remained standing, it was overwhelmed, and its turrets lay hid beneath the waves. Now all was se

d a retreat to the waters. The waters obeyed, and the sea returned to its shores, and the rivers to their channels. Then De

ground, as a root; her face, became a tree-top, retaining nothing of its former self but its beauty. Apollo stood amazed.

her face, became a tree-top, retaining nothing of its former self but its beauty. Apollo stood amazed. He touched the stem,

leaf know no decay.” The nymph, now changed into a Laurel tree, bowed its head in grateful acknowledgment.   That Apollo sh

and beat her breast, embracing the lifeless body, pouring tears into its wounds, and imprinting kisses on the cold lips. “

again. She saw her veil stained with blood and the scabbard empty of its sword. “Thy own hand has slain thee, and for my s

ich could outrun every rival, and a javelin which would never fail of its mark; and Procris gave these presents to her husb

from his beloved Procris told him that the weapon had too surely met its mark. He rushed to the place, and found her bleed

ht eye, And oft he wooed the wandering wind     To cool his brow with its sigh While mute lay even the wild bee’s hum,     

o that form. Juno joined her husband, and noticing the heifer praised its beauty, and asked whose it was, and of what herd.

. She sent a gadfly to torment Io, who fled over the whole world from its pursuit. She swam through the Ionian sea, which d

orld from its pursuit. She swam through the Ionian sea, which derived its name from her, then roamed over the plains of Ill

claws, and served for feet; her mouth, which Jove used to praise for its beauty, became a horrid pair of jaws; her voice,

was a cave, not adorned with art, but nature had counterfeited art in its construction, for she had turned the arch of its

counterfeited art in its construction, for she had turned the arch of its roof with stones as delicately fitted as if by th

less     As the last cloud of an expiring storm,     Whose thunder is its knell; he, as I guess,     Had gazed on Nature’s

, nor yet unlike, — but such as sisters’ ought to be. 5 The earth had its towns and forests and rivers and rustic divinitie

he Archer, and near the Lion’s jaws, and where the Scorpion stretches its arms in one direction and the Crab in another. No

last is tossed hither and thither on the sea, so the chariot, without its accustomed weight, was dashed about as if empty.

the north pole, torpid and harmless, grew warm, and with warmth felt its rage revive. Boötes, they say, fled away, though

ire, fell headlong, like a shooting star which marks the heavens with its brightness as it falls, and Eridanus, the great r

; then apply Its polished lip to your attentive ear, And it remembers its august abodes, And murmurs as the ocean murmurs t

consented. “Go,” said he, “to the River Pactolus, trace the stream to its fountain-head, there plunge your head and body in

ead, there plunge your head and body in, and wash away your fault and its punishment.” He did so, and scarce had he touched

ck bed of reeds sprang up in the meadow, and as soon as it had gained its growth, began whispering the story, and has conti

ng, dedicated his wagon to the deity of the oracle, and tied it up in its place with a fast knot. This was the celebrated G

think that he had complied with the terms of the oracle according to its true meaning. Baucis and Philemon. On a cer

wine, as fast as it was poured out, renewed itself in the pitcher, of its own accord. Struck with terror, Baucis and Philem

rds: “We are gods. This inhospitable village shall pay the penalty of its impiety; you alone shall go free from the chastis

on for below; In vain, for a superior force, Applied at bottom, stops its course; Doomed ever in suspense to dwell, ’Tis no

inst the steeple reared, Became a clock, and still adhered; And still its love to household cares By a shrill voice at noon

, he attached the string, and, having made ready, shot the arrow with its barbed point right into the heart of Pluto. In th

s.” The River Alpheus does in fact disappear underground, in part of its course, finding its way through subterranean chan

us does in fact disappear underground, in part of its course, finding its way through subterranean channels till it again a

his stream to be carried downward by it, and afterwards reproduced at its emerging: — “O my beloved, how divinely sweet Is

n the heat of the day, to breathe the air of the sea, and to bathe in its waters. Here the goddess poured her poisonous mix

oving by modesty. His art was so perfect that it concealed itself and its product looked like the workmanship of nature. Py

birds and flowers of various hues, beads and amber. He put raiment on its limbs, and jewels on its fingers, and a necklace

ous hues, beads and amber. He put raiment on its limbs, and jewels on its fingers, and a necklace about its neck. To the ea

raiment on its limbs, and jewels on its fingers, and a necklace about its neck. To the ears he hung earrings and strings of

the couch, gave a kiss to the mouth. It seemed to be warm. He pressed its lips again, he laid his hand upon the limbs; the

union Paphos was born, from whom the city, sacred to Venus, received its name.   Schiller, in his poem the Ideals, applie

embraced the trunk of the yet warm tree, and showered their kisses on its leaves. Now there was nothing left of Dryope but

lled Anemone, or Wind Flower, from the cause which assists equally in its production and its decay.   Milton alludes to th

nd Flower, from the cause which assists equally in its production and its decay.   Milton alludes to the story of Venus an

ine. As when one has broken the stem of a lily in the garden it hangs its head and turns its flowers to the earth, so the h

s broken the stem of a lily in the garden it hangs its head and turns its flowers to the earth, so the head of the dying bo

inthus and jealous of his preference of Apollo, blew the quoit out of its course to make it strike Hyacinthus. Keats allude

thunder. The swelling sea seems lifted up to the heavens, to scatter its foam among the clouds; then sinking away to the b

e sea. When the lightning ceases for a moment, the night seems to add its own darkness to that of the storm; then comes the

ked dim that night. Since it could not leave the heavens, it shrouded its face with clouds. In the meanwhile Halcyone, igno

there; but from the bottom of the rock the River Lethe flows, and by its murmur invites to sleep. Poppies grow abundantly

over the darkened earth. There is no gate to the mansion, to creak on its hinges, nor any watchman; but in the midst a couc

shore a mole, constructed to break the assaults of the sea, and stem its violent ingress. She leaped upon this barrier and

lamenting. When she touched the mute and bloodless body, she enfolded its beloved limbs with her new-formed wings, and trie

the waves, those who looked on doubted, but the body seemed to raise its head. But indeed he did feel it, and by the pityi

ountry, and trees that bear delicious apples. Her right hand bore for its weapon not a javelin, but a pruning-knife. Armed

ig and insert therein a graft, making the branch adopt a nursling not its own. She took care, too, that her favorites shoul

ned with a vine loaded with swelling grapes. She praised the tree and its associated vine, equally. “But,” said she, “if th

vine clinging to it, it would have nothing to attract or offer us but its useless leaves. And equally the vine, if it were

der than steel from the German forges, or a rock that still clings to its native cliff. She mocked and laughed at him, addi

ed Beneath the spreading tamarind, that shakes, Fanned by the breeze, its fever-cooling fruit.” Chapter XI. Cupid and P

st was so wonderful that the poverty of language is unable to express its due praise. The fame of her beauty was so great t

search of her husband. Casting her eyes on a lofty mountain having on its brow a magnificent temple, she sighed and said to

pious Psyche put an end to, by separating and sorting every thing to its proper place and kind, believing that she ought t

taking grain by grain, they separated the pile, sorting each kind to its parcel; and when it was all done, they vanished o

t an infernal and truly Stygian sleep, which being thus set free from its prison, took possession of her, and she fell down

n truth’s clear river flowed o’er sands of gold,     And told in song its high and mystic things! And such the sweet and so

e midst of which was a cave, thick covered with the growth of bushes, its roof forming a low arch, from beneath which burst

opened jaws. The serpent snapped at the weapon and attempted to bite its iron point. At last Cadmus, watching his chance,

came against the trunk of a tree, and so succeeded in pinning him to its side. His weight bent the tree as he struggled in

es of death. While Cadmus stood over his conquered foe, contemplating its vast size, a voice was heard (from whence he knew

The tongue grew rough and swelled, and the dry mouth stood open with its veins enlarged and gasped for the air. Men could

plenish my empty city.’ The tree shook and gave a rustling sound with its branches, though no wind agitated them. I tremble

ame oppressed with cares. The tree stood before me in my dreams, with its numerous branches all covered with living, moving

ranches all covered with living, moving creatures. It seemed to shake its limbs and throw down over the ground a multitude

e gods who had robbed me of a sweet vision and given me no reality in its place. Being still in the temple, my attention wa

ide his helmet, and in his purple robes bestrode his white horse with its gay caparisons, and reined in its foaming mouth,

robes bestrode his white horse with its gay caparisons, and reined in its foaming mouth, the daughter of Nisus was hardly m

nd would have burned the body, but it was nowhere to be found; but in its place a flower, purple within, and surrounded wit

limbs rooted in the ground, her face became a flower, which turns on its stem so as always to face the sun throughout its

ower, which turns on its stem so as always to face the sun throughout its daily course; for it retains to that extent the f

fabulous, and the feat considered impossible, till Lord Byron proved its possibility by performing it himself. In the Brid

ut beautiful also in the doing. To watch her, as she took the wool in its rude state and formed it into rolls, or separated

slender shuttle is passed in and out among the threads. The reed with its fine teeth strikes up the woof into its place and

ng the threads. The reed with its fine teeth strikes up the woof into its place and compacts the web. Both work with speed;

n Circe e’er or fell Medea brewed, Each brook that wont to prattle to its banks Lies all bestilled and wedged betwixt its b

at wont to prattle to its banks Lies all bestilled and wedged betwixt its banks, Nor moves the withered reeds. * * * The su

e a mountain, and (such was the pleasure of the gods) heaven with all its stars rests upon his shoulders. The Sea-Monste

h darted down upon the back of the monster and plunged his sword into its shoulder. Irritated by the wound, the monster rai

arking dogs, turned swiftly from side to side, while the youth eluded its attacks by means of his wings. Wherever he can fi

ineus made no reply, but hurled his javelin at Perseus, but it missed its mark and fell harmless. Perseus would have thrown

ady spoken of the war which the giants waged against the gods, and of its result. While this war lasted the giants proved a

. The Chimæra was a fearful monster, breathing fire. The fore part of its body was a compound of the lion and the goat, and

ngs of an eagle, and back covered with feathers. Like birds it builds its nest, and instead of an egg lays an agate therein

the blood, and laid them thereon to burn. Meanwhile the caldron with its contents was got ready. In it she put magic herbs

lay waste the fields of Calydon. Its eyes shone with blood and fire, its bristles stood like threatening spears, its tusks

hone with blood and fire, its bristles stood like threatening spears, its tusks were like those of Indian elephants. The gr

to touch, but not to wound, removing the steel point of the spear in its flight. Nestor, assailed, seeks and finds safety

ut it is turned aside by a projecting bough. The dart of Jason misses its object, and kills instead one of their own dogs.

nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal. Hercules struck off its heads with his club, but in the place of the head

d arrived in Asia, where the country afterwards called Media received its name from her, Theseus was acknowledged by his fa

mes chiefly in two particulars. It was peculiar to the Athenians, and its chief feature was a solemn procession in which th

nder, which returns on itself, and flows now onward, now backward, in its course to the sea. Dædalus built the labyrinth fo

w up he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice; but Juno struck him with madness,

his worship into Greece, but was opposed by some princes, who dreaded its introduction on account of the disorders and madn

s, Pentheus the king, who had no respect for the new worship, forbade its rites to be performed. But when it was known that

ted the gems grew brighter and were turned into stars, and preserving its form Ariadne’s crown remains fixed in the heavens

this grove a venerable oak so large that it seemed a wood in itself, its ancient trunk towering aloft, whereon votive garl

ropes, fell with a crash and prostrated a great part of the grove in its fall. The Dryads in dismay at the loss of their c

les by saying Acheloüs was a river that in seasons of rain overflowed its banks. When the fable says that Acheloüs loved De

janira, and sought a union with her, the meaning is that the river in its windings flowed through part of Dejanira’s kingdo

ejanira’s kingdom. It was said to take the form of a snake because of its winding, and of a bull because it made a brawling

f its winding, and of a bull because it made a brawling or roaring in its course. When the river swelled, it made itself an

course. When the river swelled, it made itself another channel. Thus its head was horned. Hercules prevented the return of

of the north. No forest fell When thou wouldst build, no quarry sent its stores T’ enrich thy walls; but thou didst hew th

eft hand held the lyre, his right the ivory wand with which he struck its chords. Like one inspired, he seemed to drink the

eft hand held the lyre, his right the ivory wand with which he struck its chords. They fell prostrate at his feet, as if a

the tidings with dismay. All Greece felt the wound, every heart owned its loss. They crowded round the tribunal of the magi

Where pleasure may be sent; the nested wren Has thy fair face within its tranquil ken;” etc., etc. Dr. Young, in the Nig

ading through the depths of the sea, or, as others say, of walking on its surface. Orion loved Merope, the daughter of Œnop

le. It has been suggested that sounds produced by confined air making its escape from crevices or caverns in the rocks may

ll be made use of to deceive a visitor who was predisposed to believe its powers.” The vocal statue of Memnon is a favorit

by his orient beam responsive rings The living lyre and vibrates all its strings; Accordant aisles the tender tones prolon

d shield crossed each other on the breast. The double guard prevented its penetrating and it fell harmless. Then Ajax, seiz

confronted him. Patroclus threw a vast stone at Hector, which missed its aim, but smote Cebriones, the charioteer, and kno

re offered, I would refuse it all.” So saying he stripped the body of its armor, and fastening cords to the feet tied them

saying he arose, and went forth with his two friends, and unloaded of its charge the litter, leaving two mantles and a robe

t immediately fall, but receiving aid from new allies still continued its resistance. One of these allies was Memnon, the Æ

nk into the earth a flower sprang up, called the hyacinth, bearing on its leaves the first two letters of the name of Ajax,

ple might have taken his advice and destroyed the fatal horse and all its contents; but just at that moment a group of peop

ng to Minerva, and made so huge for the express purpose of preventing its being carried within the city; for Calchas the pr

ripides. Troy. After hearing so much about the city of Troy and its heroes, the reader will perhaps be surprised to l

g to a large cave they entered it, and finding no one within examined its contents. They found it stored with the richest o

ock that projected from the side of the mountain, and rending it from its bed, he lifted it high in the air, then exerting

ightning ensued. A stroke of lightning shattered their mast, which in its fall killed the pilot. At last the vessel itself

itors. The Phæacians. Ulysses clung to the raft while any of its timbers kept together, and when it no longer yiel

iven to Ulysses in former times was brought from the armory, and with its quiver full of arrows was laid in the hall. Telem

ndled it with the hand of a master. With ease he adjusted the cord to its notch, then fitting an arrow to the bow he drew t

heir native city. On that fatal night when the wooden horse disgorged its contents of armed men, and the capture and confla

e, and it seemed as if Italy and the empire destined to be founded on its shores were alike forgotten. Seeing which, Jupite

rpine, and if fate was propitious it would yield to the hand and quit its parent trunk, but otherwise no force could rend i

ven the pagan account of the creation of the world, so as we approach its conclusion we present a view of the regions of th

l’s time were covered with a gloomy forest. Mephitic vapors rise from its waters, so that no life is found on its banks, an

st. Mephitic vapors rise from its waters, so that no life is found on its banks, and no birds fly over it. Here, according

n one side the walls of a mighty city, around which Phlegethon rolled its fiery waters. Before him was the gate of adamant

The Sibyl told him that the gulf of Tartarus descended deep, so that its recesses were as far beneath their feet as heaven

objects clothed in a purple light. The region has a sun and stars of its own. The inhabitants were enjoying themselves in

of music. They were in a laurel grove, whence the great river Po has its origin, and flows out among men. Here dwelt those

ther animals, mingling it with various proportions of earth, by which its purity was alloyed and reduced. Thus, the more ea

he woods! I consecrate this maid to you;” then hurled the weapon with its burden to the opposite bank. The spear flew acros

armed warriors floated on the stream of the Tiber. The river smoothed its waves, and bade its current flow gently, while, i

ed on the stream of the Tiber. The river smoothed its waves, and bade its current flow gently, while, impelled by the vigor

en overgrown with bushes where in after times the Capitol rose in all its magnificence. He next pointed to some dismantled

time induced to descend to the earth to bestow gifts and blessings on its inhabitants. Isis showed them first the use of wh

h strength to the shrub that it grew into a mighty tree, enclosing in its trunk the coffin of the god. This tree with its s

ty tree, enclosing in its trunk the coffin of the god. This tree with its sacred deposit was shortly after felled, and erec

rising out of the cavern, and one of the goatherds was induced to try its effects upon himself. Inhaling the intoxicating a

The Venus de’ Medici. The Venus of the Medici is so called from its having been in the possession of the princes of t

ls builds a pile on which it deposits itself, and dying, breathes out its last breath amidst odors. From the body of the pa

bird, a young Phœnix issues forth, destined to live as long a life as its predecessor. When this has grown up and gained su

ssor. When this has grown up and gained sufficient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree, (its own cradle and its paren

up and gained sufficient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree, ( its own cradle and its parent’s sepulchre,) and carri

icient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree, (its own cradle and its parent’s sepulchre,) and carries it to the city o

isappearing for a series of ages, revisited Egypt. It was attended in its flight by a group of various birds, all attracted

ysician, sagely remarks, “I would scarcely believe that it kills with its look, for who could have seen it and lived to tel

t took with them a mirror, which reflected back the deadly glare upon its author, and by a kind of poetical justice slew th

unapproachable monster? There is an old saying that “every thing has its enemy” — and the cockatrice quailed before the we

expired. The basilisk was of some use after death. Thus we read that its carcass was suspended in the temple of Apollo, an

ert.” I will be seen that                               “What seemed its head The likeness of a kingly crown had on.” Sh

igured, records it as “a very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the fee

ingle black horn, two cubits in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead.” He adds that “it cannot be taken alive

ave a chance. Others maintained that all the animal’s strength lay in its horn, and that when hard pressed in pursuit, it w

to pitch upon it, and then quietly march off not a whit the worse for its fall. But it seems they found out how to circumve

h the fuel to the fire, and wake up only time enough to put forth all its faculties for its defence. Its viscous juice woul

fire, and wake up only time enough to put forth all its faculties for its defence. Its viscous juice would do good service,

s to have seen it, acknowledge that it got out of the fire as fast as its legs could carry it; indeed, too fast for them ev

in one instance, and in that one the animal’s feet and some parts of its body were badly burned.   Dr. Young, in the Nigh

u and Siva form two sects, each of which proclaims the superiority of its favorite deity, denying the claims of the other,

will also sometimes happen that Brahmans become poor. That fact works its usual consequence, and rich Sudras sometimes empl

ented before the altar of a deity, the image is said to have inclined its head as a presage of the future greatness of the

ng to them their respective courses. As soon as the sun began to shed its rays upon the earth, it caused the vegetable worl

four winds. Under the tree lies Ymir, and when he tries to shake off its weight the earth quakes. Asgard is the name of th

of their fathers and kindred. When thrown, it returns to his hand of its own accord. The second rare thing he possesses is

n grasping his mallet, he dashed it with such violence that it forced its way into the giant’s skull up to the handle. But

stroyed. The fearful day of destruction will not, however, be without its forerunners. First will come a triple winter, dur

e earth itself will be frightened and begin to tremble, the sea leave its basin, the heavens tear asunder, and men perish i

bridge, which breaks under the horses’ hoofs. But they, disregarding its fall, direct their course to the battle-field cal

he new earth filled with abundant supplies will spontaneously produce its fruits without labor or care. Wickedness and mise

ummer time, towering up there stern and grim in the North Ocean, with its snow yokuls, [mountains,] roaring geysers, [boili

d in Wales for many centuries, long after the Druidical priesthood in its other departments became extinct. At these meetin

he circle, where none else might tread.” The Druidical system was at its height at the time of the Roman invasion under Ju

ll, from which it is separated by a strait of half a mile in breadth, its distance from the mainland of Scotland being thir

t a bishop, but merely a presbyter and monk, the entire province with its bishops was subject to him and his successors. Th

ght till the light of the Reformation dawned on the world. Iona, from its position in the western seas, was exposed to the

hom those seas were infested, and by them it was repeatedly pillaged, its dwellings burned, and its peaceful inhabitants pu

ed, and by them it was repeatedly pillaged, its dwellings burned, and its peaceful inhabitants put to the sword. These unfa

inhabitants put to the sword. These unfavorable circumstances led to its gradual decline, which was expedited by the subve

ied tone, prolonged and high, That mocks the organ’s melody; Nor doth its entrance front in vain To old Iona’s holy fane, T

n end to all things which have had a beginning, may be said to devour its own offspring. 2. From this origin of the instr

iana represents the moonlight splendor of night, so Hecate represents its darkness and terrors. She was the goddess of sorc

8. The poet here inserts a famous line which is thought to imitate in its sound the galloping of horses. It may be thus tra

rain in Egypt, the grass is “unshowered,” and the country depend for its fertility upon the overflowings of the Nile. The

kely to interest the reader, without the chance of being irksome from its proving a thrice told tale: and yet the subject i

g very pleasing and very poetical in the thought, that each river had its nymph, and every wood its god: that a visible pow

oetical in the thought, that each river had its nymph, and every wood its god: that a visible power watched over even the d

of a Greek, was haunted with superior intelligences. Every stream had its presiding nymph, who was thanked for her draught

ding nymph, who was thanked for her draught of water. Every house had its protecting gods which had blessed the inmate’s an

atural wonders and of human thoughts and feelings. It entrances us by its marvels in childhood; and in manhood we ponder ov

war, or in dominion.” The reality of an every day world has now set its seal upon all that delighted the days of our yout

tisfactory to those, who, looking beyond the abstract circumstance of its idolatry, discovered the grand truth, that howeve

rigin of the elements of this profane faith, and through their means, its transmission may be traced to the Greeks, who, af

opting, purified, or at least assisted in greatly refining it, before its reception by the Romans who multiplied their Gods

k of our own belief. But this is, at best, so vague and shadowy, that its inculcators get lost in their own inventions, and

m ethereal Heaven. The force of fire ascended first on high, And took its dwelling in the vaulted sky: Then air succeeds, i

is usually represented at the moment that he assigned to each element its place. To create the light of day, he repelled al

ld after a desperate struggle ‌for supremacy; while rebellion brought its accustomed curse in heavier chains and more rigor

tality! And sick of prey, yet howling on for more, Vomitest wrecks on its inhospitable shore. Treacherous in calm and terri

ck and certain round Of year on year, and finds that every day Brings its grey hair, or bears a leaf away From the full glo

d yet not of it, To feel the earth crumbling around my brow, To scent its foul and noisome atmosphere, Is more than frail m

y, Jupiter, who had driven Saturn from Heaven, and was in consequence its undisputed king, espoused Juno his sister. ‌The c

aboured first beneath the yoke.” Ovid. Nor was crime long in making its appearance. Hyacon, King of Arcadia, violated all

kmanship so exquisite, that it scarcely seemed to need life to add to its beauty, and to complete his performance, assisted

knew not that: Sisters, rejoice! rejoice!     Pro. Can aught exult in its deformity?     Second Fury. The beauty of delight

garland breathing all the sweets of spring: Each present Pallas gives its proper place, And adds to every ornament a grace!

y the ancients as visiting the earth in disguise, and distributing to its inhabitants his punishments or rewards. Ovid rela

er to liberty. “Down from the rock fell the dissevered head, Opening its eyes in death, and falling bled, And marked the p

the heavy head. Rich, silent, deep, they stand: for not a gale Rolls its light billows o’er the bending plain: A calm of p

the bending plain: A calm of plenty; till the ruffled air Falls from its poise, and gives the breeze to blow. ‌Rent is th

in the gardens of Pluto, to pluck a pomegranate, and to eat a few of its seeds. This was sufficient; and the utmost Ceres

ke is spread, Famed for the sweetly singing swans it bred; Pergûsa is its name: and never more Were heard, or sweeter sound

reaping hook, having attempted to smother the art taught by Ceres in its infancy, was metamorphosed into a lynx. Nor was t

med of the shell of a tortoise, and composed of seven cords, while to its harmonious tones were raised the walls of Troy. I

to a sunflower, the plant which turns itself without ceasing, towards its deity, the sun. “On the bare earth she lies, her

er not to betray his trust. The secret was too great for the bosom of its holder; she longed to tell it, but dared not, for

up. This was effected by the rays of the sun when they fell on it. At its setting, the form appeared to mourn the departure

was dismantled by the order of Cambyses, when he conquered Egypt, and its ruins still astonish modern travellers by their g

y his orient beam, responsive rings The living lyre, and vibrates all its strings; Accordant aisles the tender tones prolon

ision, are exprest All that ideal beauty ever blest The mind with, in its most unearthly mood, When each conception was a h

ishermen who had found it in their nets, sought the oracle to consult its responses. This was to offer it to the wisest man

g into his kingdom a monstrous wild boar; and to rid their country of its ravages, he caused the Greek princes to assemble

dia, wounded him first, but she would have fallen beneath the fury of its revenge, had it not been for Meleager, son of Æne

s. The most celebrated of her temples was that at Ephesus, which from its grandeur and magnificence has been placed among t

… What art thou like? sometimes I see thee ride A far bound galley on its perilous way, Whilst breezy waves toss up their s

like that of the bird. The ivy was consecrated to him, on account of its coolness, which dissipated the fumes of wine, and

owever, which exceeds the possibility of nature, though it borders on its utmost line. “The tremendous spirit of superstiti

ss, producing something beyond insanity, seems to have caught them in its whirlwinds, and to bear them over the earth, as t

of a mountain river whirls the autumnal leaves resistlessly along, in its full eddies. “The hair, loose and floating, seems

in one hand, and in the other a great knife. Another has a spear with its pine cane, which was the thyrsus; another dances

were violated by it, and sustained a deep injury, little analagous to its effect upon the Greeks, who turned all things — s

ect. And now on earth the silver axle rings, And the shell sinks upon its slender springs; Light from her airy seat the God

gems and gold, From his fair plumed shoulder graceful hung, And from its top in brilliant chords enrolled, Each little vas

swan-like breast — The silken folds of her azure vest     Kissed with its fragrant mouth.” Anon. To one so jealous as Ve

ters, however, she waited until Cupid was locked in slumber, and from its hiding place procured the light and the dagger.

a victim to curiosity and avarice; for she opened the box to look at its contents, and endeavoured to take a portion of it

prest,         It here is tried and purified,     Then hath in heaven its perfect rest:         It soweth here with toil an

s’ left to brood. “I marked the haughty spirit’s strife,     To rend its bonds in vain: Again I heard the cause of ill,   

supine; Below, the far lands are seen tremblingly:     Its horror and its beauty are divine. Upon its lips and eyelids seem

are seen tremblingly:     Its horror and its beauty are divine. Upon its lips and eyelids seems to lie,     Loveliness lik

lare of pain, Which humanize and harmonize the strain.     “And from its head as from one body grow,     As grass out of a

, it was no more than a piece of clock-work which moved of itself. To its possession, was attached the safety of the city;

ain, but which is not all pain, though a feeling which makes not only its possessor, but the spectator of it, prefer it to

ight hair dabbled in unrighteous blood, Their vestures tinctured with its gory red, The quivering limb, the eye that’s glaz

rt: Pride is a poor exchange for those adored: And even a nation with its giant strength, Cannot supply the vacant place of

s so often cheered me: let the last moments of my life, be soothed by its gentle influence.” The boon was granted, and the

ent, which bids the waves of ocean to rise, and causes the thunder of its tempests. With this trident also, he shakes the w

rocks to charm; Breathe, breathe into my lyre’s soft string, And bid its music sweet notes fling, For what O lyre, can the

ids guided and commanded the waves of the ocean, and were implored as its deities. They had altars chiefly on the coast of

n round, And in the midst of all a clearer pool Than ere reflected in its pleasant cool The blue sky, here and there divine

er he spied, A meek and forlorn flower with nought of pride, Drooping its beauty o’er the watery clearness To woo its own s

nought of pride, Drooping its beauty o’er the watery clearness To woo its own sweet image unto nearness; Deaf to light Zeph

their happy lord, Whose powerful hands the bread no sooner hold, But its whole substance is transformed to gold: Up to his

imself to drink, Some star, that shone beneath thy tread,     Raising its amorous head To kiss those matchless feet,     An

de; While in slow lingering drops, th’ ethereal tide, As conscious of its own rich essence, ebbed away.” Moore. Her mothe

with her child, and would smother Its eye-lids in kisses, and then in its sleep Sang dreams in its ears, of its manhood, wh

smother Its eye-lids in kisses, and then in its sleep Sang dreams in its ears, of its manhood, while deep In a thicket of

eye-lids in kisses, and then in its sleep Sang dreams in its ears, of its manhood, while deep In a thicket of willows I gaz

men In past sorrow, no kindness, e’er came like a kiss On my heart in its desolate day, such as this ‌And I yearned at his

. ‌The pertinacious wooing of the metamorphosed deity, had, at last its effect, in preparing Pomona for Vertumnus, when h

s. ‌Summer is drawn naked, bearing an ear of corn, just arriving at its fullness, to denote the harvest yielded by its li

corn, just arriving at its fullness, to denote the harvest yielded by its light and heat; with a scythe in her hand, to int

               Come away! In the skies the sapphire blue Now hath won its richest hue; In the woods the breath of song     

                    Come away! Now each tree by summer crowned, Sheds its own night twilight round; Glancing there from sun

re from sun to shade,                Bright wings play; Here the deer its couch hath made —                      Come away!

bstance still detain: A branchy tree, high in the air she grew, About its bark, his nimble arms he threw: A tiger next she

three Parcæ, Fates fair offspring born, The world’s great spindle as its axle turn; Round which eight spheres in beauteous

, and urn, and chalice, to renew                         The glory of its birth.                         I come with every

eetness, from the soul to shake                         The mantle of its rest.                         I bring them from

, to some hearts, is Hope’s sad funeral shroud. Beside the infant on its cradle bed,     The mother watches thro’ the hour

eside the head that wore the kingly crown.     ‌“Childhood is thine, its unexpanded bloom,     Shrinks to decay beneath th

 Whether at morn, at dewy eve, or night, When sinks the heart beneath its weight of woe,     Or throb the pulses with supre

pebbles creeps, And with soft murmurs calls the coming sleeps. Around its entry nodding poppies grew, And all cool simples

und her brow, and a sword to strike the unhappy criminals who merited its blow; — though always ready to punish the impious

the palace pile, The olive grow, there shall the tree of peace Strike its roots deep, and flourish.” Southey. Genius.

hoary head of hair, The meagre paleness from his aspect fled, And in its room sprung up a florid red: Through all his limb

n. The earth will cry aloud, forbidding me To touch her soil, to pass its waves, the sea, And every fountain whence the riv

alive and unhurt, into the presence of Eurystheus, a stag, famous for its incredible swiftness, its golden horns, and braze

presence of Eurystheus, a stag, famous for its incredible swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen feet. This celebrated an

tired, or according to others by slightly wounding it, and lessening its swiftness. As he returned victorious, Diana snatc

f Dejanira, had brought the fatal scarf, and Hercules became aware of its dreadful power, he seized the messenger, and hurl

, as it would remove Perseus from the island, and the next that, from its seeming impossibility, the attempt might end in h

clared, ‌nothing could avail, excepting the exposure of the maiden to its anger. At this moment, when the monster was going

head On that dear bosom, say thou wilt not spurn The heart that rests its only hope on thee. Say, or, but look, a clear ret

— and upon which he played with so masterly a hand, that the river in its rapid current ceased to flow, the wild beasts of

el of Ixion paused; the stone of Sisyphus rested, as they listened to its sounds: the cooling water reached Tantalus’ burni

how moving was the mournful sight, To see the fleeting soul now take its flight!” Dryden. After tearing his body to piec

ve; which till that hour, Almost an anguish in the brooding weight Of its unutterable tenderness, Had burdened her full sou

was come — and from the spirit’s depths The passion and the melody Of its immortal voice, in triumph broke Like a strong ru

ore     In one consuming burst find way, In one bright flood all, all its riches pour.     Thou knowest — thou knowest what

.     Thou knowest — thou knowest what love is now!     Its glory and its might —     Are they not written on my brow? And

e walls which surrounded his capital, he played upon his lyre, and by its divine power, the stones came and ranged themselv

assistance of a staff.” Enraged at this solution, the monster dashed its head against a rock, and delivered Thebes from hi

earth, which in token of approval, opened, and received the victim to its bosom. The tomb of Œdipus was near the Areopagus

er’s chariot had been swallowed by the earth, which opened to receive its victim, he sacrificed Euriphyle to the vengeance

with fierce and vigorous bravery, by the chiefs who had assembled for its attack, until Eteocles and Polynice perceiving th

devoured by Ceres, and to which was granted the power of healing, by its touch, every complaint. He succeeded to the thron

blade Again to pierce a bosom now unfit For sacrifice? no blood is in its veins, No God requires it here; here are no wrong

d the vessels destined to the attack of Troy advanced quickly towards its shores. Priam and his brave sons though they rece

he city; for destiny had dictated the conditions to be fulfilled, ere its capture could be accomplished. An ancient oracle

he worked in the day, so that when Ulysses arrived, she was no nearer its completion than at first. Meanwhile Ulysses scarc

long time hidden from the world at the bottom of a well, but leaving its quiet on one occasion, she was scared at the rece

d twenty pounds. A thunderbolt having fallen on the statue and broken its wings, Pompey restored the courage of the people,

hich are so intimately connected therewith, as almost to form part of its history. Philemon and Baucis. Philemon and

let loose the waves, and sent the thunderbolt to consume the town and its inhabitants. Philemon and Baucis, were, however,

oughs, with snowy fruit encumbered, made. A wide spread mulberry tree its rise had took Just in the margin of a gurgling br

spoke, and in her bosom plunged the sword All warm, and reeking from its slaughtered Lord.” Ovid. Acis and Galatea.

Polyphemus threw an enormous rock upon him, which crushed him beneath its weight. ——————— “The shepherd boy, He felt the C

hanged, As Grecian fables say, the shepherd boy Into a stream, and on its banks would lie, And utter her laments in such a

epherd swains For many an age would lie by that lone stream, And from its watery melodies catch an air, And tune it to thei

w not the dark rush of Helle’s wave, he heard not the fierce sweep of its waters; he thought only of the beautiful bride, w

starry sky, Music and flowers, this is earth’s luxury. The measure of its happiness is full, When all around, like it, is b

iolets could be; Stars over head, with each a history Of love told by its light; and waving trees And perfumed breathings u

n dread, as she wandered down to the sea shore. “Her heart sick with its terror, and her eye, Roving in tearful, dim uncer

and his last sigh was given to the fond being who looked in vain from its rocky strand. Pygmalion was a statuary, cel

t                 Thy loveliness hath brought, Warming the heart with its imagined glory!                 Yet, was it Histo

ack his sister; he at last consulted the oracle of Delphos, to obtain its assistance in accomplishing his mission. Insérer

e with a few of the leading ones among them, this work not having for its object a deep research into obscure mysteries, bu

out before him. He then produced seven starry spheres, the Earth, and its two luminaries, with seven inferior regions, lit

Supreme priest of one of the great parties of this church, which has its principal home in Thibet; and the veneration of h

oos.     “A stream descends in Meru mountain,         None hath seen its secret fountain;             It had its birth, so

ntain,         None hath seen its secret fountain;             It had its birth, so sages say,                 Upon the mem

escended,     The holy river, the redeeming flood.     None hath seen its secret fountain,     But on the top of Meru mount

Which rises o’er the hills of earth,     In light and clouds, it hath its mortal birth:     Earth seems that pinnacle to re

e to rear,     Sublime above this worldly sphere,     Its cradle, and its altar, and its throne:     And there the new born

Sublime above this worldly sphere,     Its cradle, and its altar, and its throne:     And there the new born river lies,   

throne:     And there the new born river lies,     Outspread beneath its native skies,     As if it there would love to dw

  Alone and unapproachable.” Southey. To perform their ablutions in its waters, to die on its brink, to be thrown after d

able.” Southey. To perform their ablutions in its waters, to die on its brink, to be thrown after death into its waves, a

ons in its waters, to die on its brink, to be thrown after death into its waves, are the supreme happiness of ‌the disciple

i? mild Bhishmasu? Smooth Suranimnaga? Trisrota pure? By that I call; its power confess: With growing gifts thy suppliants

sorts of iron and brazen vessels. Among them was one distinguished by its superior size; in this they received the blood of

d standing, which was to the eyes of the Saxons, holier and dearer in its melancholy reminiscences, than if it had still po

n, as the best representation of the Eternal. In Peru, at the time of its discovery by Pizarro, Viracocha was supposed to b

was an immense pyramid of thirteen hundred and fifty-five feet round its base, and about one hundred and seventy in height

In the first place he is enthroned on a couch, perfectly Egyptian in its model; it is constructed somewhat in the form of

the image. “It is placed on a throne upheld by an azure globe; and on its ‌head are plumes of divers colours. His face, sev

ones. The marble pillars are laid in the dust, The golden shrine and its perfume are gone But there are natural temples st

ad exacted no promise, because, it being so feeble, she did not dread its power. Loke then departed, and, cutting the mistl

ds of heaven. So, too, when the sun set, they said that the dawn with its soft and tender light had come to soothe her son,

ct for the majesty of the Christian religion, and for the sanctity of its morals. “It also enables us to understand the wor

e sea, and so on. “II. It has an ethical character, and represents in its history the moral dealings of God with man. Thus,

n. “III. It has a personal character, and is realized in the minds of its worshipers as a living spirit with whom men may s

g either Mt. Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so famous for its oracle. The circular disk of the earth was crosse

into two equal parts by the Sea as they called the Mediterranean, and its continuation the Euxine. Around the earth flowed

its continuation the Euxine. Around the earth flowed the River Ocean, its course being from south to north on the western s

of clouds, kept by the goddesses named Horæ* (the seasons), unfolded its valves to permit the passage of the Celestials to

us they formed a religious belief which naturally bore the impress of its ancient Greek source. As the primitive Celts, how

ot gifted with the vivid imagination of their Greek neighbors, leaves its mark on the Roman mythology, which is far less fe

Thaumas*, Phorcys*, Ceto*, and Eurybia*. Nereus represents the sea in its quiet state. Thaumas represents the majesty of th

eliades*, as they lamented his fate, were turned into poplar-trees on its banks, and their tears, which still continued to

bs rooted in the ground, her face became a sun-flower, which turns on its stem so as always to face the sun throughout its

ower, which turns on its stem so as always to face the sun throughout its daily course. The sun-flower is a favorite emblem

ppearing. Artemis represents the moonlight splendor of night; Hecate, its darkness and terrors. Representations. 1. As

inst Uranus. A serpent meant renewed life of the year. A serpent with its tail in its mouth meant the year. A scythe meant

A serpent meant renewed life of the year. A serpent with its tail in its mouth meant the year. A scythe meant the god of d

orship was at Crete, into which place this divinity was introduced by its first colonists from Phrygia*, in Asia Minor, in

rly destroyed by fire in the time of Sulla, was restored to more than its pristine splendor. The original earthen image was

e masts during a storm, and which is regarded by sailors as a sign of its speedy abatement.” Seemann . Europa* was the b

the princess. Surprised at the gentleness of the animal, and admiring its beauty, she caressed it, crowned it with flowers,

it, crowned it with flowers, and at last playfully seated herself on its back. The disguised god bounded away with his lov

e judges in the lower world after death. “Europa is the morning with its broad-spreading light, born in the Phœnician, or

the growth of geographical knowledge. Bosphorus (cow-bearer) received its name from this story. Io (the wanderer) is the mo

village, they saw nothing but a lake, with their cottage standing on its side. As they gazed, it became a temple. Zeus ask

, there was an ancient wooden statue of Zeus which had a third eye in its forehead. The three eyes were indicative of the d

Siwah still bears the ruins of the oracle and shrine to which it owes its fame. Not only the surrounding countries of Afric

er, and transformed her into a tortoise, which was condemned to carry its house upon its back; as a punishment for raillery

rmed her into a tortoise, which was condemned to carry its house upon its back; as a punishment for raillery, perpetual sil

g the image to the flames, with joyful laughter she seated herself in its place and returned to Olympus. It is probable tha

as god of the sea, as having under his control the forces that affect its movements rather than as himself inhabiting its w

he forces that affect its movements rather than as himself inhabiting its waters. Nereus* was believed to live in the deep

ke Avernus, over which it was said no bird could fly, so noxious were its exhalations. Old Age, Disease, and Hunger — aveng

he Danaids ply, ever vainly, the sieve. Tasks as futile does earth to its denizens give.” Lucille . Phlegyas, to avenge

ses Gæa, Rhea, and Demeter. Gæa represents the earth as a whole, with its mighty subterranean forces; Rhea is that producti

*; Roman, Mars. “Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, represents war from its fatal and destructive side, by which he is clearl

ould endure as long as this shield was preserved. In order to prevent its abstraction, Numa caused eleven more to be made e

No offering was made in which Hestia had not her share. Each town had its Prytaneum* (public hall), where the prytanes*, or

ny with beauty. The Romans called this god Vulcanus, or, according to its more ancient spelling, Volcanus. They honored in

at Paris. It was found in the year 1820, on the Island of Milo, hence its name. It is noted for the dignified expression of

gnified expression of the head. The Venus de Medici is so called from its having been in the possession of the princes of t

y distinguished. It represents the decay of vegetation in autumn, and its resuscitation in spring. Adonis, whom Aphrodite t

-bringing darts. He repented when too late. He punished the raven for its garrulity by changing its color from white to bla

ed when too late. He punished the raven for its garrulity by changing its color from white to black.11 Coronis left an

statue the goddess appears in the act of rescuing a hunted deer from its pursuers, on whom she is turning with angry mien.

air in motion, which in one hour may breathe as softly as a child in its cradle, and in the next may tear up forests in it

ftly as a child in its cradle, and in the next may tear up forests in its rage. The music which he produced was the melody

he vine. Both the god and his attendants soon became intoxicated with its juice, after which, crowned with wreaths of ivy,

ns, were the result of Asiatic influences; some of the expressions of its fury were loud music, frantic gestures, cutting o

e the guardians of the household, and were selected by each family or its individual members. Various causes led to the sel

d to them. Nereus*. Nereus* was a personification of the sea in its quiet, placid moods. He was represented as a kind

and Ceto*, the brother and sister of Thaumas, personified the sea in its terrible aspect. They were the parents of the Gor

wind, Pitys for pine-tree, and Pan, a deity representing the wind in its less destructive character. A Greek poet would te

bathe in the river Pactolus, which has ever since washed down gold in its sands. Silenus is represented either as the prece

ery remote antiquity is proved by the biblical injunction, having for its object the separation of the Jews from all idolat

l is apt to root up the seed-corn; to Dionysus, a goat, on account of its being destructive to vineyards. It was regarded a

. No enterprise was undertaken without consulting them with regard to its ultimate success. Festivals. Festivals were

irrhoe*, and he built his town on the soil deposited by the stream at its mouth. Unfortunately, Callirrhoe had heard of the

shoes, the magic wallet, and the helmet of Aides (Pluto), which made its wearer invisible. Hermes contrived to take the ey

Perseus rushed down at the moment when the monster was about to seize its prey, and, holding before its eyes the head of Me

ent when the monster was about to seize its prey, and, holding before its eyes the head of Medusa, the hideous body became

ut of the phrases which originally described the course of the sun in its daily or yearly round. “Medusa is the starlit nig

in its daily or yearly round. “Medusa is the starlit night, solemn in its beauty, and doomed to die when the sun rises; her

on, the body of a goat, the tail of a serpent, and flames issued from its mouth. Bellerophon applied to the prophet Polyide

Lycia called Chimæra, whose top was the resort of lions on account of its desolate wilderness; the middle, which was fruitf

to bring alive and unhurt to Eurystheus the stag of Diana, famous for its swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen hoofs. He

and unhurt to Eurystheus the stag of Diana, famous for its swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen hoofs. Heracles pursued

the animal to place it among his own herds, and sacrificed another in its stead. Poseidon caused the animal to become mad,

e goat Amalthea, called the Horn of Plenty, which produced everything its owner desired. After his marriage with Deianeira,

of Calydon, and seemed invincible by any ordinary means on account of its vast size. Meleager*, the son of Œneus, proclaime

sts for nine days, the hunt began, and the huge beast was driven from its lair. Atalanta was the first to inflict a wound.

n wood, and the oracle declared that the safety of Troy depended upon its preservation. After the death of Ilus, his son La

he had refused all further aid to the Greeks until it was restored to its place; hence the Greeks had returned home in orde

ng before him a large flock of sheep. Entering the cave, he rolled to its mouth an enormous rock that twenty oxen could not

ry. The pretended beggar took the bow, with ease adjusted the cord to its notch, then fitting an arrow to the bow he drew t

hat the errand was useless, for that no mortal man could stir it from its place. Then Penelope knew that it must be Odysseu

cribed the general phenomena of daytime from the rising of the sun to its setting. “The Sun (Odysseus) leaves his bride, th

e, and it seemed as if Italy and the empire destined to be founded on its shores were forgotten. Zeus (Jupiter) sent Hermes

unded the animal, which at once ran homewards and died at the feet of its mistress. Tyrrheus, with his sons and other herds

, personified the heavens. Gæa, or Terra, personified the earth, with its subterranean forces. Cyclopes personified the ene

bsence of vegetation from the surface of the earth during winter, and its reappearance in summer; also the immortality of t

reshness of Nature. Phœbus Apollo personified the light of the sun in its illuminating, energizing power; also intellectual

in, also practical wisdom. Dionysus, or Bacchus, personified wine and its efiects; also the blessings of autumn. Charites,

oncealed in the earth. Poseidon, or Neptune, presided over the sea in its relation to storms and earthquakes, in its relati

, presided over the sea in its relation to storms and earthquakes, in its relation to commerce, and as the source of vegeta

akes, in its relation to commerce, and as the source of vegetation on its shores. Hestia, or Vesta, presided over the heart

west, even the general idea of time and space. Each month and day had its own god. The Nile, as the source of the country’s

le — was made up of forms and forces of Nature. Each town or city had its especially-honored triad of deities to whom its t

Each town or city had its especially-honored triad of deities to whom its temples were dedicated. The triads often consiste

ed with the most precious ointments and perfumed with fragrant odors, its head and neck glittering with jewels, wallowing o

intelligent human beings! Its death was mourned as a public calamity; its body, wrapped in linen, was carried to the embalm

y-colored mummy-cloths, amid imposing ceremonies, it was laid away in its rock sepulchre. The most celebrated Egyptian book

led the “Book of the Dead.” It is a ritual for the use of the soul in its journeys after death, and a copy more or less com

symbols of Deity. Meanwhile it retained a mysterious connection with its mummied body, and was at liberty to come and go f

At last the body, carefully preserved from decay, joined the soul in its travels, and they went on together to new dangers

s, where the heart was weighed in the infallible scales of Truth, and its fate irrevocably fixed. The accepted soul was ide

Gods” there were innumerable inferior ones, each town and city having its own local deities, which elsewhere received littl

Babylonia were worshiped as real gods. So identified was a deity with its idol, that, in the inscriptions of kings, where t

u and Siva form two sects, each of which proclaims the superiority of its favorite deity, denying the claims of the other.

terizes the fables of Greece and Rome. The wild and rugged North made its own impress on the Scandinavian tribes, and their

avens and appointing them their respective courses. When the sun shed its rays upon the earth, the plants and trees began t

, and his iron gloves. The hammer when thrown returned to his hand of its own accord. When he girded the belt around him, h

d a new earth will rise out of the abyss. This new earth will produce its fruits without labor or care, perpetual spring wi

ummer time, towering up there stern and grim in the North Ocean, with its snow yokuls (mountains), roaring geysers, sulphur

d in Wales for many centuries, long after the Druidical priesthood in its other departments became extinct. At these meetin

ification of the solar life-giving power which daily comes forth from its home in the east, making the earth rejoice. The n

ar, which at certain seasons heralds the dawn, was sacred to Michabo; its name is Wabanang, from Waban, the East. The rays

ll be made use of to deceive a visitor who was predisposed to believe its powers.” 16. See page 62. [Erinnys]. 17. When

iven me much gratification ; for as they must have been well aware of its defects, it is plain that they thought them to be

ts, it is plain that they thought them to be more than compensated by its merits. Of the present Edition I think I may vent

t stations in society. The present work is of a different character ; its object is to keep up and extend the taste for cla

fifth than the former edition) are perhaps insuperable impediments to its general adoption in schools ; but I should hope t

the public were to insist on admission to theatres and exhibitions on its own terms, the principle of the O. P. riots of ou

aucos plainly denotes the colour of the sea ; Palæmôn was probably in its origin Halæmôn, and the change was made after the

the exploits of the ancient heroes of the nation ; the traditions of its early migrations, wars, and revolutions ; the mar

by mariners and travellers ; and the moral or physical allegories of its sages and instructors. The legends which compose

hich are believed to have occurred either among the people itself, as its own adventures, and those of its princes and hero

d either among the people itself, as its own adventures, and those of its princes and heroes, and which may therefore be ca

mythology. The deities of popular belief are very frequent actors in its legends, which differ from ordinary tales and fab

story of every people, with whom it is of domestic origin, is mythic, its first personages and actions are chiefly imaginar

ed tribes, and even in lettered and polished nations it still retains its hold upon the minds of the weak and the ignorant4

e on the origin of some noble house by placing a deity at the head of its pedigree, or to veil the transgression of one of

y at the head of its pedigree, or to veil the transgression of one of its daughters by feigning that a god had penetrated t

uld seem celebrated in honour of Demeter18, was probably indebted for its name to the flower Hyacinthos ; and the legend of

ne. A person born on the bank of a lake or river may have been called its son29 ; one coming by sea have been styled a son

cover what truth, moral, religious, or philosophical lies hid beneath its cover. These men are justly denominated Mystics 4

ious to warn and guard our readers. In our eyes it is disgusting from its indelicacy as well as its absurdity ; it approach

readers. In our eyes it is disgusting from its indelicacy as well as its absurdity ; it approaches the confines of impiety

ng, though for the sake of uniformity we so denominate the account of its deities and religion given in the present work. T

appear in the following pages, it has in our opinion been reduced to its true principles, and brought within the sphere of

is rule, or it may lead us into error and absurdity if carried beyond its legitimate bounds. 4. The same or even greater ca

ose reputation they were solicitous to maintain, to endeavour to show its accordance with the truths established by the phi

to history, began greatly to prevail66. It is probable that this took its rise from the Egyptian priests, who, as we may se

appy isle were distinguished for their piety, and the isle itself for its fertility and beauty, in the description of which

phists ; Socrates and Plato occasionally employed it ironically ; but its greatest cultivators were the philosophers of the

greater assiduity than heretofore. The New Platonists endeavoured by its aid, in union with Oriental mysticism, to show, t

religion of the Gospel, and Christianity also had soon a mythology of its own to display. On the final overthrow of Heathen

mythology of its own to display. On the final overthrow of Heathenism its mythology slept along with its history and litera

. On the final overthrow of Heathenism its mythology slept along with its history and literature the sleep of the dark ages

been derived, seems a necessary supplement to the preceding sketch of its history. The Ilias and the Odyssey, as the two gr

tion to give a view of the literature of each of the mythic cycles in its proper place87. Chapter III. MYTHIC VIEWS

y of a people, a knowledge of their cosmology, or views of the world, its nature, extent, and divisions, is absolutely requ

s called by the poets brazen 92 and iron,93, probably only to express its solidity. The superior hemisphere was named Heave

rom Heaven to Earth ; and an equal space of time would be occupied by its fall from Earth to the bottom of Tartaros. The lu

t of the inferior one was filled with eternal gloom and darkness, and its still air unmoved by any wind. The Earth occupied

s and moderns have endeavoured to assign their exact positions. Along its southern coast lay, it would appear, the countrie

e doubtless not ignorant of it, as Homer names some of the peoples on its southern coast. They must of course have regarded

e sun and the other heavenly bodies as rising out of and sinking into its placid current116. Its course was from south to n

d by man. It was termed bark-flowing, deepflowing, soft-flowing, from its nature117. Its waters were sweet, and it was the

stream, it must have been conceived to have a further bank to confine its course, but the poet of the Odyssey alone notices

the abode of the gods ; but there is great difficulty in ascertaining its exact nature and situation. As it is always repre

t Jehovah would make their heaven brass and their earth iron)122, and its upper surface as the abode of Jehovah and his hol

to the notions of the ancient Scandinavians the heaven was solid, and its upper surface, which they named Asgardr (God-abod

lanet Venus, which they seem to have viewed as two distinct stars, in its characters of Morning-star (Eosphoros) and Evenin

p in it, and in the Ilias129 Zeus menaces the gods with banishment to its murky regions. Such were the opinions respecting

to its murky regions. Such were the opinions respecting the world and its parts held by the Greeks of the heroic times, and

ia, led to the supposition that the earth was oval rather than round, its greater diameter running east and west130. In lik

lucid streams, produced plants and flowers, and contained minerals in its bowels like earth ; like which also it had the vi

iquid and solid fire ; it was over-canopied by a ‘fiery concave,’ and its only entrance was closed with lofty portals. And

ed, the Universe consisted of Heaven, Hell, Chaos, and the World with its contents. It is thus that the most imaginative of

n154. Their task being thus completed, and the earth replenished with its fitting inhabitants, the Titans are dismissed, to

war therefore could have formed no part of the original mythe. It had its origin in the figurative terms bind and loose, us

the sense of the mythe, first gave it the form of a war, and narrated its details in the most splendid poetry ; but the con

ntradictions and variations in his narrative give convincing proof of its being alien from the ancient cosmogonic mythe. In

ather among them by lot159. The Titan-war, as this critic thinks, had its origin and example in those of Typhôn, the Aloeid

ty is common to most of the languages which are akin to the Greek182, its derivation is not perhaps to be found in any of t

liades, as they lamented his fate were turned into poplar trees229 on its banks, and their tears, which still continued to

ke steers or heifers the draught-cattle of Selene250. This notion had its very natural origin in the contemplation of the h

usually appropriated to Pallas Athene, and of which we shall treat in its due place. The name Selene (Σϵλήνη) is plainly de

and his there establishing the golden age, may have been indebted for its origin to the legend of the reign of Kronos over

h the beautiful mythology of Greece : we are in general familiar with its legends from an early age, but we view them detac

new world would burst on our sight, — how splendid would Olympos and its dwellers then arise to view ! To present the gods

r, shedding their cheering beams abroad. Of the residents of Olympos, its king and his son Hephæstos356 alone knew the plea

two curved sides encompass’d it about. The pole was silver, and upon its end She tied the beauteous golden yoke, and bound

s an ancient wooden statue (ξόανον) of Zeus, which had a third eye in its forehead. The tradition was that it had been the

asy of explanation. The simple Doric form of his name, Ποτίδας, shows its true origin to be from the root ΠΟΩ, and that it

d to life, and more averse from war and everything that might abridge its period, than the ancient Greeks were472. In proce

scenes which the under-world would present, to console and reconcile its future mistress. In reading the ‘portentous lies’

dom on the banks of the Nile ; and that the Erebos of Greece, and all its parts, personages and usages, were but transcript

he language of Egypt) over the Acherusian lake, after it had received its sentence from the judges appointed for that purpo

e remote regions of the West. The former notion, it is probable, owes its origin to the simple circumstance of the mortal r

o picture the West as a region of bliss and tranquillity. The idea of its being the abode of the departed good, where in ca

Ocean. Hades, we are told by Homer, possessed a helmet which rendered its wearer invisible : it was forged for him by Hephæ

of invisibility covered his brows487. This helmet of Hades will find its parallel in tales both of the East and the West,

mos was their native place, and that they were the favourite birds of its goddess. The comic poet Antiphanes, a contemporar

shown her bed517 ; a stream called Asteriôn ran by the temple, and on its banks grew the plant of the same name, which was

these usages and circumstances the idea of the marriage of Hera, and its being the cause of the spring of plants, may, we

mos the temple of Hera stood on the banks of the Imbrasos, and within its precincts was shown a willow (λύγος), beneath who

hought it had run away of itself, and bound it to a willow to prevent its doing so again. Admeta then loosed it and restore

prevent its doing so again. Admeta then loosed it and restored it to its place in the temple, and hence it was said arose

ϕϵύτρια) set beside it. The procession then moved on, each car taking its place by lot, and ascended to the summit of Cithæ

een transmitted to us, it is a matter of much difficulty to ascertain its real character. It seems most probable, however,

e, the emblem of fecundity ; in the other a sceptre, with a cuckoo on its summit540. Her air is dignified and matronly, her

he state of society which it supposes, might almost lead us to assign its origin to a comparatively late period. It may be,

. The Hill of Ares (Ἄρϵιος πάγος), at Athens, is said to have derived its appellation from the following circumstance. Hali

the god. But some late critics seem rather to look to ἔρα, earth, for its origin, and to regard him as having been one of t

ade to spring from darkness, may, in a reversed order, be regarded as its origin. The epithet ‘sable-vested607‘ and the mil

worship him as Apollo Delphinios, whence the place should also derive its name617. They now disembark : the god playing on

the formation of which name, as we may perceive, Delphi probably gave its aid, as it did also for that of the change of the

ghter, and Daphne became a bay-tree (δάϕνη, laurus). The god embraced its trunk, and declared that it should be ever afterw

devised to give marvel to the origin of natural productions, and that its object is to account for the bay-tree being sacre

w his horses and cast himself into the stream, which from him derived its name Evenos. Meantime Apollo met and took the fai

he chase she came to the clear stream of the Alpheios, and enticed by its beauty stripped herself and entered it, to drive

the goddess of nature adored at Ephesus, whose symbolical figure, by its multitude of breasts and heads of animals hung ro

her appellation from that town, whose name probably corresponded with its situation on a chalk cliff ; or whether it was ex

ggle against it, she gratified it by the aid of her nurse, unknown to its object745. When Cinyras found what he had unwitti

flower called the anemone or wind-flower sprang up from it, which by its caducity expresses the brief period of the life o

of the life of the beautiful son of Myrrha748. The rose also derived its present hue from this fatal event ; for as the di

She ventures to enter this palace, goes over it lost in admiration at its magnificence ; when suddenly she hears a voice, t

he monster. When her husband was asleep she arose, took her lamp from its place of concealment, and approached the couch ;

, and the imprudent Psyche falls to the ground in a deep slumber from its effects. In this state she is found by Cupid, who

This beautiful fiction is perhaps a philosophic allegory, intended by its inventor for a representation of the mystic union

amp, because all desire burns in proportion as it is loved, and fixes its sinful mark on the flesh. She is therefore depriv

soul, which is of divine origin, is here below subjected to error in its prison the body. Hence trials and purifications a

eiver who draws it down to earthly things ; the heavenly, who directs its view to the original, fair and divine, and who ga

retation of an allegory is always hazardous : for fancy presided over its birth, and fancy must always have a large share i

fancy must always have a large share in the attempts made to develope its secret and real nature. All, therefore, we should

many a tale seems to be allegorical which was never meant to be so by its author, and many a tale is allegorical in which t

e Matron of Ephesus783. We, however, rather incline to the opinion of its having been originally a philosophic allegory. Er

ight the flame of the lamp or candle, in which it so frequently finds its death, reminds a mystic philosopher of the fate o

the soul destroyed by the desire of knowledge, or absorbed and losing its separate existence in the deity, who dwells in li

he ægis on her breast or on her arm, and the head of the Gorgon is on its centre. She often has bracelets and ear-rings, bu

is that which views in Pallas-Athene the temperate celestial heat and its principal agent on vegetation, the moon806. This

olony had been settled at Cyrene, this theory seems to have little in its favour. Müller821 therefore at once rejects it, a

we strongly suspect that the streamlet that flowed by Alalcomenæ got its name in the same manner as the hill Delos at Tegy

his is, to the great amusement of the Celestials, manfully denied and its absurdity shown by the little fellow, who still h

, with two serpents twined about it, and which sometimes has wings at its extremity. The ancient statues of Hermes were not

t well be disputed870. The sense of that legend shall be discussed in its proper place ; here we will only observe, that if

ere can be no further dispute about the origin of the epithet, though its meaning will still remain a subject of inquiry. S

ortal men,’ for one hundred flowers grew from one root884 ; And with its fragrant smell wide heaven above And all earth la

of Zeus888 and queen of Hades. There can be little doubt we think of its being an allegory. Persephone signifies the seed-

ewed as the ‘grim’ earth902 of winter when torrents spring forth from its womb. These might very aptly be represented by th

stranger was regarded as little better than an enemy. Each state had its own favourite deities, under whose especial prote

performed in obedience to the will of Heaven is believed to draw down its favour on the performer. The Mussulman makes his

s it was called, to explain the dress or ceremony, which owed perhaps its true origin to the caprice or sportive humour of

rocks, and the beasts of the forest assembled round him as he struck its chords. He was married to Eurydice942, whom he te

and determined to descend to the under-world, to endeavour to mollify its rulers, and obtain permission for her to return t

In fact, this, like almost every other article of popular belief, has its origin in nature. There is music in the sound of

attentive ear. The rivulet is also the favourite haunt of the poet ; its quiet murmur induces calmness over the spirit, an

was similarly divided965, they came to be regarded as presiding over its parts also ; and when it was further subdivided i

goddess made by Bupalos for the Smyrnæans had a hemisphere (πόλος) on its head, and a horn of Amaltheia in its hand1067.

æans had a hemisphere (πόλος) on its head, and a horn of Amaltheia in its hand1067. Personifications. The practice o

vercome the milder one of Vishnoo on their natal soil, followed it in its progress to the West, proceeded as the religion o

e two religions finally coalesced, the Dionysiac casting away some of its wildest and most extravagant practices. This hypo

inal Grecian deities, (and it is difficult to think that the vine and its produce, with which the ‘sons of the Achæans’ wer

æan period1098. There can be no doubt of the Dionysiac religion, with its nocturnal orgies and indecent extravagance, havin

in abhorrence1100 — who civilised the mast-eating savages that roamed its uncultivated wilds, and instructed them in the na

102. As the realm of Osiris did not abound in vines1103, the ivy with its clustering berries which grew there was appropria

up he discovered the culture of the vine, and the mode of extracting its precious liquor ; but Hera struck him with madnes

er. He made her mistress of the adjacent fruitful country, which from its resembling a bull’s horn in form was named the We

genius of the ancient Grecian religion, in which each people assigned its peculiar deities a very extensive sphere of actio

gy. After Voss’s able exposure we may venture to reject the notion of its being the same with Devanishi, a title of the Hin

an the contraction of πάων, feeder or owner 1187, and was probably in its origin an epithet of Hermes. Buttmann connects Pa

hiped by the people of Lampsacus, a city on the Hellespont famous for its vineyards. Priapos was not — as is supposed, from

was horrified and renounced (ἀπαρνϵῖτο) him, whence the place derived its name. Others said1221 that he was the son of Dion

onian. Πόταμι. Fluvii. River-gods. Each river was held to have its presiding deity, who deity in it and directed its

er was held to have its presiding deity, who deity in it and directed its waters. These gods had their houses and children 

and not entirely without reason, to have been a fiction, indebted for its origin to the accounts of the oranges of Africa a

and there was also a place named Taminos in the isle, which bestowed its appellation on the metal it yielded — Cyprus1329,

As Æolia was a floating isle, it is evidently as needless to look for its exact position as for that of Laputa1355. At the

icated bowl he drank of it freely, and Circe thinking it had produced its usual effect, striking him with her wand bade him

lying probably south-west of Ææa), and the current and the breeze of its surface bring them back. It would also appear tha

the coast of Latium was fixed on for the abode of Circe. The fact of its not being an island offered no difficulty, as it

in her island. Its name, we are told, comes from the fight (μῶλος) ; its flower is white, as the warrior was the Sun1370.

ay have retained the description of Ææa, which accords perfectly with its eastern position1374, but which requires a sleigh

which he must pass. One of these cliffs towers to such a height that its summit is for ever enveloped in clouds, and no ma

or a man could shoot over it. A wild fig-tree grows on it, stretching its branches down to the water : but beneath, ‘divine

his hero into all parts of that sea, and informed his auditors of all its wonders. A south-east wind carried Odysseus thith

position to this last place. We finally think, that if Thesprotia and its oracle at Dodona were so well known to the poet a

found to have engaged the thoughts of almost every race that occupies its surface. The mind feels itself invincibly impelle

osition. A hundred years each child spent in ignorant simplicity with its mother, and when they attained to youth they live

the time of the second or silver race. Earth covers each race before its successor is made. Aratus expressly says that the

e, and particularly to impress the belief that when evil has attained its maximum the gods will destroy mankind. To this in

weakness of man. In this mythe however there is great confusion, for its original sense seems to have been lost very early

him her aid in procuring anything in heaven that might contribute to its perfection. Prometheus said that he could not tel

he did so, but when Care went to give it her own name, he insisted on its being named from himself. While they were disputi

ythe contained a moral that pleased them, they were indifferent about its harmonising with others. Contradictions however b

pecies of vessel was so expressly stated by Hesiod, who also mentions its great lid (μέγa πῶμa), a phrase that does not at

tains, had been closed by some accident, they overflowed the whole of its surface, till the action of subterranean fire ope

nd the Hellenic. The first is ante-historic and even ante-mythic, and its existence is only to be inferred from a few feebl

 ; and many of those to whom Homer and Hesiod apply the term hero, in its primary sense, were in after-times honoured as de

not be introduced into mythic history, it has however a chronology of its own, and may be divided into distinct periods. In

fell and perished. After this deed Ixiôn’s mind became deranged, and its atrocity being such, neither gods nor men would a

he gallops along. But he regards the idea of κένταυρος having been in its origin simply κέντωρ 1600 as much more probable.

hat the god Dionysos gave him a vine-plant and taught him the mode of its culture1610 ; in reward it was added for his allo

to resentment for the death of her brothers, she took the billet from its place of concealment, and cast it once more into

with and destroyed the serpent : by the direction of Athena he sowed its teeth, and immediately a crop of armed men sprang

hither in a chariot drawn by serpents1627. The mythe of Cadmos is, by its relation to history, one of considerable importan

torious in war. The name of this people (Ἐγχέλεις, eels) may have had its effect on the legend of the change of Cadmos and

is posterity. It is not unlikely then that this mythe of Athamas took its rise from the sin-offering (κάθαρμα), a real or s

sees in the story of the Twins a Diarchy, as at Sparta and at Rome in its origin, and he conceives it to have been establis

ing childless reared it as her own, and named it Œdipûs on account of its swollen feet 1685 ; for Laïos, previous to its ex

t Œdipûs on account of its swollen feet 1685 ; for Laïos, previous to its exposure, had pierced its heels. Many years after

swollen feet 1685 ; for Laïos, previous to its exposure, had pierced its heels. Many years afterwards Laïos, being on his

been transmitted to us by the Attic dramatists. We will now consider its more ancient forms. The hero of the Odyssey says,

ed to be coextensive with that of the city of the Cadmeians, drank of its waters, and immediately died. The victorious Argi

, as the legend of Baucis and Philemôn might seem to show, early made its way into Greece. Müller regards the Phlegyans as

events of the war, and by his power extended the night to three times its usual duration. Amphitryôn on his return was surp

is club, but to no purpose, for when one was crushed two sprang up in its stead. A huge crab also aided the hydra, and bit

wild. When he came to the Strymôn, he in anger with that river filled its bed with stones, so that it became no longer navi

of human perfection, consecrated to the weal of mankind, or rather in its original form to that of the hero's own nation. T

nstance, was meant to represent the evils of democratic anarchy, with its numerous heads, against which though one may not

f his reconciled foe. Our chief objection to this beautiful theory is its making the mythe of Heracles, from the very comme

o have been different, and that of the Argive to have been adopted in its stead. But again, it does not seem likely that an

who ruled over the country called Cecropia from him, and Attica from its peninsular form. He is said by mythologists to ha

ightingale1807. This last, which has the signification of the name in its favour1808, was not however the prevalent opinion

e Hunter, or the Fierce, was selected as the name of the husband, and its resemblance to Teres, a name of the kings of Thra

hanging the sea, where the robber Scirôn — from whom the pass derived its name — had fixed his abode. The practice of Scirô

n divided by Cecrops into twelve Demes or villages, each of which had its own government and chief magistrate, and was almo

air ; but Icaros ascending too high and approaching too near the sun, its heat melted the wax, and the youth fell into the

she sent a gad-fly to torment Io, who fled over the whole world from its pursuits. She swam through the Ionian Sea, which

rld from its pursuits. She swam through the Ionian Sea, which derived its name from her ; then roamed over the plains of Il

at her keeper Argos had four eyes, and that the isle of Eubœa derived its name from her1901. Pherecydes1902. said that Hera

try. Such was perhaps the original simple legend, and it may have had its source in the notions of the loves, the marriages

ded. The name of the Ionian sea caused her to be made to ramble along its shore ; when Byzantion was founded, there were Ar

hich Grecian vanity derived the rulers of more ancient countries from its own gods and princes. He married, we are told, Me

ood of some person who was slain on the spot where the spring emitted its waters1922. The number fifty is probably an arbit

so very ancient as this appears to be was probably a physical one in its origin, and this supposition is confirmed by many

r look is then directed against the under-world itself, and restrains its power in the depths of the earth. The beneficent

scovered the babe, and on approaching to take it up he perceived that its body emitted a brilliant light, at which proof of

uck and killed it. Soon after another serpent came, bearing a herb in its mouth, which it laid on the head of the dead one,

978. ChapterVIII. MYTHES OF ARCADIA. Arcadia, fenced in by its mountains, never suffered from the revolutionary

. Its population may therefore be regarded as unmixed Pelasgian ; and its principal deities are those which seem to have be

at the barbarous act, overturned the table (whence the place derived its future name of Trapezôs), and struck with lightni

unt, Zeus destroyed the dwelling of Lycaôn with lightning, and turned its master into a wolf. The deluge of Deucaliôn which

ced into his country, now called from himself Arcadia, and instructed its inhabitants in the mode of making bread. He also

ed by the names in the mythe, all of which seem to refer to light, or its opposite. Thus Leda differs little from Leto, and

he Pagasaïc bay there appears to have been a very early connexion, as its mythic heroes are all Æolids. It was probably col

t his impiety, struck him with thunder, and consumed his city and all its inhabitants2021. Τυρώ. Tyro. Tyro the dau

Axios, far away in the north, and the country there derived from him its name, Pæonia2034. Endymiôn, it is also said, gain

violent passion for the fair priestess, which was participated in by its object, but the parents of both the lovers refuse

name of Implacable (ἀμείλιχος). An oracle, however, held out hopes of its ceasing, when a stranger should arrive in the cou

s reason, the coffer of Dionysos was dedicated, and the river changed its appellation to that of Mild (είλιχος)2088 Κό

n, and there cut her own throat and died. The spring derived from her its name, — Callirrhoe, i. e. Fairflowing 2089. Σ

le which the isles present is that of Crete, an island remarkable for its estrangement from the rest of Greece during the h

he struck and killed it. Another immediately appeared with a plant in its mouth, and laid it on the dead one, who instantly

ading through the depths of the sea, or, as others say, of walking on its surface2123. He married Side, whom Hera cast into

e many legends of rocks, mountains, and such like. The sky too offers its similitudes ; there is, for example, the Crown, w

y too offers its similitudes ; there is, for example, the Crown, with its legend of Ariadne ; there is the ‘Man in the Moon

both Greeks and Scandinavians2138. It still more resembles a Plough, its name in some countries. Its likeness to an animal

t to land on that fatal shore, when Orpheus struck his lyre, and with its tones overpowered their voices. Wind and wave urg

Thasos or Pangæos were wrought so early, their produce may have given its golden hue to the fleece. This however is no esse

t. Where it originally terminated cannot be said with certainty ; for its limit advanced with the progress of nautical ente

afterwards proved by Artemidorus and Eratosthenes that the Phasis had its source in the mountains, this course had to be gi

æus2170. According to their view, the Argonauts went up the Tanaïs to its head, they then carried their vessel overland to

s ‘the Cronian Main and Dead Sea.’ Having rowed for some time through its sluggish waters, they disembarked, and dragging t

e should marry his two daughters to a lion and a bear, and he now saw its accomplishment, for such were the ornaments on th

ive host appeared before the walls of Thebes. Each chief chose one of its seven gates to attack ; Adrastos, the Homoloïan ;

his daughter Callirrhoe. On the soil just deposited by the stream at its mouth he fixed his dwelling2187. Callirrhoe now l

ent is provided for the most secret and even unconscious violation of its laws, and how the sins of the parents are visited

. This image of Pallas-Athene, we are told, was three ells long, with its legs joined, holding in one hand an elevated spea

f the Grecian mythology, we will now briefly consider the question of its reality. Of the number of ships and warriors befo

As the former rested on the voyages of the Minyans, so the latter had its origin in the early settlements of the Greeks on

as to make it now nearly impossible to assign with certainty to each its part in the combined whole which Roman story disp

aried nature. That of Greece teemed with legends of the adventures of its gods ; each of which became the theme of popular

is goodness and implore his favour. When, therefore, the papyrus made its way to Italy, though it might have found numerous

gods to record, it met no love-adventures of the latter to impress on its pages. The cause of this character of the Italian

now supplanted all the old Italian ones : Grecian mythology, with all its legends, was rapidly poured in upon Rome. Each su

bility. Their religion was founded on peculiar views of the world and its periods, and the art of learning the will of the

at though it admitted not of the births, marriages and generations of its deities, like that of Greece, it usually represen

peculiar feature of the old Italian religion, and which testifies for its purity, warmth and simplicity, is that of calling

the Alban Mount. The festival was named the Latin Holidays (Feriæ) ; its institution was ascribed to Tarquinius Superbus.

by all testimony carried back to the earliest days of the state, and its introduction ascribed to Numa2304. Like Hestia sh

mple at Rome. As the safety of the city was held to be connected with its conservation, the neglect of the virgins, if they

Venus, or rather Veneris, may, as was supposed, come from venio, but its origin is very doubtful. 1. This explanatio

’ chap. iv., will be found some account of the Shâh-nâmeh, and one of its most interesting narratives. The reader will also

ry of Voss. We share the doubts of Lobeck (Aglaoph. 1295.) respecting its soundness. The Exegetes, or guides, were more pro

a much later period. 83. By far the best account of the Epic Cycle, its authors and contents, will be found in Welcker's

e is apt to be struck with the definite material nature of heaven and its inhabitants, so different from the Paradise of Da

, x. 24. 6.), the legend having been transplanted thither from Crete, its original soil. The whole fable seems to have been

ψ, with Κέρκωψ, Κέκροψ, Πέλοψ, &c. Like Argiletum (above, p. 9.), its form admitting of decomposition gave origin to th

them sisters. (See below, chap. viii.) The whole legend seems to owe its origin to the affinity of sense between the words

greatly resembles the Greek word for goat (αἲξ, αἰγὸς), the legend of its being covered with the skin of the goat which nur

he legend in the text was merely invented to give a mythic account of its origin. 635. Apollod. i. 9. 15 ; iii. 10. 4. Eur

d στρϕαȋος (Et. Mag. s. v.), from the turning (στροϕὴ) of the door on its hinges, as his statue was placed at the door. 86

s followed by Statius (Silv. ii. 4. 19.). The tale seems indebted for its origin to the Muses’ name, Pierides, from Pieria.

horeys and Keto the ‘dread serpent which in a cavern of dark earth at its great extremity watches the golden apples,’ but h

h. Geog. 15.) refers to II. xix. 116. 125 ; but that passage, besides its being in one of the later books, is liable to obj

grim. In the Odyssey it is an epithet of Atlas, Minôs and Æætes, and its most appropriate sense is wise. Passow, s. v. Nit

. 1495. See Aristot. Meteor. i. 14. 1496. It may however have owed its origin to the resemblance between λάρναξ and Παρν

199.) which makes Manto the founder of Mantua in Italy evidently owes its origin to similarity of name. 1702. Milton (P.

. 290, seq.) clearly places Erytheia beyond the Ocean, that is toward its further coast. It was probably the temple of the

give occasion to a celebrated question among the sophists respecting its identity. Plut. Thes. 23. 1846. This is evidentl

. 2066. Tzetz. ut supra. 2067. The Myrtoan sea was said to derive its name from him. Euripides (Orest. 984. seq.) makes

. i. 13. Pliny, H. N. i. 1. It was asserted that this tree never shed its leaves. See Pashley, Travels in Crete, i. 95. 20

the isle was thus replenished after a pestilence. It is indebted for its origin to the resemblance in sound between μύρμηξ

uld seem to have related it (Strab. ix. 1.). The unseemly legend owes its origin to the name Oriôn, and was the invention o

ine, where the town of Tomi (τόμοι cuttings) was said to have derived its name from it. Apollod. i. 9, 24. Ovid, Trist. iii

and mythology, studied in Egypt; and having learned the doctrines of its priests, introduced them, modelled agreeably to t

oung student, first, to Eastern mythology, and afterwards duct him to its corrupt but elegant offspring. Yet as the mytholo

perior powers. Where did Idolatry begin? Idolatry appears to have had its origin in very early ages, in India, Egypt, and P

culiar rites and ceremonies, to remove them, as far as possible, from its pernicious contagion, and to keep them separate f

, was the Jupiter of the Assyrians. In short, almost every nation had its own Jupiter. The Ethiopians called him Assabinus;

llegory the poets taught, degraded those into brute beasts who became its slaves, although their genius and talents might h

e introduction of Christianity, they excited a furious tumult against its first preachers. The second temple of celebrity w

noticing. In her, is allegorised the moon, and by the silver chariot, its mild reflected light. Chap. XII. Bacchus.

mained there, the city would be invincible against all the attacks of its enemies. Diomed and Ulysses, two of the illustrio

was the assembling place of that court of judicature so renowned for its justice, was called Areopagus; Gradivus, in peace

ry? There were many princes of this name, and almost every nation had its own Mars. The original Mars is supposed to be Bel

a lyre; whilst the fierce savage turning his head, seems to listen to its harmonious chords. Sometimes he appears mounted o

ying Spirit, or Soul. Who were the Graces? They were supposed to give its attractive charms to beauty of every kind, and to

What were the divinities of the waters? Each river and fountain had its peculiar Divinity. The Egyptians held the Sea in

inion prevailed that the universe abounded in spirits, presiding over its various parts and movements. Plato speaks of Gnom

who have not; and they are condemned to wander for a whole century on its solitary shores. On the other side of the river,

over his head, perpetually threatening to fall and crush him beneath its weight. The giant Tityus, a son of Jupiter, whose

st as either one of which was cut off, another instantly sprang up in its place. He bound the Erymanthian wild boar, an ani

of the harbour; so that a large ship, under sail, might pass between its legs. A man could not grasp its thumb with his tw

ship, under sail, might pass between its legs. A man could not grasp its thumb with his two arms. After having stood fifty

igence to the herb of the field, was imagined to be wandering towards its doom, in a world always tending to decay and ruin

n tower’d a giant tree, Rock-rooted on a mountain top it grew; Rear’d its unrival’d head on high, And stretch’d a thousand

gh, And stretch’d a thousand branches o’er the sky, Drinking with all its leaves, celestial dew. Lo! where from thence, as

wer, Like diamond drops, ethereal waters, fell From every leaf of all its ample bower. Rolling adown the steep From that ae

form’d a palace worthy of the God, Built on the lake, the waters were its floor; And here, its walls were water arch’d with

y of the God, Built on the lake, the waters were its floor; And here, its walls were water arch’d with fire, And here, were

ge of departed souls; for the Hindûs believe, that when a soul leaves its body, it is immediately conveyed to Yamapur, or t

on of serpents; or assumes, on earth, the form of some animal; unless its offence had been so heinous, as to merit a vegeta

amedha Jug, or horse sacrifice, required the animal to be white, with its right ear black; and was performed only by powerf

, and eighteen feet high. The enormous mass of solid rock which forms its roof is supported by four rows of pillars, of bea

ersons, were maintained by the liberality of the pilgrims frequenting its celebrated shrine. The idol images in these templ

f body; drowning themselves in the Ganges, or exposing themselves, in its holy waters, to be devoured by tigers or alligato

nt and active cause of the phenomena of nature, as it is displayed in its most striking and powerful agencies, but without

troys every thing which has life, was imputed to Typhon; whence comes its appellation of Tyfoon. When Osīris was the light

ribed to him the office of presiding over the star of day, of guiding its movements, and, consequently, of regulating the t

who possessed the greatest skill in the science of medicine, and knew its profoundest secrets, finding his body in the Nile

heodosius. The celebrated statue of the god was broken to pieces, and its limbs borne in triumph through the city, by the C

e amphitheatre. This image was of the human form, bearing a basket on its head, emblematic of plenty. The right hand leaned

ed the Spirit of the universe, which was conceived to be invisible in its nature; but, like other objects of Egyptian super

y, when the country was divided into several governments, each having its own monarch. At that time Egypt had no foreign co

rew-mouse. This animal was reverenced by the Egyptians, on account of its supposed blindness, an emblem of primeval night o

ical of the sun rising from the bosom of the ocean, because it throws its flower above the surface of the water. The infant

was preserved in a tower, and the priests, every day, placed cakes in its chamber. It is related that a labourer employed i

greatly superior to all the other Oriental systems, in sublimity, in its near approach to true religion, and in its moral

systems, in sublimity, in its near approach to true religion, and in its moral tendency. It is represented by some as incu

fire. The Persian Mythology was finally restored, in some degree, to its primitive simplicity, by Zeratush, or Zoroaster,

rst land that became visible. The sun and the moon then appeared upon its summit; and the latter of these is said to have r

ltic nations. This, like almost all the other systems of Paganism, in its primitive simplicity, taught the existence of one

eir leading doctrines, were those of the immortality of the soul, and its transmigration through various bodies. Their ackn

eople. The religion of the ancient Scythians was extremely simple. In its primeval purity, it taught the being of a supreme

cable decrees. Into his palace no impure person could enter; and upon its columns were engraven those Runic rhymes which we

faith. What was the hell of the Scandinavian Mythology, and who were its chief inhabitants? It was called Niflheim, and wa

ting of nine vast regions of ice, situated under the north pole. Near its eastern gate reposed the body of Vala, the prophe

ription of Chaos; relates the formation of the world; the creation of its various inhabitants, giants, gods, men, and dwarf

e Gods. Three successive, severe, and dreadful winters, will announce its approach to the children of men. The snow will fa

monster lies. See the serpent weakly crawling!     Thor has bruis’d its loathsome head! Lo the stars from heav’n are fall

st angle of that sacred edifice, which is a building so ancient, that its original use, and the period of its erection, are

ch is a building so ancient, that its original use, and the period of its erection, are totally unknown. It was built, prob

ise, a great number of other idols; each tribe and family maintaining its own appropriate deity. What was the character of

heir religion to prevail; and what event do they imagine will precede its termination? What colour is sacred to Buddha? How

unt of the Creation? What was the name of the Hindû hell, and who was its supposed sovereign? What account do the oldest Hi

temple of the Sun. What was the last incarnation of Vishnu? What was its object, and when did it take place? What general

andinavian Mythology? What did the ancient Scythian religion teach in its primeval purity? By what people, and in what resp

e Scythians corrupted? At what period did the Scythian Mythology take its rise, and what were its nature and its sacrifices

t what period did the Scythian Mythology take its rise, and what were its nature and its sacrifices? What was the Celtic re

id the Scythian Mythology take its rise, and what were its nature and its sacrifices? What was the Celtic religion? In what

was it described? When and where was the Edda compiled, and what are its contents? What is the Voluspa? Repeat the song of

n built? What was the nature of the Babylonian superstition? Who were its Priests? Who were its Deities? By whom was Belus

nature of the Babylonian superstition? Who were its Priests? Who were its Deities? By whom was Belus worshiped, and where w

r horns of light; No earth, self-poised, on liquid ether hung; No sea its world-enclasping waters flung; Earth was half air

llumined for the first time by their radiance, revealed itself in all its uncouthness. Æther and Hemera carefully examined

s uncouthness. Æther and Hemera carefully examined the confusion, saw its innumerable possibilities, and decided to evolve

looks To that shadowless orb, in a vernal sky,         He can number its hills and brooks. “To the Sun god all our hearts

, Themis, Thetis, Mnemosyne, and Phœbe), could not easily escape from its cavernous depths. The Titans did not long remain

l the Lower World, where no beam of sunlight was ever allowed to find its way; while Jupiter reserved for himself the gener

moulded an image similar in form to the gods; bade Eros breathe into its nostrils the spirit of life, and Minerva (Pallas)

mpus Jupiter beheld an unusual light upon earth. Anxious to ascertain its exact nature, he watched it closely, and before l

elling for safe-keeping, professing himself too weary to convey it to its destination that day, and promised to call for it

ill-fated curiosity, that it would be difficult to add materially to its evil consequences, and that, perchance, the box c

into the world. bringing untold misery: but Hope followed closely in its footsteps, to aid struggling humanity, and point

on that the rising flames might set fire to his own abode, and reduce its magnificence to unsightly ashes. He therefore rej

gon such a deadly blow upon the head, that he put an immediate end to its existence. While Cadmus stood there contemplating

of Thebes, is supposed to have invented the alphabet, and introduced its use into Greece. Although his career was very pro

t.                         “Her shoulder bore The dreadful Ægis with its shaggy brim Bordered with Terror. There was Strif

, was carried in procession through the city, where the people hailed its appearance with joyful cries and songs of praise.

es awarded to poets, musicians, &c… should consist of a wreath of its glossy foliage.                     “I espouse t

d by the sun (Apollo) upon the dew (Daphne). The sun is captivated by its beauty, and longs to view it more closely; the de

by its beauty, and longs to view it more closely; the dew, afraid of its ardent lover, flies, and, when its fiery breath t

t more closely; the dew, afraid of its ardent lover, flies, and, when its fiery breath touches it, vanishes, leaving nothin

re in the self-same spot where but a moment before it sparkled in all its purity.                     “Climbing Heaven’s b

as dowry a hunting dog, Lelaps, and a javelin warranted never to miss its mark. The newly-married pair were perfectly happy

t eye, And oft he woo’d the wandering wind,     To cool his brow with its sigh. While mute lay ev’n the wild bee’s hum,    

er husband. The morning had well-nigh passed, and the sun was darting its perpendicular rays upon the earth, when Cephalus

of constancy, she still follows with upturned face the glowing orb in its daily journey across the sky. “No, the heart tha

ff the ever-receding stream, and Ixion’s wheel stayed for a moment in its ceaseless course. “Poor Sisyphus, doomed to tumb

father’s palace in the Far East before the sun chariot passed out of its portals to accomplish its daily round. Directly e

r East before the sun chariot passed out of its portals to accomplish its daily round. Directly eastward Phaeton journeyed,

e they had eagerly hastened a few hours before, to follow the deer to its cover. As she mourned their untimely death, she t

t the next night, as he lay on the self-same spot, it recurred in all its sweetness; and night after night it was repeated

sters of the sky.         Still hold their place on high, Though from its rank thine orb so long hath started,         Thou

et scarce press’d, Her silky ringlets float about her breast, Veiling its fairy loveliness; while her eye Is soft and deep

ll he saw. Nothing escaped his bright and piercing eye, as it flashed its beams hither and thither, and he was soon aware o

ower, and deftly flung the net over both sleepers, who were caught in its fine meshes, and could not escape; and there he k

h wavered and flickered, and nearly went out, although Hero protected its feeble flame by standing over it with outstretche

Thisbe had perished, and in a fit of despair he drew his dagger from its sheath and thrust it into his heart. A few minute

           “In her bosom plunged the sword, All warm and reeking from its slaughtered lord.” Ovid ( Eusden’s tr.). Since

round; And in the midst of all, a clearer pool Than e’er reflected in its pleasant cool The blue sky here, and there, seren

h’s name, which has ever since flourished beside quiet pools, wherein its pale image is clearly reflected.                

r he spied, A meek and forlorn flower, with naught of pride, Drooping its beauty o’er the watery clearness, To woo its own

aught of pride, Drooping its beauty o’er the watery clearness, To woo its own sad image into nearness: Deaf to light Zephyr

ul under his practised hand that even before it was entirely finished its author loved it. When completed, Pygmalion gave i

er sleeping lover. The lamp, which she held high above her head, cast its light full upon the face and form of a handsome y

’s knee, grasped a tortoise shell lying on the ground, bored holes in its sides, stretched strings across its concavity, an

ing on the ground, bored holes in its sides, stretched strings across its concavity, and, sweeping his hands over them, pro

spouse had been engaged in a clandestine flirtation, and had screened its fair object from her wrath only by a sudden trans

She bade him watch the heifer closely, and report anything unusual in its actions. One day, therefore, as he was watching h

enormous gadfly to torment the poor beast, who, goaded to madness by its cruel stings, fled wildly from one country to ano

e is said to have first seen the light in Thrace, a country noted for its fierce storms and war-loving people.     “Infant

e.” Virgil ( Conington’s tr.). As founder of this city, Romulus was its first king, and ruled the people with such an iro

er the name of Quirinalia. Well pleased with the new city of Rome and its turbulent, lawless citizens, Mars took it under h

the god’s goodwill was preserved. The very same day the plague ceased its frightful ravages, and the Romans, delighted with

ginal from the facsimiles. During the month of March, which, owing to its blustery weather, was dedicated to Mars and bore

erson seated upon it, frustrated all attempts to rise and escape from its treacherous embrace. Vulcan despatched this thron

tched this throne, when completed, to his mother, who, delighted with its beauty and delicate workmanship, proudly seated h

emed quite contented; but after a time Vulcan’s gloomy abode lost all its attractions: so she forsook her ill-favoured husb

there was no crevice through which a sunbeam might glide to brighten its gloom and dispel its shadows. Whenever the stern

through which a sunbeam might glide to brighten its gloom and dispel its shadows. Whenever the stern god set out on one of

n the murderer in secret. Suddenly a flock of cranes was seen winging its flight above the arena, and a voice from the audi

thread of life, — an intimation that another soul would ere long find its way down into the dark kingdom of Hades. The

mless cask. The Story of Tantalus Tartarus also detained within its brazen portals a cruel king named Tantalus (the f

s to pass O’er hollow arches of resounding brass, To rival thunder in its rapid course, And imitate inimitable force!” Vir

anging rock, which momentarily threatened to fall and crush him under its mass: “He was doomed to sit under a huge stone,

gods Kept over his head suspended. Thus he sat In continual dread of its downfall, And lost to every comfort.” Pindar.

the bolt and turn’d it to his hand, Work’d up less flame and fury in its make, And quench’d it sooner in the standing lake

nger propel it onward, they saw a vine grow out of the sea, and twine its branches and tendrils with lightning-like velocit

verage. “In chorus we sing of wine, sweet wine, Its power benign and its flavour divine.” Martinez de la Rosa. These ext

eager lips. “Whose powerful hands the bread no sooner hold, But all its substance is transform’d to gold: Up to his mouth

d the precious gift, which prevented his allaying them, soon lost all its attractions. With weary feet, Midas now retraced

n turned into a curse. Midas hastened off to the river and plunged in its tide, noting that even its sands all turned to go

s hastened off to the river and plunged in its tide, noting that even its sands all turned to gold beneath his tread; since

ncreased, until she fancied it was talking; not as mortals do, but in its own silvery accents. Arethusa and Alpheus T

plains. The monotonous murmur of the fountain now subsided again into its usual undertone; and Ceres, knowing where to seek

grain and a sickle, or with a plough and a horn of plenty disgorging its wealth of fruit and flowers at her feet. Groves w

because he is considered an emblem of the sun, which opens the day at its rising, and closes the day at its setting. In som

of the sun, which opens the day at its rising, and closes the day at its setting. In some statues he is represented with o

pebbles creeps, And with soft murmurs calls the coming sleeps; Around its entry nodding poppies grow, And all cool simples

my prison, where they expended their impotent rage in trying to shake its strong walls. According to his own mood, or in co

ety, had not his men, in view of port, untied the sack to investigate its contents, and thus set free the angry winds, who

s fangs were therefore despatched by her orders to attack the babe in its cradle. The monsters crept along noiselessly, ent

see him leading such a peaceful and prosperous life, and to interrupt its even course drove the hero mad. Hercules’ Madn

na, where lurked a seven-headed serpent, the Hydra; and put an end to its career of rapacity, for this snake devoured man a

ngry at this intervention, crushed the crab, which, however, received its reward, for the Queen of Heaven placed it in the

e constellation of Cancer (the Crab). The country was thus freed from its long state of thraldom; but, before leaving the s

ld make of this rushing stream, which he dammed and turned aside from its course, so that the waters passed directly throug

urification was thoroughly accomplished, he guided the stream back to its original bed, and returned home to announce that

, hung them on a tree in their garden, and placed the dragon Ladon at its foot to guard their treasures night and day. Unfo

trange combat, appropriated the broken horn, stuffed her treasures in its hollow, and was so well pleased with the effect,

. He had no sooner put it on, than the Centaur’s poisoned blood began its deadly work. First he experienced a burning, stin

tear off the fatal garment. It clung to his limbs, and the poison ate its way into his flesh, until the pain was greater th

g blight to be; Thy power mysterious to congeal And from life’s blood its warmth to steal, To petrify the mortal clay In it

from life’s blood its warmth to steal, To petrify the mortal clay In its first gleam of wild dismay, Is a dread gift to on

the cave without fear of detection, and intercepted the eye while on its way from one sister to another. As soon as it was

such an angle that all surrounding objects were clearly reflected on its smooth, mirror like surface. He thus discovered M

rapid approach of her deliverer, who, dauntless, drew his sword from its scabbard, and, swooping down, attacked the monste

nts stand behind him, suddenly unveiled the Medusa head, and, turning its baleful face toward Phineus and his followers, ch

dess set it in the centre of her terrible Ægis, where it retained all its petrifying power, and served her in many a fight.

he Pine-bender, whose usual practice was to bend some huge pine until its top touched the ground, and call to any unsuspect

let go the pine, which, freed from his gigantic grasp, sprang back to its upright position, and hurled the unfortunate trav

prisoners were about to escape, leaned forward to catch the vessel by its rigging. Theseus, seeing this, sprang forward and

to the gods sacrificed the ram they had sent to deliver him, and hung its golden fleece on a tree, near which he stationed

efficacious protection. Next the Speaking Oak bade him cut off one of its own mighty limbs, and carve from it a figure-head

l against these foes, consulted the figure-head, and, in obedience to its directions, clashed his arms against his shield,

efore him. The dove flew safely between the rocks, losing only one of its tail-feathers as they again clashed together. Wat

hunt now gathered round the boar’s corpse, and watched Meleager take its spoil, which he gallantly bestowed upon Atalanta.

vowed to avenge their death, drew the carefully cherished brand from its hiding-place, and threw it upon the fire burning

aius bade a servant carry the new-born child out of the city, and end its feeble little life. The king’s mandate was obeyed

in part; for the servant, instead of killing the child, hung it up by its ankles to a tree in a remote place, and left it t

esentment of a terrible monster called the Sphinx, which had taken up its station without the city gates beside the highway

encounter the Sphinx and was fortunate enough to free the country of its terrible presence. As Œdipus attached no special

disappointment and rage as it turned to fly; but ere it could effect its purpose, it was stayed by Œdipus, who drove it at

rised of her intention, rushed into her apartment too late to prevent its being carried out, and found her lifeless. This s

incessantly buzzing about his ears, until, becoming suddenly aware of its attentions; he brushed it impatiently aside with

indow sped the little creature, and as Rhœcus looked after it to mark its flight, his eyes fell upon the distant line of hi

eyes.’                                     Above, the sky, With all its bright sublimity of stars, Deepened, and on his f

mant withdrew except Juno, Minerva, and Venus, who hotly disputed for its possession. Juno declared that the queen of the g

in thy spite detain The corse of Hector at the beaked ships, Refusing its release. Comply thou, then, And take the ransom a

the healing plant, of power to ’suage His aching wound, and mitigate its rage.” Sophocles ( Francklin’s tr.). Incensed b

statue of Minerva, said to have fallen from heaven — remained within its walls. So Ulysses and Diomedes in disguise effect

eart of their city, tearing down a portion of their ramparts to allow its passage, while Laocoon hastened down to the shore

ped to effect their escape, and made all their preparations to ensure its complete success. A huge pine club which they fou

of heady wine, which the giant took down at a gulp little suspecting its effect. Very soon he sank into a deep drunken sle

nd, according to Circe’s directions, let his vessel drift along until its prow grated on a pebbly beach, where he landed. T

low hence, and leave This beautiful abode of my young years, With all its plenty, — though its memory, I think, will haunt

This beautiful abode of my young years, With all its plenty, — though its memory, I think, will haunt me even in my dreams.

rushed through the once magnificent palace, which was now stripped of its rarest treasures and desecrated by the feet of th

ceremony, cut down a sapling, he was startled to see blood flow from its severed stem. At the same time a mysterious voice

m thence. “There is a land, by Greece of old Surnamed Hesperia, rich its mould,         Its children brave and free: Œnotr

, rich its mould,         Its children brave and free: Œnotrians were its settlers: fame Now gives the race its leader’s na

brave and free: Œnotrians were its settlers: fame Now gives the race its leader’s name,         And calls it Italy. Here D

sing column of smoke, and his heart sank within him, for he suspected its fatal import, and honestly mourned the death of t

see the Rutulian chief safe on board, than she loosed the vessel from its moorings, and allowed it to drift down the stream

rmer school also declare that the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which has its parallel in stories found in all parts of the wor

r a sea monster, and to depict, in what we call appropriate metaphor, its march across the field of ocean.” As the names o

oes — very much in the way that the word “good-bye” has long survived its original form as a conscious prayer, “God be with

ey felt toward God”; but as the word also meant the visible sky, with its ever-changing aspect, some of the phrases used to

, which vanishes beneath the sun’s hot breath, and leaves no trace of its passage except in the luxuriant verdure. In Cepha

hanting their wild music,” others see an emblem of “the morning, with its short-lived beauty” Eurydice, whose name, like th

Grææ), and conquer the terrible Medusa, “the starlit night, solemn in its beauty, but doomed to die when the sun rises.” He

for a while beside the violet-coloured clouds (Jocasta) — having lost its physical meaning, the Thebans added the tragic se

are also personifications of the moon, and Io’s wanderings represent its journeys across the sky. Earth Myths In the

ta) was also a personification of fire; and, her name having retained its primitive meaning to a great extent, “she continu

nion of Æneas, 329 Ach-e-lo′us. River in Greece, bearing the name of its god, 202 Ach-e-men′i-des. Ulysses’ sailor, rescu

ty Danaides, 142 Dan′ube. River of Europe; Medea slays Absyrtus near its mouth, 238 Daph′ne. Maiden loved by Apollo, and

71, 326; significance, 350, 360 Del′phi. Shrine of Apollo, famed for its oracles, 25, 32, 71; Ceyx visits, 181; Œdipus con

; significance, 362 Ne′re-us. God of the sea; the personification of its pleasant aspect, 130, 197; father of Thetis, 271;

detains Ulysses seven years, 316 O-lym′pi-a. City in Elis noted for its temple and games, 34, 200, 207 O-lym′pi-ad. Time

s sides were covered with thick, green woods; and it was so high that its peak seemed to pierce through the clouds, up, up

u could imagine anything so strange as the whole springtime, with all its loveliness, changed into a human being, you would

ve his chariot a roundabout way. He came to a river; but as he neared its banks, it suddenly began to bubble and swell and

ubble and swell and rage, so that Pluto did not dare to drive through its waters. To go back another way would mean great l

coming, flowers bloom and birds sing and the earth everywhere smiles its welcome to its young queen. Some people say that

s bloom and birds sing and the earth everywhere smiles its welcome to its young queen. Some people say that Proserpine real

eager step of the maiden, returning to earth, awakens all nature from its winter sleep. ——— The Fountain Into the sunshin

ars; and the ripples of water made soft music as they plashed against its sides. The water sounded so quiet and restful, an

f clear, sparkling water. It danced along over the pebbles, and wound its way across the little island, and seemed to sing

one beckoned too; and the nearer he bent to the water, the nearer to its surface did the beautiful face rise. When he trie

blurred. But when the water was still, the face was again seen in all its loveliness. Poor Narcissus! He, with whom so many

arry him to his bier, but the body of the dead youth had vanished. In its stead there stood a beautiful flower, with a brig

, with a bright golden center and soft, white petals, which nodded to its reflection in the pool. And to this day the lovel

vely flower, called the narcissus, is found by quiet pools, gazing at its image in the water. A Web and a Spider In

in Apollo’s heart. Then he flew away, satisfied. The golden arrow did its work only too well. For no sooner had the sun god

Orpheus’ grief was terrible to see. He took up his beloved lyre, but its charm for him was gone. He drew from it such low,

like,” answered the king. “It is to bring me the head of Medusa, with its snaky black locks.” Perseus gladly agreed, and le

ied; and drawing it from the bag at his side, he held it aloft in all its horrid beauty. The king gazed at it an instant, w

her shield with the head of Medusa, turning to stone all who gazed at its horrid beauty. How Perseus Won a Wife This

creature. Nearer and nearer came the serpent, lashing the water with its tail and snorting in a most horrible manner. Now

with many good things, and the feast began. When the merriment was at its height, suddenly the wide doors swung back, and t

h it there flowed a restless river, dashing over rocks and scattering its spray, like fine mist, over all the trees on its

rocks and scattering its spray, like fine mist, over all the trees on its banks. The god of the river had one child, a girl

gic wand, he made the slumber sounder, and then cut off the head with its hundred starry eyes. Juno grieved sadly when she

sweeping across the plain, and it swept away the motionless figure in its course. It carried the image aloft to the top of

something like a woman; and in the sightless eyes a little stream has its source and trickles down the mountain side, as th

.” And he sprang upon the serpent, and in an instant would have wrung its neck, when lo! it had vanished, and in its stead

n instant would have wrung its neck, when lo! it had vanished, and in its stead there stood a fierce-looking bull. The rive

found it lying forgotten on the ground. She was so much pleased with its shape that she filled it with her autumn fruits a

cules straightway put it on. In a short time, the deadly poison began its work, and Hercules was racked with strange pains.

eard a strange cry overhead, and looking up, saw a partridge wheeling its flight above him. Immediately he thought of Perdi

rees, so broad and tall, Like a green and beautiful palace hall, With its airy chambers, light and boon, That open to sun a

zy sea. Cresting the billows like silvery foam, Then wheeling away to its cliff-built home! What joy it must be to sail, up

calls, Dashing adown, ’mong the waterfalls; Then to wheel about, with its mate at play, Above and below, and among the spra

r come out of those dark, gloomy passages. Had the thread broken from its fastening, and had he, after all, lost his way? B

re even worse than the children. Far and wide the place was known for its lack of hospitality. Hospitality is a long word,

a long word, but it has such a beautiful meaning that we can forgive its length. It means those kind feelings of the heart

ain in wonder. Where but a few moments since had stood a village with its many houses, there was now a lake, sparkling in t

came, and with beating heart, scarcely knowing why, Halcyone watched its approach. At length a large wave came inland, and

the long, hard journey over land and sea, soon died; and Phryxus hung its fleece on a tree in a wood, and set a fierce drag

ship, which he called the “Argo,” because Argo means “the swift.” At its prow was a figurehead cut from an oak tree sacred

w not where; For so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. I breathed a song into the air, It fell

d the four acres in a short time. 16. “He threw the magic drug into its eyes.” Jason and the Dragon ( Salvator Rosa ).

he came within a few feet of the dragon, he threw the magic drug into its eyes; and after a few moments, the dragon was fas

e cruel steel from his breast. But it was too late the arrow had done its work only too well. The wounded stag lifted its h

te the arrow had done its work only too well. The wounded stag lifted its head, and gave the boy a last, loving, questionin

ing, and throwing off her robe, slipped into the clear water to enjoy its cool freshness. But the mixture Circe had given G

all who sail upon the sea. ——— The Sea Hath Its Pearls The sea hath its pearls,     The heaven hath its stars; But my hea

The Sea Hath Its Pearls The sea hath its pearls,     The heaven hath its stars; But my heart, my heart,     My heart hath

 The heaven hath its stars; But my heart, my heart,     My heart hath its love. Great are the sea and the heaven,     Yet

ehead with his hand; in an instant the lifeless body vanished, and in its stead had sprung up a lovely, purple blossom. It

a strange cry, as though a wild beast had been suddenly startled from its lair. Yet for the first time, the listeners found

der at their own sweet will. His huge staff — a pine tree stripped of its boughs — lay idle at his side. He was anxious to

tensive sense, signifies an explanation of any fabulous doctrine; but its import is commonly applied to the history of the

he name of Jupiter, each of those nations or cities pretended to have its particular Jupiter. Varron mentions more than thr

the gods were to consult that book, because they could change none of its decrees. It was only by reading it, that they cou

wings, holding in one hand a scythe, and in the other a serpent with its tail to its mouth; designed thus emblematically t

ing in one hand a scythe, and in the other a serpent with its tail to its mouth; designed thus emblematically to represent

roneous notion of the ancients,) and contains the boisterous winds in its bosom. Vesta the younger, the goddess of fire, wa

ars were never defiled with human sacrifices. Almost every nation had its Jupiter. Varron enumerates three hundred as a par

asts fell on ‘t, burnt with lightning down; One flings a mountain and its river too, Torn up with ‘t; that rains back on hi

n; and, the Titans having been beaten near that river, and drowned in its waters, were represented as having been plunged i

ortal race An army of diseases; death began With vigour then, to mend its halting pace, And found a more compendious way to

t a mixture of good and evil fills up the cup of life; and that among its bitterest dregs are always found some sweets, see

Argus, Juno transformed him into a peacock, and impressed his eyes on its feathers. Juno was the mother of Mars, Vulcan, He

eed remains concealed under ground in winter, but in summer it bursts its concealment, and produces the stalk and ear, expo

lear; the third figures noon, a time at which that luminary is in all its splendor; and the fourth represents sunset, when

g prince on the shores of a river which bore the same name, fell into its waters, and was drowned. The large quantity of la

ters, and was drowned. The large quantity of laurels which grew along its banks, caused the poets to say that she had been

nymph Daphne. Apollo wished the laurel to be consecrated to her; and its leaves, used in the crowning of those who should

sun’s exhaling pestilential vapours; his feeding Admetus’ sheep, for its sustaining all creatures by its genial warmth; hi

ours; his feeding Admetus’ sheep, for its sustaining all creatures by its genial warmth; his destroying the Cyclops for for

h; his destroying the Cyclops for forging Jupiter’s thunderbolts, for its dispersing those pestilential vapours which are f

h, and repented of it too late. He turned her into a crow, and wished its doleful plumage and that of the raven to be at on

r, saved her infant, and shut it in his thigh, where it remained till its birth. This ridiculous fable afterwards gave Bacc

pronounced Minerva the victor, she named the city Athenæ, and became its tutelary deity. Minerva benefitted mankind with m

appiness which a generous heart always experiences when it discharges its duty, or when it grants a benefit. These presents

hom that tree was particularly sacred. The city then took the name of its tutelary divinity. Athens became famous for the e

of its tutelary divinity. Athens became famous for the excellence of its oils; its commerce much increased by this means,

telary divinity. Athens became famous for the excellence of its oils; its commerce much increased by this means, attached m

aying on a lyre, the fierce animal turning his head, and listening to its harmonious chords; at others, he breaks Jove’s wi

the flower , which is said to have ever since retained the colour of its origin. Proserpine is said to have brought him ba

ipation, considered each other as objects of delight. Their love shot its roots deep, and grew luxuriantly before they were

f a large white mulberry tree, to cherish which a fountain sent forth its bubbling stream. Taking advantage of the absence

e fell on him, gave him a bitter kiss, and died. The fountain ceasing its murmuring, Zephyrus sprinkled the blood of the sl

is being done, he had by her Paphos, from whom the isle of Paphos had its name. Atalanta was daughter to Schœnus, king of

whom Greece gave the name of “the tenth muse,” still came to increase its celebrity. Driven to despair by the insensibility

the virtue of extinguishing the fire of love by bathing one’s self in its waters. Questions. Give the history of Pyramus an

r their fortunes and destinies; and hence, too, every element has had its divinity. But the gross ignorance of miserable be

the seas. Every river, every fountain, every collection of water had its particular deity. This worship varied according t

ets, after which they instantly leaped into the sea. He wished to try its effects upon himself; and as soon as he had touch

n to the mountain Acroceraunia, which cast forth flames, he drew from its bowels ignited dirt, which he sent into heaven to

issued out of the bottom of the earth discord that she might dwell on its surface. She was the first of his children. In li

ents believed that the whole world was filled with spirits, who ruled its motions. Plato speaks of the Gnomes, Sylphes, and

ates of adamant, which no power could demolish. It had five rivers at its entrance. Acheron, whose waters were extremely bi

with waves of fire; and Lethe, so called from the forgetfulness which its waters produced; for those who drank of it, immed

, during their fight with the gods. It runs through Thesprotia, takes its rise in the marshes of Acherusia, and empties its

after hour the growing line extends, The cradle and the coffin bound its ends.” Meleager. O! lately born, one period we

Nemesis. “Vengeance divine to punish sin moves slow, The slower is its pace, the surer is its blow.” Nox, the goddess

divine to punish sin moves slow, The slower is its pace, the surer is its blow.” Nox, the goddess of the night, was the d

sented in the figure of the Phenix, a fabulous bird, that was born of its own ashes; or in that of a globe, because it has

as no bounds; or in that of a serpent, which forms a circle by biting its tail; sometimes also in that of an elephant, on a

of these portions, was represented by a man or a woman, according to its masculine or feminine name. People implored Thoug

sually the emblem of health and immortality, from the circumstance of its annually shedding its slough, and seeming to rene

ealth and immortality, from the circumstance of its annually shedding its slough, and seeming to renew its youth. We shall

ircumstance of its annually shedding its slough, and seeming to renew its youth. We shall close our account of the peculiar

rmation on this point. The learned moderns generally agree in tracing its origin to Cadmus. They observe that this prince,

here fam’d St. Giles’ ancient limits spread, An inrail’d column rears its lofty head; Here to sev’n streets, sev’n dials co

k off by the club of the hero, another immediately sprang up again in its place. He ordered Iolas, the son of Iphiclus, to

dia. He seized the monster in a thicket, to which he had traced it by its vestiges in the snow. When dragged into the prese

me dexterities of his masterly hand. So fine and delicate indeed were its touches, that they dissolved the most beautiful n

hell, to recover her from Pluto and Proserpine; and so affecting were its strains, that even the passions of the infernals

of the world. Mount Atlas is so lofty, that it seems to touch heaven: its top is lost in the clouds; and the poets, confoun

nature; but afterwards having been separated, the world began to take its present form. By the motion of the air, the parti

hich now forms the Delta, at first seemed to be an immense marsh, and its vapours long rendered it uninhabitable; but when

tile plain in the world, the Egyptians consecrated the remembrance of its primitive state in the fable of their Typhon. Ob

order of the emperor Theodosius; the statue was broken to pieces, and its limbs borne in triumph through the city, and then

Serapis became the tutelar god of Egypt in general, and the patron of its principal cities. Animal sacrifices were offered

verse was immersed and that all was darkness, until it was brought to its present form and order by the self-existent, invi

us and relenting to the truly penitent. When a soul is separated from its body, it is conveyed to the city of Yama, called

g on earth. The river Ganges is sacred; and they practise ablution in its waters. They celebrate the worship with ridiculou

ght; and, consequently, we see in the Sun of Revelation, before which its moral enemies, Doubt, Pride, and the like, flee a

es to worship and the use of temples. The system of idolatry with all its ceremonies, was not established at once, but by l

the most ancient dedicated to paganism, was also the most singular in its structure. Berosus, according to Josephus, attrib

olish design. This famous tower, called the Tower of Babel, formed in its basis a square, the sides of which were each a st

n monarch, after his unfortunate expedition against Greece, plundered its immense riches, and demolished it. Among the stat

ple, there was a large golden statue of Jupiter; but he does not give its weight nor measure. He says, merely, that the Bab

tue, eighteen feet high, made of gold. This temple, so astonishing in its construction and in its riches, was consecrated t

made of gold. This temple, so astonishing in its construction and in its riches, was consecrated to the memory of Belus. E

of the seven wonders of the world, was several centuries in attaining its last degree of perfection. Pliny relates, that al

out their designs; but, as previously observed, it did not attain to its completion until after a lapse of two hundred and

lies, when they took and sacked the city of Pisa. This temple had for its architect, Libon, originally of the country. It w

self furnished. The height of the temple from the ground floor up to its covering was sixty eight feet; its length, two hu

temple from the ground floor up to its covering was sixty eight feet; its length, two hundred and thirty; and its breadth,

overing was sixty eight feet; its length, two hundred and thirty; and its breadth, ninety-five. The tiles of the covering w

apter V. Temple of Apollo at Delphi. This temple did not equal in its structure that of Jupiter Olympius; but it was st

still richer by immense presents sent to it from every part. None of its ornaments, however, could be compared with the th

ficient to give light to the age in which he lives, and to perpetuate its remembrance. In the temple of Delphi, all the pas

ial was the Pantheon, vulgarly called the Rotunda. It still exists in its entire state, under the name of the Church of All

hat he only repaired it, and added to it the portico, which now makes its finest ornament. An opening in the middle of the

were suspended near a statue of the same metal, which held a whip in its hand, and which was equally suspended. When the w

e time at which it was established, is not known, which goes to prove its great antiquity. Apollo was not at first consulte

mple by a dreadful crash, which caused the edifice to tremble even to its foundations. Then the priests, also called the pr

e the Christian religion. This third collection bore evident marks of its being, not a work of the Sibyls, but a fantastica

inds, clouds, and rain. An eternal spring was supposed to flourish on its summit, which, it was pretended, reached to the v

es which Torfacus has added to his account. The Roman republic was at its acme of power, and found nothing in the known par

long stay, and built the city of Odensus, which still perpetuates in its name, the remembrance of its founder. Thence he e

y of Odensus, which still perpetuates in its name, the remembrance of its founder. Thence he extended his arms over the who

ely consent to yield to the various proofs which have been adduced in its favour. It is, doubtless, more rational to see in

thing in the visible world. These intelligences had the direction of its operations: the earth, water, fire, air, the moon

estimony of some authors proves that the ancient Germans had retained its principal tenets, while other nations, subdued an

it was at the time of Odin’s arrival that this religion began to lose its primitive purity; as it is obvious, that this con

the bridge, communicating from heaven to earth. Hiemdal watched over its extremities to prevent the giants from scaling he

rgest of all trees Its branches covered the surface of the world, and its top reached to the heavens. It was supported by t

roots, one of which extended even to the ninth world, or to hell. On its branches sat an eagle, whose piercing eye surveye

orts; four stags (Dain, Dynais, Dnalion, and Dryathor) roamed through its branches; several serpents twined around its trun

Dryathor) roamed through its branches; several serpents twined around its trunk, and strove to destroy it; and in a neighbo

, with which they watered the tree. This water keeps up the beauty of its leaves, and after having refreshed its branches,

s water keeps up the beauty of its leaves, and after having refreshed its branches, it falls back on the ground, where it k

was descended the race of giants; a race as vile and corrupt as Ymer its author. By the mixture of ice and heat was produc

trumpet; the gods will awake and meet again; the great oak will shake its branches; and heaven and earth will be full of fe

monster lies. See the serpent weakly crawling,     Thor has bruis’d its loathsome head; Lo! the stars from heav’n are fal

esitate to undertake a similar work, although with the advantage over its original builders, of the powerful aid of machine

ered on every side. A chain of that metal surrounded the roof, though its circumference was nine hundred ells. Haquin, coun

ng of Norway, embraced the Christian faith, he caused that temple and its idols to be razed and broken. There were found in

; and among other things, a very costly golden ring. Iceland had also its temples. The chronicles mention two that were hig

ated in honor of Thor or of the sun, to obtain a fertile year. During its continuance, like the Roman Saturnalia, marks of

cles in temples. That of Upsal was the most celebrated, on account of its replies, as well as its sacrifices. It was genera

Upsal was the most celebrated, on account of its replies, as well as its sacrifices. It was generally thought, that some d

ased, because wars were multiplied, and the nobility, hurried away by its bloody carnage, no more pressed so many to enter

is birth, and appeared to his mastiff, which made doleful howlings at its aspect. The most natural effects which their igno

each other; the former, by saying that the religion of the Druids had its birth in England; the latter, by alleging that th

ng more reflecting, and less warlike, than the Gauls, preserved it in its purity. Such, adds he, is the origin of the profo

ating from each other, men changed their primitive religion, and lost its purity. Some, coming by land from the North, unde

erous edicts of the Roman emperors against this crime, not only prove its existence, but also show how pertinaciously they

igned supreme; men were not satisfied to till the earth, but dug into its hidden mines, and drew thence gold and iron, pote

Ans. On the summit of Mount Olympus, in Thessaly. This mountain hides its head, covered with perpetual snows, in a belt of

a mantle of wrought gold. This he took possession of, and ordered in its place a woolen cloak. Dionysius justified the act

unicated to the waters of the stream, which was famous ever after for its golden sands. Ques. Who was Phæton? Ans. He was

Ques. What animals were sacred to Mars? Ans. The dog, on account of its sagacity in the pursuit of prey; the horse, for i

og, on account of its sagacity in the pursuit of prey; the horse, for its uses in war; the wolf, for its rapacity and cruel

in the pursuit of prey; the horse, for its uses in war; the wolf, for its rapacity and cruelty; the raven, because it follo

he peacock was chosen as the bird of Juno, because it was supposed by its cry to indicate a change of weather. Chapter V

s. When Cecrops built a new city, Neptune and Minerva contended about its name; and it was resolved that whichever of the t

, he produced the fountain Hippocrene [Hippocre′ne]. All who drank of its waters were inspired by the Muses with a poetic s

rn, and some drops of blood fell upon that flower, which then assumed its present crimson hue. Ques. Who were the Graces?

he had received from Diana. These were, a dog that was always sure of its prey, and an arrow which never missed its aim, an

dog that was always sure of its prey, and an arrow which never missed its aim, and returned immediately to the hand of the

non is the more northerly of the two, and was formerly celebrated for its vocal powers. It is commonly asserted by ancient

rmed with a scythe, which signifies that time mows down everything in its course; and he holds in his hands an infant which

ct equality, property was held in common, and the earth brought forth its fruits without labor. Ques. What sacrifices were

in of Cyane, she perceived the girdle of Proserpine still floating on its waters; and the nymph Arethusa informed her of wh

poet says: “Vengeance divine to punish sin moves slow; The slower is its pace, the surer is its blow.” Ques. What do you

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 N

mple was but partially destroyed, and was soon afterwards restored to its former splendor. The inhabitants of Ephesus seem

e river Alpheus in Greece, rose in the fountain of Arethusa, and that its clear waters were reddened with the blood of the

the Sirens, the allurements of vice, and the dangers of listening to its seductions; by the story of Circe, they showed th

name means oblivion; it is so called, because when the dead drank of its waters, they forgot all that had passed upon this

flames. The first care of the young bird was to collect the ashes of its parent, which it carried, enclosed in myrrh, to t

they threw his head into the river Hebrus, and were surprised to hear its murmur, “Eurydice, Eurydice!” as it was carried d

sprang into the sea. The waves closed above him, and the ship held on its way. The inhabitants of the deep had gathered aro

XXXI. Bellerophon — Victory over the Chimæra — His Presumption and its Punishment — Deucalion — Legend of the re-peoplin

d him in a dream, and gave him a golden bridle, instructing him as to its use. On awaking, Bellerophon found the bridle in

ansformed into a partridge, a timid bird which seems still mindful of its fall, and keeps to low coverts, avoiding high pla

garded his father’s instructions, and approached so near the sun that its heat melted the wax which united the feathers of

by the ancients as a symbol of tranquillity, and as it seemed to make its home upon the waters, it was consecrated to Theti

tin called by the French, martin-pêcheur. This martin, however, makes its nest on shore, lays its eggs in the spring, and h

, martin-pêcheur. This martin, however, makes its nest on shore, lays its eggs in the spring, and has no connection with ca

nters feared to attack the monster, whose eyes shone with fire, while its bristles stood erect like spears, and its tusks r

eyes shone with fire, while its bristles stood erect like spears, and its tusks resembled those of an Indian elephant. The

n Indian elephant. The cornfields and vineyards were trampled down in its path, and the terrified husbandmen everywhere fle

d drawn with ropes, sunk to the ground, prostrating half the grove in its fall. The indignant Dryades went to Ceres in mour

th, entitled Pollio, has given rise to much speculation on account of its striking coincidence with Scripture. Many suppose

prodigious violence, and lashed the waves of the boisterous Euxine on its desert shore. The only animated object was the wi

l tendency; the corruption of the author’s private character has left its impress on all his works. The claim of Ovid to be

nd Telemachus brought from the armory the mighty bow of Ulysses, with its quiver of arrows; taking care, at the same time,

live, he would one day avenge his father’s death, and raise Troy from its ruins. Diligent search was therefore made for the

caldron surmounted by a figure of the same metal; the statue held in its hand a whip, the lash of which consisted of three

aded Egypt, he sent a large body of troops across the desert to seize its treasures. As nothing was ever heard of this expe

as believed to impart the knowledge of futurity to those who drank of its waters. The oracle of this fountain promised the

onfer immortal glory on the administration of Pericles. It existed in its full beauty for more than a century after his dea

as first despoiled by Lachares, who stripped the statue of Minerva of its golden adornments. It is said he obtained in this

unfortunately struck by a bomb, and the entire edifice was reduced to its present ruinous condition. Some of the sculptures

aving been in the possession of the Medicis family. An inscription on its base informs us that it was carved by Cleomenes,

rm and attitude are perfect, but the face is particularly admired for its expression of majesty and power. Ques. Describe

as often as the sacred animal died, the soul passed into the body of its successor. Sacrifices were offered to this strang

brazen image, which was so contrived that when a child was laid upon its extended arms, they were lowered, and the little

he autumn-time. It was believed that at this season the river changed its color, and ran red, as if tinged with blood. To t

, is called the “Doctrine of the Lettered;” the second is regarded by its professors as the primitive religion of the ancie

land in the Archipelago of Chusan. This temple retains many traces of its former magnificence, and is particularly remarkab

arises partly from the political fears of the Chinese government, and its jealousy of strangers. The missionaries are, of c

gentle and refined. On the other hand, the wild and rugged North made its own impress on the Scandinavian tribes, and their

and appointing them their respective courses. As soon as the sun shed its rays upon the earth, the plants and trees began t

ch of the Great Twilight, and the end of time, this fruit was to lose its magic power. Heimdall. Ques. Who was Heimd

together with their habitations. This fearful day will not be without its forerunners. First will come a triple winter, dur

nvulse the universe. The solid earth will tremble, the sea will leave its bed, and the heavens will be rent asunder. During

and a new earth to rise out of the abyss. This new earth will produce its fruits without labor or care; perpetual spring wi

pped by the Saxons as the god of war. The third day of the week takes its name from this divinity. Chapter VIII. Celti

ppers of Hindostan, others to the Magi of Persia; but all agree as to its Eastern origin. Ques. Who is the earliest writer

tain, and they were, perhaps for this reason, the more susceptible to its influence. The character of these minstrels was p

he island, a chief of Leinster destroyed this sanctuary and massacred its inmates. The entire country united to punish the

migration was happy, or the contrary, as the actions performed during its last state of existence had been good or evil. Ac

. In Ireland and in the Highlands of Scotland, the first of May takes its name from this solemnity, being called in Gaelic,

tiated at this season, and many curious traditions are connected with its observance. Before the invasion of Cæsar, Britain

every useful art. Under his beneficent rule, the earth brought forth its fruits without care or labor: and such was the fe

ng the form of singing birds, revelled amid the blossoms and odors of its sacred groves. Ques. What peculiar rite was prac

their abode wherever the sacred emblem should sink into the earth of its own accord. This prodigy took place in the valley

f maize which were attached to the temple were supposed to partake of its sanctity; and the yearly produce was distributed

The interior of the temple has been described, by those who saw it in its glory, as being literally a mine of precious meta

tal was used in all the decorations of the building, as resembling in its pale lustre the milder radiance of the beautiful

Ques. Does anything now remain of this magnificent temple? Ans. No; its riches became the prey of the conquerors, and the

of the arm he had lost at Salamis. The silent appeal was not without its effect on the impulsive Athenians, and Æschylus w

ld otherwise be deprived. The Natural History may be considered, from its wide range of subjects, a sort of Cyclopædia, and

testimony to the purity of life which was the distinguishing mark of its professors. Pliny has left a collection of lette

caca. A lake in Bolivia, celebrated for the ruins of Tiahuanico on its shores. They stand on an eminence which, from the

as taken place, that the level of the lake is now 135 feet lower, and its shores 12 miles distant. These ruins are believed

vilized life than any nation existing on the continent at the time of its discovery. Varro . A Latin writer, celebr

of the University of California, some two years ago, introduced into its requirements for entrance in English the subject

rements for entrance in English the subject of Classical Mythology in its relation to English Literature, and recommended,

ndeed, be ever a makeshift; for the literature of a people inheres in its language, and loses its seeming and often its cha

ft; for the literature of a people inheres in its language, and loses its seeming and often its characteristic when caparis

of a people inheres in its language, and loses its seeming and often its characteristic when caparisoned in the trappings

age and from clime to clime, the genesis of imagination is universal, its products are akin, and its process is continuous.

, the genesis of imagination is universal, its products are akin, and its process is continuous. For this reason the study

se and profitable. If we accept the statement (often stretched beyond its proper limit) that mythology is primitive philoso

hildren: they approach it gingerly; they have feared so much to wring its withers that in most children the memory has grow

son narrows still further the scope of the fable: “It seems to be, in its genuine state, a narrative in which beings irrati

f delight which the æsthetic myth affords is the test of what we call its beauty. A myth, whether explanatory or æsthetic,

the dawn, — and the purging of evil vision and fear by the baptism of its dew; — if the sun itself is an influence, to us a

civilization. They are; — (1) The Historical, or better called after its author, Euhemerus (b.c. 316), the Euhemeristic. T

ne name, “throws light on the legend of the bearer of the name and on its origin and first home.” ‌ 7 But unfortunately t

nconvincing results. In fine, the philological explanation assumes as its starting-point masculine and feminine names for o

ses of words. Max Müller grants that mythology does not always create its own heroes, but sometimes lays hold of real histo

al. (3) The Allegorical Interpretation is akin to the philological in its results. It leads us to explain myths as embodime

, “to ascertain the manner in which the story first crystallized into its shape, we shall find ourselves led back generally

m the real sun, rising and setting; from the real atmosphere, calm in its dominion of unfading blue and fierce in its desce

real atmosphere, calm in its dominion of unfading blue and fierce in its descent of tempest — the Greek forms first the id

anionable deity, with whom you may walk hand in hand, as a child with its brother or its sister; and lastly, the moral sign

, with whom you may walk hand in hand, as a child with its brother or its sister; and lastly, the moral significance of the

urvive into civilized literature.” 19 The distribution of myth, like its origin, is inexplicable by any one theory. The di

ians who recorded the mythologies from which English literature draws its classical myths: the Greek, the Roman, the Norse,

. The Skaldic diction which was polished to an artistic extreme, with its pagan metaphors and similes, retained its suprema

o an artistic extreme, with its pagan metaphors and similes, retained its supremacy over literary form even after the influ

historical elements, and began sooner to restrict the personality of its heroes within the compass of human limitations.45

ripts, or fragments of manuscripts, of the Nibelungenlied that attest its popularity between the thirteenth and sixteenth c

ion. In fine, the materials of the poem would persuade us not only of its origin in very ancient popular lays, but of their

ecause of the numerous hands and generations that have contributed to its composition. The Adventures of Rama, on the other

a deep and mighty flood, encircling land and sea like a serpent with its tail in its mouth, was the source of all. Accordi

mighty flood, encircling land and sea like a serpent with its tail in its mouth, was the source of all. According to other

l the mass, assuming the form of a huge World-egg, flew, by reason of its rapid rotation, into halves. Of these, one was He

so three in number. In them, probably, the Greeks imaged the sea with its multitudinous waves, its roar, and its breakers t

em, probably, the Greeks imaged the sea with its multitudinous waves, its roar, and its breakers that seem to shake the ear

the Greeks imaged the sea with its multitudinous waves, its roar, and its breakers that seem to shake the earth. These ligh

ority to threaten or to punish. The forest had not yet been robbed of its trees to yield timbers for vessels, nor had men b

y they do not show, The suffocating sense of woe, Which speaks but in its loneliness, And then is jealous lest the sky Shou

n is jealous lest the sky Should have a listener, nor will sigh Until its voice is echoless… “Thy godlike crime was to be

ful condition of the earth, and announced his intention of destroying its inhabitants, and providing a new race, unlike the

nor of this pair, caused the waters to recede, — the sea to return to its shores, and the rivers to their channels. Then De

ring of Hyperion, Titanic deity of light), who represented the sun in its daily and yearly course, in its’ physical rather

, with the chaste brilliance of the moon. Its slender arc is her bow; its beams are her arrows with which she sends upon wo

their fires. No new colony, no new home, was duly consecrated till on its central hearth there glowed coals from her ancest

ously aflame. As the safety of the city was held to be connected with its conservation, any negligence, by which it might g

as either Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, famous for its oracle. The circular disk of the earth was crosse

into two equal parts by the Sea, as they called the Mediterranean and its continuation, the Euxine, the only seas with whic

getation. He represented not only the intoxicating power of wine, but its social and beneficent influences, and was looked

by it they sealed their oaths, and the Acheron, river of woe, — with its tributaries, Phlegethon, river of fire, and Cocyt

in Laconia; another, near Cumæ in Italy, was Lake Avernus, so foul in its exhalations that, as its name portends, no bird c

Cumæ in Italy, was Lake Avernus, so foul in its exhalations that, as its name portends, no bird could fly across it.98 Bef

en wholly imaginary. It is, however, not impossible that the myth had its origin in the reports of storm-driven mariners wh

iana represents the moonlight splendor of night, so Hecate represents its darkness and terrors. She haunted cross-roads and

. The ox-eyed goddess joined her husband, noticed the heifer, praised its beauty, and asked whose it was, and of what herd.

ing to tradition, from this princess the continent of Europe acquired its name. Her three sons are famous in Greek myth: Mi

The tongue grew rough and swelled, and the dry mouth stood open, with its veins enlarged, and gasped for the air. Men could

ated them. Night came on. The tree stood before me in my dreams, with its numerous branches all covered with living, moving

oak began to move, And flounder into hornpipes. The mountain stirred its bushy crown, And, as tradition teaches, Young ash

wine, as fast as it was poured out, renewed itself in the pitcher, of its own accord. Struck with terror, Baucis and Philem

rds: “We are gods. This inhospitable village shall pay the penalty of its impiety; you alone shall go free from the chastis

on for below; In vain, for a superior force, Applied at bottom, stops its course; Doomed ever in suspense to dwell, ’Tis no

inst the steeple reared, Became a clock, and still adhered; And still its love to household cares By a shrill voice at noon

Grant them, O Hera, thy best gift of gifts!’ Whereat the statue from its jewelled eyes Lightened, and thunder ran from clo

slender shuttle is passed in and out among the threads. The reed with its fine teeth strikes up the woof into its place, an

ng the threads. The reed with its fine teeth strikes up the woof into its place, and compacts the web. Wool of Tyrian dye i

gis covering her breast, as when she had created the olive-tree, with its berries and its dark green leaves. Amongst these

breast, as when she had created the olive-tree, with its berries and its dark green leaves. Amongst these leaves she made

e midst of which was a cave, thick covered with the growth of bushes, its roof forming a low arch, from beneath which burst

came against the trunk of a tree, and so succeeded in pinning him to its side. While Cadmus stood over his conquered foe,

to its side. While Cadmus stood over his conquered foe, contemplating its vast size, a voice was heard (from whence he knew

ain. As when one has broken the stem of a lily in the garden it hangs its head and turns its flowers to the earth, so the h

s broken the stem of a lily in the garden it hangs its head and turns its flowers to the earth, so the head of the dying bo

inthus and jealous of his preference of Apollo, blew the quoit out of its course to make it strike Hyacinthus. § 75. While

he Archer, and near the Lion’s jaws, and where the Scorpion stretches its arms in one direction and the Crab in another. No

ballast is tossed hither and thither on the sea, the chariot, without its accustomed weight, was dashed about as if empty.

the north pole, torpid and harmless, grew warm, and with warmth felt its rage revive. Bootes, they say, fled away, though

ire, fell headlong, like a shooting star which marks the heavens with its brightness as it falls, and Eridanus, the great r

man progeny, — One summons of the whole magnific frame, Each sinew to its service, — up he caught, And over shoulder cast t

ays prosperous in his wooing. His first love, which, by the way, owed its origin to the malice of Cupid, — was specially un

t be always green, and thy leaf know no decay.” The laurel tree bowed its head in grateful acknowledgment. The delicious hu

d speech, so enchanting but now, As they left me forever, each making its bough! If her tongue had a tang sometimes more th

mbs took root in the ground, and her face became a flower, turning on its stem to follow the journeying sun. In the followi

hide me, For he grasps me now by the hair!” The loud Ocean heard, To its blue depth stirred, And divided at her prayer; An

emerald main, Alpheus rushed behind, — As an eagle pursuing A dove to its ruin Down the streams of the cloudy wind. Under

e youngest was such that the poverty of language is unable to express its praise. In fact, Venus found her altars deserted,

take compassion on her. They separated the pile, sorting each kind to its parcel, and vanishing out of sight in a moment. A

When truth’s clear river flowed o’er sands of gold, And told in song its high and mystic things! And such the sweet and so

only by modesty. His art was so perfect that it concealed itself, and its product looked like the workmanship of nature. Py

nd beat her breast, she embraced the lifeless body, poured tears into its wounds, and imprinted kisses on the cold lips. “O

again. She saw her veil stained with blood and the scabbard empty of its sword. “Thine own hand has slain thee, and for my

age, he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice; but Juno struck him with madness,

g. Pentheus, however, had no respect for the new worship, and forbade its rites to be performed.197 But when it was known t

on. The merciful deity heard, and sent him to wash away his fault and its punishment in the fountain head of the river Pact

hindrance the bard passed through the horrors of hell. All Hades held its breath. Fig. 63. Tantalus, Ixion, and Sisyphus

avelin at the spot. A cry told him that the weapon had too surely met its mark. He rushed to the place, and raised his woun

stillness. From the bottom of the rock the river Lethe flows, and by its murmur invites to sleep. Poppies grow before the

ch she scatters over the darkened earth. There is no gate to creak on its hinges, nor any watchman. In the midst, on a couc

by his orient beam responsive rings The living lyre and vibrates all its strings; Accordant aisles the tender tones prolon

gs were bare and taper. And still the gathering larger grew, And gave its pence and crowded nigher. While aye the shepherd-

e, and would have burned the body, but it was nowhere to be found. In its place had sprung up a flower, purple within and s

ring beneath him as he walked, The clear, broad sky looked bluer than its wont, And he could scarce believe he had not wing

Instead of blood, so light he felt and strange. But the day was past its noon. Joining some comrades over the dice, Rhœcus

e night had gathered round him: o’er the plain The city sparkled with its thousand lights, And sounds of revel fell upon hi

fell upon his ear Harshly and like a curse; above, the sky, With all its bright sublimity of stars, Deepened, and on his f

ned Beneath the spreading tamarind that shakes, Fanned by the breeze, its fever-cooling fruit.”238 This nymph had scorned

r person, — a comely youth. Such wooing, of course, could not but win its just reward. § 125. The Cranes of Ibycus.239 — Th

I would have brought thee either white lilies, or the soft poppy with its scarlet petals. Nay, these are summer’s flowers,

.272 Snatching the eye, Perseus compelled the Grææ, as the price of its restoration, to tell him how he might obtain the

ion, to tell him how he might obtain the helmet of Hades that renders its wearer invisible, and the winged shoes and pouch

in-peak supine; Below, far lands are seen tremblingly; Its horror and its beauty are divine. Upon its lips and eyelids seem

ands are seen tremblingly; Its horror and its beauty are divine. Upon its lips and eyelids seems to lie Loveliness like a s

giant became the mountain upon whose shoulders rests heaven with all its stars. Fig. 78. Perseus with the Gorgon’s head

darted down upon the back of the monster, and plunged his sword into its shoulder, then eluded its furious attack by means

of the monster, and plunged his sword into its shoulder, then eluded its furious attack by means of his wings. Wherever he

n Lycia a monster, breathing fire, made great havoc. The fore part of its body was a compound of the lion and the goat; the

Hercules strangled the animal with his hands, and returned, carrying its carcass on his shoulders; but Eurystheus, frighte

red a gigantic undertaking. The vessel was named Argo, probably after its builder. Jason soon found himself at the head of

the blood, and laid them thereon to burn. Meanwhile the caldron with its contents was preparing. In it she put magic herbs

him a bull for sacrifice. The bull appeared; but Minos, astonished at its great beauty, declined to sacrifice the brute. Ne

nd overcome by Hercules, who rode it through the waves to Greece. But its offspring, the Minotaur, a monster, bull-headed a

into Attica, founded Athens, and chose Minerva rather than Neptune as its guardian. His successor was Erichthonius, or Erec

world pain — Say, will it never heal? And can this fragrant lawn With its cool trees, and night, And the sweet, tranquil Th

a, where the country afterwards called Media is said to have received its name from her. Theseus was acknowledged by his si

ith extravagant ruin, Perishes, dealing doom with precipitate rush of its branches, — So was the Cretan brute by Theseus do

g choked her: — “Thus is it far from my home, O traitor, and far from its altars — Thus on a desert strand, — dost leave me

! what desolate cavern? What was the sea that spawned, that spat from its churning abysses, Thee, — what wolfish Scylla, or

transferred by him to the heavens. As it mounted the ethereal spaces, its gems, growing in brightness, became stars; and st

te. He, therefore, committed the child to a herdsman, with orders for its destruction; but the herdsman, moved with pity, y

ily of Œdipus. But the wedding gear of Harmonia has not yet fulfilled its baleful mission. Amphiaraüs had, with his last br

n experience the penalty of Orestes. The outfit of Harmonia preserved its malign influence until, at last, it was devoted t

ield crossed each other on the breast, but the double guard prevented its penetrating, and it fell harmless. Then Ajax seiz

fronted him. Patroclus threw a vast stone at the Trojan, which missed its aim, but smote Cebriones, the charioteer, and fel

he Body of Hector. — So saying the son of Peleus stripped the body of its armor, and, fastening cords to the feet, tied the

So saying he arose, went forth with his two friends, and unloaded of its charge the litter, leaving two mantles and a robe

t immediately fall, but receiving aid from new allies still continued its resistance. One of these allies was Memnon, the Æ

where his blood sank into the earth a hyacinth sprang up, bearing on its leaves the first two letters of his name, Ai, the

people might have taken his advice and destroyed the fatal horse with its contents, but just at that moment a group of peop

ng to Minerva, and made so huge for the express purpose of preventing its being carried within the city; for Calchas the pr

g to a large cave they entered it, and finding no one within examined its contents. They found it stored with the riches of

ock that projected from the side of the mountain, and rending it from its bed he lifted it high in the air, then exerting a

ightning ensued. A stroke of lightning shattered their mast, which in its fall killed the pilot. At last the vessel itself

72. The Land of the Phæacians. — Ulysses clung to the raft so long as its timbers held together, and when it no longer yiel

ven to Ulysses in former times, was brought from the armory, and with its quiver full of arrows was laid in the hall. Telem

ndled it with the hand of a master. With ease he adjusted the cord to its notch, then fitting an arrow to the bow he drew t

heir native city. On that fatal night when the wooden horse disgorged its contents of armed men, and the capture and confla

, and it seemed as if Italy, and the empire destined to be founded on its shores, were alike forgotten. Seeing which, Jupit

rpine, and if fate was propitious it would yield to the hand and quit its parent trunk, but otherwise no force could rend i

l’s time were covered with a gloomy forest. Mephitic vapors rise from its waters, so that no life is found on its banks, an

st. Mephitic vapors rise from its waters, so that no life is found on its banks, and no birds fly over it. Here Æneas offer

n one side the walls of a mighty city, around which Phlegethon rolled its fiery waters. Before him was the gate of adamant

The Sibyl told him that the gulf of Tartarus descended deep, so that its recesses were as far beneath their feet as heaven

objects clothed in a purple light. The region had a sun and stars of its own. The inhabitants were enjoying themselves in

of music. They were in a laurel grove, whence the great river Po has its origin, and flows out among men. Here dwelt those

ther animals, mingling it with various proportions of earth, by which its purity was alloyed and reduced. Thus the more ear

e animal, which had only strength left to run homeward, — and died at its mistress’s feet. Her cries and tears roused her b

e woods! I consecrate this maid to thee;” then hurled the weapon with its burden to the opposite bank. The spear flew acros

armed warriors floated on the stream of the Tiber. The river smoothed its waves, and bade its current flow gently, while, i

ed on the stream of the Tiber. The river smoothed its waves, and bade its current flow gently, while, impelled by the vigor

grown with bushes where in after times the Capitol was to rise in all its magnificence. He next pointed to some dismantled

ng to them their respective courses. As soon as the sun began to shed its rays upon the earth, it caused the vegetable worl

four winds. Under the tree lies Ymir, and when he tries to shake off its weight the earth quakes. § 178. Odin and his Valh

of their fathers and kindred. When thrown, it returns to his hand of its own accord. The second rare thing he possesses is

n grasping his mallet, he dashed it with such violence that it forced its way into the giant’s skull up to the handle. But

der on the bloody floor, Weeping and wailing; and Valhalla rang Up to its golden roof with sobs and cries; And on the table

. The earth itself will be afraid and begin to tremble, the sea leave its basin, the heavens tear asunder; men will perish

bridge, which breaks under the horses’ hoofs. But they, disregarding its fall, direct their course to the battle-field cal

f the sea. The new earth, filled with abundant supplies, will produce its fruits without labor or care. Wickedness and mise

-wood e’en take it for my gift. Then ne’er, but his own heart falter, its point and edge shall fail Until the night’s begin

abundant rest While Earth grows scant of great ones, and fadeth from its best, And fadeth from its midward, and groweth po

grows scant of great ones, and fadeth from its best, And fadeth from its midward, and groweth poor and vile: — All hail to

rusheth apart, And high o’er his head it riseth, and wide and wild is its roar As it beareth the mighty tidings to the very

the mighty tidings to the very heavenly floor; But he rideth through its roaring as the warrior rides the rye, When it bow

is reputed overlord. In her heart this thought she fostered, deep in its inmost core;396 That still they kept such distan

oremost in merit and in fame.” So began the altercation. It attained its climax the same day, when each queen attempted to

nification of Time, which, as it brings all things to an end, devours its own offspring; and also with the Latin Saturn, wh

ising out of the cavern, and a certain goatherd is said to have tried its effects upon himself. Inhaling the intoxicating a

Delos is the central island of the Cyclades group in the Ægean. With its temple of Apollo, it was exceedingly prosperous.

he act of drawing an arrow from her quiver or watching her missile in its flight. She is often attended by the hind. Someti

1. Interpretative. — Max Müller traces Hermes, child of the Dawn with its fresh breezes, herald of the gods, spy of the nig

elsewhere, in which the deity spent his youth. The name Bacchus owes its origin to the enthusiasm with which the followers

loponnesus. Interpretative. — Io is explained as the hornèd moon, in its various changes and wanderings.404 Argus is the h

n, in its various changes and wanderings.404 Argus is the heaven with its myriad stars, some of them shut, some blinking, s

otia into the Euboean Gulf; the valley of the Cephissus was noted for its fertility. Panope: a town on the Cephissus. Tyria

s of Phrygia, flowing near Troy. Caÿster: a river of Ionia, noted for its so-called “tuneful” swans. For Nereus, Doris, Ner

danus: the mythical name of the river Po in Italy (amber was found on its banks). Naiads, § 54 (6). Interpretative. — Apol

len; Chryseïs, daughter of Chryses. § 77. The Dynasty of Tantalus and its Connections. — See also § 132 (5) C. Pelops.

, therefore, would signify the melting of snow and the destruction of its icy offspring under the rays of the spring sun (S

an. The river Alpheüs does in fact disappear under ground, in part of its course, finding its way through subterranean chan

s does in fact disappear under ground, in part of its course, finding its way through subterranean channels, till it again

of Alpheüs, to be carried downward by it, and afterward reproduced at its emerging, “as an offering To lay at Arethusa’s fe

s the Phœnician Adott, or the Hebrew Adonai, “Lord.” The myth derives its origin from the Babylonian worship of Thammuz or

omen of Spring, just before Winter closes in. The fable has, however, its moral significance also, being connected with tha

Proserpine. An image of the youthful Bacchus headed the procession in its march toward Eleusis. At that place and in the ne

e Halcyon-bird, which nests on the strand and is frequently bereft of its young by the winter waves. The comparison with th

t. Cecilia’s Day. § 114. Interpretative. — Tithonus may be the day in its ever-recurring circuit of morning freshness, noon

le. It has been suggested that sounds produced by confined air making its escape from crevices or caverns in the rocks may

ll be made use of to deceive a visitor who was predisposed to believe its powers.” Interpretative. — Memnon is generally

, Ionic, Corinthian (see English Dictionary). Trinacria: Sicily, from its three promontories. Ægon and Daphnis: idyllic nam

hunder and lightning; Polyphemus is rather the heavy vapor that rolls its clouds along the hillside. The clouds are the she

er winds it is a snake, when it roars it is a bull, when it overflows its banks it puts forth new horns. Hercules is suppos

and the sons of Egyptus would indicate a reminiscence of the Nile and its tributaries, alternately overflowing and exhauste

aughters, Hersë, Aglauros, and Pandrosos (personifications of Dew and its vivifying influences). According to another tradi

mes chiefly in two particulars. It was peculiar to the Athenians, and its chief feature was a solemn procession in which th

y, be explained as a solar myth. Periphetes may be a storm-cloud with its thunderbolts; the Marathonian Bull and the Minota

H. W., The Plains of Troy, 2 v. Lond.: 1839; Schliemann, H., Troy and its Remains, Lond.: 1875; Ilios, Lond.: 1881; Troja,

p, Thor and Woden being worshipped by a tribe, but each family having its own anses, or deified ancestors (Corp. Poet. 2: 4

or a long vowel: Bau-cis, Ac-tae-on, Mē-tis, O-rī-on, Flō-ra. (2) If its vowel, whether long or short, is followed by j, x

rules depend upon those of Syllabication): (1) A vowel generally has its long English sound when it ends a syllable: He′-r

o, Ca′-cus, I-tho′-me, E-do′-ni, My-ce′-næ. (2) A vowel generally has its short English sound in a syllable that ends in a

Her′-se, Sis′-y-phus, Pol-y-phe′-mus. But e in the termination es has its long sound: Her′mes, A-tri′-des. (3) The vowel a

a vowel; e.g. Pe-ne′-us, I-tho′-me, A′-treus, Hel′e-nus: Except when its vowel is followed by x or by two consonants (not

x-i′-on, Pel-o-pon-ne′-sus; and when (b) the syllable is accented and its vowel followed by one or more consonants; e.g. An

eop′agus: Mars’ Hill, on which the highest of Athenian tribunals held its meetings; see St. Paul’s address, Acts 17: 22. A′

rld. Seb: the father of the Osirian gods. He is the god of earth and its vegetation; represented as a man with the head of

Er-yci′na: Venus, to whom Mount Eryx and the city of that name, with its temple of Venus, were sacred, 263; Com. § 40- Er-

r devotion, prayer; later, for the supreme principle of the universe, its source, its essence, and its sustenance. Brahma i

prayer; later, for the supreme principle of the universe, its source, its essence, and its sustenance. Brahma is the creati

r the supreme principle of the universe, its source, its essence, and its sustenance. Brahma is the creative energy of the

Vedic deity, with certain attributes of the sun; adopted by a sect as its special god, and then annexed by the Brahmans as

on. He has nine times assumed human form, each incarnation having for its purpose the redemption of mankind from oppression

6. The poet here inserts a famous line which is thought to imitate in its sound the galloping of horses: Quadrupedante put

shines, the Greeks thought that there was another world. It, too, had its gods and its spirits. Dreams lived there, and the

reeks thought that there was another world. It, too, had its gods and its spirits. Dreams lived there, and the ghosts of me

ce. Proserpina shuddered, but Pluto stopped to pat the great beast on its three heads. “Do not be afraid of him,” said Plut

ost cheerful.   Meanwhile, Ceres came back to the valley of Enna with its sunny meadows. It was a lonely place that day whe

on the goddess for help, praying to her to pity the land and care for its vegetation. But Ceres thought only of her lost ch

d been. In the winter men shivered and froze, and even the summer had its cares, for in the warmest and fairest days men we

imetheus, they were surprised to find how beautiful the sky was, with its white clouds; they wondered at the songs of the b

t-seer looks To that shadowless orb, in a vernal sky    He can number its hills and brooks. To the Sun-god all our hearts

e destroyed, and at last the whole land prayed to the gods for aid in its peril. Then Apollo took his mighty and terrible b

tipped with gold and one with lead. First he drew the golden arrow to its head; the bow gave a vicious little twang, and in

for the spirit of Eurydice, whom the underworld would never miss from its hosts of inhabitants. “I pray you, let her go,” h

ey were, and their eyes shone with a light which filled the room with its glare. They came gliding swiftly toward the cradl

y toward the cradle, and there might then have been an end of both of its little occupants, but at that moment the children

over, there are many movements in the sky itself to turn the car from its course, and there are the great creatures which m

re them the Scorpion was seen stretched enormous across the way, with its sting raised threateningly. The horses veered, an

tars he soared again. On the morrow, When the village    Woke to all its toil and care, Lo I the strange steed had departe

iling    Gladdens the whole region round, Strength’ning all who drink its waters    While it soothes them with its sound.

Strength’ning all who drink its waters    While it soothes them with its sound. Henry W. Longfellow. Perseus.

t up to the hilt. Then the fight began. The beast snapped at him with its great jaws and struck at him with its tail and li

. The beast snapped at him with its great jaws and struck at him with its tail and limbs. The sea was beaten into foam and

im with its tail and limbs. The sea was beaten into foam and spray by its struggles. But Perseus with his winged feet was f

Its great hulk drifted to the hero and with one blow he put an end to its life. Then Perseus flew back to Andromeda, and th

ht eye, And oft he wooed the wandering wind,    To cool his brow with its sigh. While mute lay even the wild bee’s hum,    

of the monster. The Minotaur had not yet seen him, but stood turning its head this way and that, sniffing the air and list

fing the air and listening. Its huge body was like that of a man, but its skin looked thick and hard like leather. Upon its

that of a man, but its skin looked thick and hard like leather. Upon its great neck it had the head of a bull, but with te

ous wolf. After a moment it saw Theseus, and as it looked at him with its fierce, cunning, hungry eyes, he hated it, for it

and evil man. With a terrible bellow it rushed upon him, putting down its head to gore him with its horns. Theseus struck i

ble bellow it rushed upon him, putting down its head to gore him with its horns. Theseus struck it with his sword, but the

ul as a bull and as clever as a man. Often did it clutch Theseus with its hands, but he was stronger, and each time tore hi

nd each time tore himself loose in a flash. It tried to bite him with its great teeth and to gore him with its horns, and T

flash. It tried to bite him with its great teeth and to gore him with its horns, and Theseus with all his quickness and str

n return, he struck with his sword, the monster caught the blows upon its horns or else dodged them altogether. At last

o flee. The Minotaur gave a roar of triumph, and for a moment was off its guard. But in that moment Theseus sprang at it an

st of mortal men, dwelt. From there they went to Sparta, hidden among its pleasant hills. Menelaus, king of Sparta, wondere

Now, Agamemnon was the leader of the Grecian army, but the bravest of its warriors was Achilles, son of the beautiful sea-g

one, and at last only Troy remained. In this great city, protected by its walls, there was a strong army, but it dared not

ll yet have justice done you.” So Achilles pushed back his sword into its sheath and allowed Agamemnon to send and take Bri

urage in his breast rise high. He hastened to put on the helmet, with its plume of gold, and the breastplate and greaves of

riam bore back the body to Troy, and all the city mourned the loss of its beloved hero. Verses from “A Dream of Fair W

brought and tied to the wooden monster. Wheels were then fastened to its feet, and it was soon rolling and rumbling toward

no one paid any attention to her. When the horse had been dragged to its place in the citadel and sacrifices had been offe

en the Greeks who were hidden in the horse heard the sweet voice with its Grecian tones, they started and would have answer

came, the beautiful city of Troy was a heap of smoking ruins. Of all its brave inhabitants, only a few remained, and they,

it bad the sea;    Behind, Mount Ida green and fair. Cassandra loved its ramparts free,    Beaten with spray and salt sea-

y-town must fall.” A bird amid the ocean storm    Might thus upraise its piping note, Warning of reefs. Amid the alarm    

nk back on the earth in a deep sleep. Then Ulysses brought forth from its hiding place a great beam of olive wood. Polyphem

and grovel with your friends.” But neither the drink nor the wand had its effect. Instead of yielding, Ulysses drew his swo

Sun. If you harm them, I foretell the destruction of the ship and all its crew, though you yourself may escape.” Ulysses an

ns, sometimes partially confounded with Apollo. Hel΄las. Greece with its islands, 13. Her΄c ules (her΄cu-leez), 78. Calle

schools. It may appear to have less of the character of utility than its predecessors; but the object of them all, humble

s and goddesses are somewhat out of date — that recent poetry derives its greatest power from sentiment, from delineations

e, and from genuine history. But we must preserve our old poetry, and its connexion with the fine arts, and with the fictio

k refuge, was called Latium, and lies along the Mediterranean. One of its ancient kings was Latinus. The language spoken in

. At first, this festival, called the Saturnalia, lasted but one day; its duration was afterwards extended to three, four,

e was consulted by the person who found the shield, in order to learn its origin. The oracle declared that the shield had f

ikes. Thunder is known to be the explosion of the electric fluid, and its dispersion into the atmosphere, accompanied by th

goddess of Athens. That city was called by one of her names, Athenæ; its original name was Cecropia, from the founder, Cec

mained there, the city would be invincible against all the attacks of its enemies. Diomed and Ulysses, two of the Grecian h

luable object. As, for example, the palladium of American liberty, or its security, is the virtue of our citizens. The Part

nifies that Proserpine represented corn, which lies during winter, in its seed state, below the surface of the earth, and t

lyre, whilst the fierce savage, turning his head, seems to listen to its harmonious chords. Sometimes he appears mounted o

lieved that not only the sea itself, but every fountain and river had its peculiar divinities. Oceanus and Nereus both repr

of Neptune That city being the centre of the Greek commerce, derived its wealth from the sea, and therefore held. Neptune

ients is supposed to be the king-fisher, an aquatic bird, which makes its appearance immediately upon the abatement of stor

roverb is derived from the fable of Scylla and Charybdis, and what is its meaning? What were the Halcyones? What is the tru

a; that he taught the culture of the grape, and the art of converting its juice to wine, and the preparation of honey: and

nion prevailed, that the universe abounded in spirits, presiding over its various parts and movements. Plato, the Greek phi

after hour the growing line extends, The cradle and the coffin hound its ends. Clotho held the distaff; Lachesis turned t

over his head, perpetually threatening to fall and crush him beneath its weight. Tityus. The giant Tityus, a son of

t murmuring of the river Lethe; poppies and somniferous herbs grew at its entrance. Here on a bed of black plumes, Somnus r

bed into which he forced his victims; and, if they were too tall for its length he would cut off their limbs to fit the be

r, if they were too short, by dreadful tortures, he stretched them to its extent. This bed of Procrustes, is now often spok

in the evening!” When Œdipus heard the riddle, he instantly perceived its meaning, and explained it thus: — Man, in the mor

ed the Iliad. The ancients declared that Neptune built Troy, and that its walls were raised by the music of Apollo. This ca

of Apollo. This can only mean that Troy was a maritime city, and that its site was fixed upon as being a convenient abode f

, engaged in the enterprise. Where was ancient Troy, and whence were its names derived? What is the fabulous origin of Tro

ain, He launched, dividing with his forky mace The aerial summit from its mighty base; The rock rushed seaward with impetuo

e was exposed to many misfortunes. His vessel was first driven out of its course to the coast of Africa, and next to the is

mmon among the poets, the disfigured person of Hector was restored to its natural beauty, and when he was brought back to T

cients is of such high antiquity, that it is impossible to go back to its origin. The doctrines of the Hindus are contained

dge of departed souls; for the Hindus believe that when a soul leaves its body, it is immediately conveyed to Yamapur, or t

ion of serpents; or assumes on earth, the form of some animal; unless its offence had been so heinous as to merit a vegetab

of body; drowning themselves in the Ganges, or exposing themselves in its holy waters, to be devoured by tigers or alligato

, and eighteen feet high. The enormous mass of solid rock which forms its roof, is supported by four rows of pillars, of be

ersons, were maintained by the liberality of the pilgrims frequenting its celebrated shrine. The idol images in these templ

Scandinavian Mythology. When the map of Europe is examined, its north western section is seen nearly disparted fr

ceeding to the gulf of Finland, continuing through the Baltic Sea and its sounds to the North Sea, proceeding along the Atl

ription of Chaos; relates the formation of the world; the creation of its various inhabitants, giants, gods, men and dwarfs

cable decrees. Into his palace no impure person could enter; and upon its columns were engraven those Runic rhymes which we

ting of nine vast regions of ice, situated under the north pole. Near its eastern gate reposed the body of Vala, the prophe

monster lies. See the serpent weakly crawling;     Thor has bruised its loathsome head! Lo the stars from heaven are fall

beings is a doctrine of the Scripture — Earth shall be destroyed and its beauty renewed. The Scriptures say, these element

he ancient Egyptians. Those who visited Egypt approached with delight its sacred groves and splendid temples, adorned with

s a tutelary god of Egypt in general, and as the patron of several of its principal cities. His image was erected in a temp

heodosius. The celebrated statue of the god was broken to pieces, and its limbs borne in triumph through the city by the Ch

ils and pulse. The tree called Persea was consecrated to him, because its leaves were shaped like a tongue, and the fruit l

, and was surrounded by a wall built of stone and lime. The stones of its pavements were wrought to an exquisite polish. It

cations. Public prayers were offered for the safety of the state, and its allies, for the preservation of the fruits of the

architecture. It was situated on the Acropolis of Athens; and even in its present state of dilapidation, is accounted the m

nly an ornament sometimes worn by men of fashion. “The Parthenon, in its entire state, either as a heathen temple, or as a

were all calculated to obstruct, rather than to admit light. Even in its present state, the Parthenon still retains someth

. Even in its present state, the Parthenon still retains something of its original gloomy character.” Dr. Clark observes,

man called the Pythia: who was made to sit upon a stool, called, from its three feet, a tripod; and to inhale some deleteri

hich severed from the trunk as I from thee, On the bare mountain left its native tree.                           * * * * B

? Jewish Priests. The Hebrew religion, like the Pagan, had its holy persons, holy times, holy places, holy actio

was committed, and flew to her assistance. He gathered the cloud into its condensed form, restored it to the box, revived P

; Ceres ascended to the burning top of Etna, and, lighting a torch at its flames, resolved to search all night for the lost

elves, the cottage is reared, the harvest waves, and the olive yields its fruit. The fields you have given to man were once

up the lizard; but the little animal was become shy, like the rest of its species, and he glided into a hole from which his

ood houses, and flocks, and all the comforts of life, in the city and its neighbourhood, would go in bands, and carry off w

em, if a poor cottage had not attracted their notice. It was low, and its roof was covered with reeds and straw woven toget

ey turned and looked down upon the valley. It was covered with water; its inhabitants were drowned, their houses were inund

ood upon a small island in the centre. The cottage, too, soon changed its form: it rose in height; its grey front became pu

e centre. The cottage, too, soon changed its form: it rose in height; its grey front became pure white marble; its little c

its form: it rose in height; its grey front became pure white marble; its little casements turned to polished columns; the

before it was altered to a broad pavement, and rich sculpture graced its lofty portico; in short, it became a temple of th

est size, which at last eluded his grasp, just as his fingers brushed its party-coloured wings, threw himself down by a fou

Enraged at the sight, he aimed an arrow at the dragon, which pierced its scaly coat, and he soon killed him with the sharp

An accumulation of earth, says the fable, grew to this rock, extended its base, and exalted its summit, so that at length c

th, says the fable, grew to this rock, extended its base, and exalted its summit, so that at length clouds enveloped its he

its base, and exalted its summit, so that at length clouds enveloped its head, and forests grew on its sides. Images of At

mit, so that at length clouds enveloped its head, and forests grew on its sides. Images of Atlas are made in the form of a

heirs. When Perseus reached Argos, he found his grandfather no longer its king. His brother, Phætus, a very artful man, had

. While they all stood by it, listening to the soft gurgling sound of its waters, as they flowed from the rock, among the t

e fountain Hippocrene. They desired to possess it, and now they haunt its borders.” “You treated them as they deserved,” re

iciently expert at this exercise, he resolved to kill the Python, for its persecution of his mother. With a quiver full of

y be seen in Thessaly, passing through the Vale of Tempe, and pouring its waters into the Egean sea. On the transformation

eaming sun, and instantly removed from his brow the diadem which shed its glory all over the world, and which mortal vision

mes mounting to the fixed stars, and sometimes whirling the car, with its terrified conductor, from pole to pole. Phæton no

ms no longer flowed through the fields, and the grass was deprived of its verdure. Oppressed with heat, and parched with th

is commands. That will, as interpreted by believers, is as various in its application to the conduct of man as are the stan

e separated into two distinct classes or divisions, each of which has its own adherents and supporters. The first school is

or sea-monster, and to depict, in what we call appropriate metaphor, its march across the field of ocean.” Since the name

gis Pallas that appall’d?” Byron. “Tremendous, Gorgon frowned upon its field, And circling terrors filled the expressive

ame king. “His back, or rather burthen, showed As if it stooped with its load; For as Æneas bore his sire Upon his shoulde

it was prophesied that the fate of the Roman people would depend upon its preservation. An order of priesthood was establis

ry Aonia. Apatur′ia [Apaturia], an Athenian festival, which received its name from a Greek word signifying deceit. Aph′ro

sixteen letters. It was Cadmus who slew the Bœotian dragon, and sowed its teeth in the ground, from each of which sprang up

he was born. Del′phi [Delphi]. A town on Mount Parnassus, famous for its oracle, and for a temple of Apollo. See Delphos.

alf like a goat. E′gis [Egis] was the shield of Minerva. It obtained its name because it was covered with the skin of the

uilt in the Corinthian style of architecture, mostly of marble; while its walls were covered with engraved brass and silver

regions. It was the picture of desolation, for nothing could grow on its parched and withered banks. Also called Pyriphleg

the particular god to whom the sacrifice was offered. The victim had its horns gilt, and was adorned with a chaplet simila

ta], daughter of Saturn and Cybele, was the goddess of the hearth and its fire. She had under her special care and protecti

the greatest god in Grecian mythology. He was the god of the sky and its phenomena, and as such was worshiped on the highe