THE GODS OF EARTH[41]
[Illustration: FIG. 29. DEMETER OF KNIDOS]
=39. Conception of the World.= The Greek poets believed the earth to
be flat and circular. In their opinion their own country occupied the
middle of it, and the central point was either Mount Olympus, the abode
of the gods, or Delphi, famous for its oracle. The circular disk of the
earth was crossed from west to east and divided into two equal parts
by the _Sea_, as they called the Mediterranean and its continuation
the Euxine, the only seas with which they were acquainted. Around the
earth flowed _River_ _Ocean_, from south to north on the western side,
in a contrary direction on the eastern. It flowed in a steady, equable
current, unvexed by storm or tempest. The sea and all the rivers on
earth received their waters from it.
The northern portion of the earth was inhabited by the Hyperboreans,
dwelling in bliss and everlasting spring beyond the mountains whose
caverns sent forth the piercing blasts of the north wind. Their country
was inaccessible by land or sea. They lived exempt from disease or old
age, from toils and warfare. "I come" sings one of them,[42]--
I come from a land in the sun-bright deep,
Where golden gardens glow,
Where the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep,
Their conch-shells never blow.
[Illustration: FIG. 30. CERES]
On the south side of the earth, close to the stream of Ocean, dwelt
the Æthiopians, whom the gods held in such favor that they left at
times the Olympian abodes to partake of the Æthiopian sacrifices and
banquets. On the western margin of the earth, by the stream of Ocean,
lay the Elysian Plain, where certain mortals enjoyed an immortality of
bliss.
The Dawn, the Sun, and the Moon were supposed to rise out of Ocean on
the eastern side and to drive through the air, giving light to gods and
men. The stars, also, except those forming the Wain or Bear and others
near them, rose out of and sank into the stream of Ocean. There the
sun-god embarked in a winged boat, which conveyed him by the northern
part of the earth back to his place of rising in the east.
=40. Ceres (Demeter)=, the goddess of sowing and reaping, of harvest
festivals, and of agriculture in general, was sister of Jupiter and
daughter of Cronus and Rhea. She is connected through her daughter
Proserpine, queen of Hades, with the holy ceremonies and rites of
death and of the lower world. Of the institutions founded or favored
by her the most important were the mysteries celebrated at Eleusis,
concerning which we know that, in the presence of individuals initiated
in the secret ritual and perhaps with their coöperation, scenes were
enacted which represented the alternation of death and life in nature
and, apparently, forecast the resurrection and immortality of man.
Sacred to Ceres and to Proserpine were golden sheaves of corn and
soporific poppies; while, among animals, cows, sheep, and pigs were
acceptable to them.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. DIONYSUS AND THE VINE]
=41. Gæa (Ge)=, the Mother Earth, wife of Uranus, belongs to the older
order of gods; so also, another goddess of the earth, _Rhea_, the wife
of Cronus and mother of Jupiter. In Phrygia, Rhea became identified
with _Cybele_, whose worship, as mother of the gods, was at a later
period introduced into Rome. The Greek mother, Rhea, was attended by
the Curetes; the Phrygian mother by the Corybantes, who celebrated her
orgies with enthusiastic din of trumpets, drums, and cymbals. Cybele
presided over mountain fastnesses and fortified places.
=42. Bacchus (Dionysus)=, the god of wine, was the son of Jupiter and
Semele, daughter of Cadmus of Thebes. He was especially the god of
animal life and vegetation. He represented not only the intoxicating
power of wine but its social and beneficent influences, and was
looked upon as a promoter of civilization, a lawgiver, and a lover
of peace. His forehead was crowned with vine leaves or ivy. He rode
upon the tiger, the panther, or the lynx, or was drawn by them in a
car. His worshipers were Bacchanals, or Bacchantes. He was attended by
Satyrs and Sileni and by women called Mænads, who, as they danced and
sang, waved in the air the _thyrsus_, a staff entwined with ivy and
surmounted by a pine cone. Ordinarily, as in the following verses by
Dryden, the convivial qualities of the god overshadow all the rest:
The praise of Bacchus then the sweet musician sung,
Of Bacchus ever fair, and ever young.
The jolly god in triumph comes;
Sound the trumpets, beat the drums;
Flushed with a purple grace
He shows his honest face:
Now give the hautboys breath; he comes, he comes.
Bacchus, ever fair and young,
Drinking joys did first ordain;
Bacchus' blessings are a treasure,
Drinking is the soldier's pleasure;
Rich the treasure,
Sweet the pleasure,
Sweet is pleasure after pain.[43]
[Illustration: FIG. 32. PAN THE HUNTER]
=43. The Lesser Divinities of Earth= were:
1. _Pan_, son of Mercury and a wood-nymph or Dryad. He was the god
of woods and fields, of flocks and shepherds. He dwelt in caves,
wandered on the mountains and in valleys, amused himself with the
chase, led the dances of the Dryads, and made love to them. But his
suit was frequently of no avail, for though good-natured he was not
prepossessing; his hoofs and horns did not enhance his comeliness. He
was fond of music and was himself inventor of the syrinx, or shepherd's
pipe, which he played in a masterly manner. Like other gods who dwelt
in forests, he was dreaded by those whose occupations caused them to
pass through the woods by night; for gloom and loneliness oppress and
appall the mind. Hence sudden unreasonable fright was ascribed to Pan
and called a Panic terror.
2. _The Nymphs._ Pan's partners in the dance, the Dryads, were but one
of several classes of nymphs. There were, beside them, the Oreads,
nymphs of mountains and grottoes; and the Water-Nymphs, who are
mentioned in later sections.
3. _The Satyrs_, deities of the woods and fields. In early art they
appear as bearded creatures with snub noses, goats' ears, and horses'
tails. Later they resemble youths, sometimes with sprouting horns. The
goat-legged satyr is found in Roman poetry.
[Illustration: FIG. 33. A SATYR]
FOOTNOTES:
[41] For references to poetry and works of art, see corresponding
sections in Commentary.
[42] According to Thomas Moore's Song of a Hyperborean.
[43] From Alexander's Feast.