CASTOR AND POLLUX.
_Ques._ Who were Castor and Pollux?
_Ans._ They were twin brothers, the sons of Jupiter and Leda. Castor
was mortal like his mother, and when he died, Pollux grieved so much
that Jupiter permitted him to share his immortality with his brother.
It was arranged, therefore, that they should live every alternate day.
_Ques._ What Constellation is named from these brothers?
_Ans._ Gemini, or the Twins, the third sign of the Zodiac.
PROMETHEUS.
_Ques._ Who was Prometheus?
_Ans._ He was the son of Iapetus and Clymene, one of the Oceanides. He
formed a man out of clay, and gave it life by means of fire which he
stole from heaven.
_Ques._ What pretty fable is connected with this?
_Ans._ The poets tell us that Jupiter was so much displeased at the
theft, that he sent Pando´ra to Prometheus with a mysterious box, in
which were imprisoned all the evils which have since afflicted the
human race. Prometheus, suspecting something wrong, refused to touch
the box, upon which Pando´ra carried it to his brother Epimetheus. He
was less cautious, and opening the casket, set free the evils and
miseries which flew abroad through the world. When he saw what he had
done, he shut the box quickly, and prevented Hope, which was lying at
the bottom, from escaping also. This signifies that in the midst of
all human miseries, hope yet remains. The fable may have been derived
from some ancient tradition of Eve's curiosity, the fall of man, and
the hope left him amid so many misfortunes.
_Ques._ How was Prometheus punished?
_Ans._ Jupiter commanded Mercury to chain him to a rock on Mount
Caucasus; there an eagle fed on his liver, which was continually
renewed. Prometheus had, at one time, rendered Jupiter a service. The
king of the gods remembered this, and permitted that after a certain
time, Hercules should kill the eagle and set him free.