Gods of the Sea.
NEPTUNE--POSEIDON.
_Ques._ Who was Neptune?
_Ans._ He was the son of Saturn and Ops, and was worshipped as the god
of the sea, and the father of rivers and fountains.
_Ques._ How is he represented?
_Ans._ As standing upright in a chariot made of a sea-shell; for a
sceptre, he holds a trident, that is, a fork with three barbed tines;
he is arrayed in a blue mantle, and is generally accompanied by his
queen Amphitri´te. Neptune's chariot is drawn by sea-horses, and his
attendants, who swim on either side, are human only to the waist, the
body terminating like that of a fish. Whenever Neptune's chariot moved
upon the waters, the sea grew calm, and tempests were appeased.
_Ques._ What were the offices of Neptune?
_Ans._ He conducted ships safely to port, and presided over
horse-races.
_Ques._ Why was he supposed to preside over horses?
_Ans._ In memory of his contest with Minerva, when he produced a
horse by striking on the ground with his trident. Neptune was obliged
by Jupiter to aid Apollo in building the walls of Troy.
_Ques._ How was Neptune worshipped?
_Ans._ Neptune had an altar in the Circus at Rome where sacrifices
were offered, and plays were acted, representing the carrying off of
the Sabine women. The solemn games in honor of this god were called
Consualia, and were celebrated in the month of March. While these
lasted, horses were released from work, and mules were adorned with
garlands.
_Ques._ Who were the most remarkable of Neptune's children?
_Ans._ Triton, and Phorcus or Proteus.
_Ques._ What is told of Phorcus?
_Ans._ He was vanquished by Atlas, and drowned in the sea; after which
the people worshipped him as a god. There was another Phorcus who had
three daughters, concerning whom a remarkable circumstance is related.
The sisters had but one eye for their common use; each one wore it in
turn, in the middle of her forehead. They were the guardians of the
Gorgons, of whom Medusa was one. The hero Perseus, when about to
attack Medusa, visited them, and, watching his opportunity, while one
of the sisters was handing the eye to the other, he snatched it from
her, and left all three in darkness.
_Ques._ For what was Proteus remarkable?
_Ans._ For his power of transforming himself instantaneously into any
shape he wished.
_Ques._ Who was Triton?
_Ans._ He was the son of Neptune and Amphitri´te, and was his father's
companion and trumpeter. The upper half of his body was like that of a
man, but below the waist he resembled a fish; his tail was cleft and
crooked, and his hair resembled wild parsley.
_Ques._ What other sea-monsters were celebrated?
_Ans._ The Sirens, also Scylla, and Charybdis.
_Ques._ Who were the Sirens?
_Ans._ They were monsters who had the faces of women, but the bodies
of flying-fish; they dwelt near the promontory of Peloris, or in
islands called Sirenusæ, south of Italy. By the magical sweetness of
their singing, they allured all who sailed by those coasts; and after
they had lulled them into a trance, drowned them in the sea.
_Ques._ What was there remarkable in the songs of the Sirens?
_Ans._ They blended the notes of different musical instruments with
their voices, and adapted the style and matter of their songs to the
inclination of their hearers. They had bold and stirring strains to
entice the ambitious, softer melodies for the lovers of pleasure, and
with still different notes, they drew on the covetous to their
destruction.
_Ques._ Did any escape who passed those coasts?
_Ans._ History mentions only two; Ulys´ses and Or´pheus. The first was
warned against the danger by the enchantress Circe; he therefore
stopped the ears of his companions with wax, and had himself firmly
bound to the mast of the ship, by which means he passed the fatal
coasts in safety. Or´pheus overcame them in their own art; for he sang
the praises of the gods, accompanying himself upon his lyre, and made
such divine melody that the music of the Sirens attracted no
attention. The Fates had decreed that the Sirens should live until
some one who passed by, had listened to their songs unmoved. When they
saw themselves overcome by Or´pheus, they knew that their hour had
come, and flung themselves headlong into the sea, where they were
transformed into rocks.
_Ques._ Who was Circe?
_Ans._ She was a skillful enchantress. Having poisoned her husband,
the king of the Sarmatians, she was obliged to fly into Italy, where
she fixed her dwelling on the promontory Circæum. She presented to all
travellers an enchanted cup; and after they had drunk, transformed
them into wolves, swine or other animals. Ulys´ses escaped by throwing
an herb into the cup, which rendered it powerless; he then rushed upon
the sorceress with his sword, and forced her to restore his companions
whom she had transformed. After this, Circe entertained Ulys´ses in a
friendly manner.
_Ques._ What did the poets endeavor to teach by the fables of the
Sirens' song, and the cup of Circe?
_Ans._ They wished to signify by the singing of the Sirens, the
allurements of vice, and the dangers of listening to its seductions;
by the story of Circe, they showed that when men drink of the cup of
sensual pleasure, they become soon degraded to the level of the
beasts.
_Ques._ Who was Scylla?
_Ans._ The fable relates that she was the daughter of Phorcus, and
that she was transformed by the jealousy of Circe, into a frightful
monster. Scylla was so much grieved by this transformation, that she
cast herself into the sea, where she was changed into a rock, made
famous by the many shipwrecks that occurred upon it. Over against this
rock is the whirlpool of Charybdis, about which the poets relate a
similar fable. They say that Charybdis was a very ravenous woman, who
stole Hercules's oxen. For this theft, Jupiter struck her dead with a
thunderbolt, and changed her into the whirlpool which bears her name.
The ancients placed Scylla and Charybdis in the straits of Messina. It
was considered a great feat to steer successfully between them.
_Ques._ Who was Melicertes?
_Ans._ He was the son of Athamas, king of Thebes, and of Ino, the
daughter of Cadmus and Hermi´one. Ino offended Juno, and the goddess,
in revenge, deprived Athamas of reason. The king, in his frenzy, took
the queen and her children for wild beasts, and pursued them through
the palace. He killed his son Learchus by dashing him against a wall,
but Ino escaped, and threw herself into the sea with Melicertes in her
arms. At the intercession of Venus, Neptune endowed them both with
immortality. Ino became a sea-goddess under the name of Leucothea,
while Melicertes was worshipped as Palæmon. He was supposed to have
power in saving vessels from shipwreck, and was, therefore, invoked by
mariners. The Romans called him Portunus, and honored him as the god
of shores and harbors.
_Ques._ Who was Thetis?
_Ans._ She was a sea-goddess, the daughter of Nereus and Doris, and
sister of the Nere´ides. She was endowed with such beauty that Jupiter
himself sought her in marriage; but Prometheus, the Titan, prophesied
that Thetis would give birth to a son who should be greater than his
father. Jupiter thereupon desisted from his suit, and Thetis was
betrothed to Peleus, king of Thessaly. Their marriage was celebrated
with much pomp, all the deities of Olympus honoring the nuptial rites
with their presence. Achilles, the son of Thetis, fulfilled the
Titan's prophecy by his heroic exploits.