ATLAS.
_Ques._ Who was Atlas?
_Ans._ He was a king of Mauritania, the son of the Titan Jap´etus, and
the nymph Clym´ene; he was, therefore, brother of Prometheus. He is
represented as sustaining the heavens on his shoulders. Atlas had been
warned that he would suffer much from a son of Jupiter. When Perseus
was returning from the conquest of the Gorgons, he arrived in the
dominions of Atlas, of whom he claimed the rites of hospitality,
declaring at the same time his divine parentage. The king, remembering
the prophecy with regard to Jupiter's offspring, repulsed him harshly.
This conduct brought upon Atlas the calamity which he feared; for
Perseus, indignant at so much inhumanity, showed him the head of
Medusa, and changed him into the mountain which bears his name.
The fable, that Atlas sustained the heavens on his shoulders, has been
explained by saying he was an astronomer, who observed the motion of
the heavenly bodies from the summit of a lofty mountain, to which his
name was afterwards given.
_Ques._ Who were the children of Atlas?
_Ans._ By his wife Peli´one, he had seven daughters, who were called
Pleiades; they were changed into stars, and form the beautiful group
which we admire in the constellation Taurus. Atlas had seven other
daughters who underwent the same transformation; they were placed in
the head of Taurus, and were called by the Greeks, Hyades, from a word
which signifies "to rain."
The Hesperides, or Western Maidens, were three celebrated nymphs,
concerning whose parentage ancient writers are not agreed. Hesiod
speaks of them as the daughters of Night, but according to others,
they were the offspring of Atlas and Hesperis. At the bridal of
Jupiter and Juno, the different deities brought nuptial presents;
among these, Juno most admired some branches loaded with golden
apples, which were offered by the goddess of the Earth. She begged the
Earth to plant them in her gardens, which extended as far as Mount
Atlas. The Hesperides were directed to watch these trees, but they
proved unfaithful, and frequently plucked the apples for themselves.
Juno sent, therefore, a terrible dragon to guard the precious fruit.
This monster was the offspring of Typhon, and had a hundred heads, so
that it never slept.
ORION.
_Ques._ Who was Ori´on?
_Ans._ His origin is doubtful; according to some writers, he was the
son of Neptune and Eury´ale. The accounts given of his exploits and of
his death are many and contradictory. According to one legend, Ori´on
was a famous hunter; having boasted that he could subdue the wildest
and fiercest animals, the earth was displeased at his presumption, and
sent a scorpion to sting him. The hero was changed, after death, into
a constellation which is known as the most resplendent group in the
winter heavens.
PERSEUS.
_Ques._ Who was Perseus?
_Ans._ He was the son of Jupiter, and of Danaë, the only daughter of
Acrisius, king of Argos. This prince had been warned by an oracle that
his daughter would have a son, who was destined to deprive him of
life. Acrisius resolved, in consequence, that Danaë should never
marry. To guard against the possibility of such an event, he
imprisoned her in a brazen apartment which he had diligently guarded.
Jupiter had seen and admired the young princess, and he now found
means to visit her by transforming himself into a shower of gold,
which we may take for a poetical manner of saying that he bribed the
guards. When Acrisius discovered that his precautions had been of no
avail, he enclosed Danaë and her infant son in a coffer, which he cast
into the sea. The coffer was carried by the waves to the island of
Seriphus, where a fisherman named Dictys drew it ashore in his net. He
was much surprised at beholding Danaë and the infant Perseus, and
brought them immediately to Polydectes, who reigned in that island.
Polydectes received the strangers kindly, but when Perseus was grown,
he strove to effect his destruction by engaging him in an expedition
against the Gorgons. This adventure has been already related, in the
article on Minerva. It was followed by the rescue of Androm´eda, which
is too remarkable to be omitted.
_Ques._ Who was Androm´eda?
_Ans._ She was the daughter of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia. Her mother,
Cassiopeia, had boasted that she was fairer than Juno and the
Nereides. The offended nymphs complained to Neptune, who sent a
sea-monster to ravage the dominions of Cepheus. The people, in their
distress, had recourse to the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, but the god
declared that the country could not be freed from this calamity,
unless Androm´eda were given up to be devoured by the monster. Cepheus
consented to the sacrifice, and his daughter was chained to a rock by
the sea-shore, where she was abandoned to her fate.
Perseus, returning through the air, from his conquest of the Gorgons,
saw the unhappy maiden and resolved to rescue her. He asked her hand
as his only reward, which Cepheus readily promised.
When the sea-monster appeared, Perseus showed him the head of Medusa,
and changed him into a rock, which was long famous upon that coast.
Phineus, who had been betrothed to Androm´eda, opposed her marriage
with Perseus, and changed the nuptial solemnities into a scene of
discord and bloodshed.
The head of the Gorgon again procured for Perseus an easy victory. He
warned his friends to avert their eyes, and displayed the frightful
trophy, upon which Phineus and his followers were changed into stone,
in the very attitudes in which they fought.
Polydectes, who had persecuted Danaë in the absence of Perseus, was
punished in the same manner. The hero afterwards fulfilled the oracle
by killing his grandfather, whom he did not know, by an accidental
blow of a quoit.
Perseus, Androm´eda, Cepheus, and Cassiopeia were changed, after
death, into the constellations which bear their names.