together. The Graces were three maidens of charming appearance, who
waited upon Venus. No one was so beautiful that the Graces could not
add to her charm and loveliness, and they were ever welcome guests in
every home.
Spenser says,--
"These three on men all gracious gifts bestow
Which deck the body or adorn the mind,
To make them lovely or well-favored show;
As comely carriage, entertainment kind,
Sweet semblance, friendly offices that bind,
And all the complements of courtesy;
They teach us how to each degree and kind
We should ourselves demean, to low, to high,
To friends, to foes; which skill men call civility."
The Fates also numbered three. These severe goddesses could reveal the
future to men and gods and no one could escape their decrees. Even
Jupiter must obey the Fates, daughters of stern necessity. The decrees
of the gods and the Fates were generally revealed to men by
priestesses called sibyls. These wise women lived in caves. Their
prophecies, or oracles, as they were called, were believed in and
greatly respected by the Greeks and Romans, who often went to the
sibyls for advice and assistance.
[Illustration: The Fates.
Paul Thumann (_modern_).]
The Furies were deities who searched out all wicked people and
punished them for their crimes, pursuing them with whips and snakes.
The Furies were really friends to man, because they wished him to
repent of his guilty deeds, live a better and truer life, and do good
and not evil in the world.
The nine Muses, those gracious daughters of Jupiter and Memory, sang
their songs and joined in a graceful dance on Mount Parnassus. Apollo,
god of poesy and song, was their teacher, and from him they learned
how to inspire artists, poets, and musicians with thoughts of
harmonies more beautiful than ordinary mortals know.
The Hours attended Apollo, as he drove his flaming chariot through the
heavens.
"The rosy Hours, with agile grace, attend
Apollo, when, as god of the sun, he makes
His joyful journey through the heavens."
Another group of four graceful beings Keats thus describes in his
poem, "Endymion,"--
"An ethereal band
Are visible above: The Seasons four,--
Green-kirtled Spring, flush Summer, golden store
In Autumn's sickle, Winter's frosty hoar."
GIVE.
See the rivers flowing
Downwards to the sea,
Pouring all their treasures
Bountiful and free:
Yet to help their giving
Hidden springs arise;
Or, if need be, showers
Feed them from the skies!
Watch the princely flowers
Their rich fragrance spread,
Load the air with perfumes,
From their beauty shed:
Yet their lavish spending
Leaves them not in dearth,
With fresh life replenished
By their mother earth!
Give thy heart's best treasures,--
From fair Nature learn;
Give thy love, and ask not,
Wait not a return!
And the more thou spendest
From thy little store,
With a double bounty
God will give thee more.
--Adelaide Anne Procter.
[Illustration: Apollo in his Chariot.
Raphael (1483-1520).]
APOLLO AND THE MUSES.
When Apollo's daily task is done, he removes the dazzling rays from
his head and places there the wreath of laurel which he much prefers.
Then he goes to Parnassus, the beautiful mountain in Greece, where the
Muses dwell. The Muses are nine maidens, the wonderful daughters of
Memory, to each of whom Apollo has given some department of music or
poetry. All musicians and poets are said to ask Apollo and the Muses
for aid and inspiration.
To Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, Homer and Vergil prayed when
they sang of war and heroes.
Astronomers appeal to Urania, who presides over the stars--their song
makes the music of the spheres; and those who write history must be
aided by Clio.
To Thalia and Melpomene are given the realms of comic and tragic
poetry.
Erato, who presides over the poems of love, generally accompanies the
youngest and gayest of the Muses, Terpsichore. The chief pleasure and
delight of Terpsichore is in the graceful movements of the dance. When
Euterpe, the muse of lyric poetry, strikes her golden lyre, these
three, with their music, song, and dance, create exquisite beauty and
harmony, and they are much beloved by their sister Muses and by
mortals.
The wisest and most dignified of all the Muses is Polyhymnia, who
presides over sacred music. She it is who inspires the hymns of praise
to the Almighty Ruler of the world.
Apollo instructs these maidens in the arts of poetry and music, and
then they unite in a merry dance; for they are graceful beings and
have strong, beautiful bodies. The Greeks believed in the culture of
the body,--the temple of the soul,--and so Apollo, god of the sun, of
poetry and music, was also their ideal of physical perfection.
THE DESCENT OF THE MUSES.
Nine sisters, beautiful in form and face,
Came from their convent on the shining heights
Of Pierus, the mountain of delights,
To dwell among the people at its base.
Then seemed the world to change. All time and space,
Splendor of cloudless days and starry nights,
And men and manners, and all sounds and sights,
Had a new meaning, a diviner grace.
Proud were these sisters, but were not too proud
To teach in schools of little country towns
Science and song, and all the arts that please;
So that while housewives span, and farmers plowed,
Their comely daughters, clad in homespun gowns
Learned the sweet songs of the Pierides.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
[Illustration: Apollo and the Muses.
Giulio Romano (1492-1546).]
[Illustration: Cupid with his Bow.
V. Tojetti (_modern_).]
APOLLO AND DAPHNE.
One day Apollo found Cupid, the mischievous little god of love,
playing with his arrows, and he said,--"Why are you playing with my
arrows? You are only a boy and should not use manly weapons!" Cupid
did not like to be called a child, and took from his own quiver two
tiny arrows, one tipped with lead, one with gold. The golden arrow he
shot into the heart of Apollo; the leaden, into the heart of a young
and graceful wood nymph, Daphne.
When Apollo saw Daphne, the golden arrow in his heart made him love
her, and he pursued her; but the heavy arrow of dull lead in her heart
made her dislike him, and she fled.
Soon Daphne found that she could not run so fast as Apollo, and she
called upon her father, the river god, to save her. He heard her cry
and changed her into a beautiful laurel tree. When Apollo came up he
saw that her body was growing rough with the bark, her slender feet
were changing into the roots, and her long wavy hair was turning into
the shiny green leaves.
The sun god grieved at this change, but said: "This tree shall be
sacred to poets and musicians and artists. I shall wear a wreath of
laurel, and all who follow the arts shall be crowned with the laurel
wreath."
[Illustration: Daphne.
Rylands (_modern_).]
FORGET-ME-NOT.
When to the flowers so beautiful
The Father gave a name,
Back came a little blue-eyed one,--
All timidly it came.
And standing at the Father's feet
And gazing on His face,
It said, in meek and timid voice,
Yet with a gentle grace:
"Dear Lord, the name Thou gavest me,
Alas, I have forgot."
The Father kindly looked on her
And said, "Forget-me-not."
[Illustration: Forget-me-not.
G. Schrœdter (_modern_).
Copyright, 1894, by Photographische Gesellschaft.]
[Illustration: Clytie.
_British Museum._]
CLYTIE.
Clytie was a beautiful sea nymph who lived in a wonderful palace under
the sea. Her dress was of pale green sea moss, and she wore ornaments
of delicate pink coral in her sunny curls. Her carriage was an
exquisite shell of many brilliant hues, which glittered in the
sunlight, and gold fish were her strange and beautiful horses.
One day, when she was driving over the surface of the sea, she saw the
glorious god Apollo in his golden chariot. Day after day she watched
him journey through the deep blue sky, and hoped he would see her.
Alas! he never noticed the lonely sea maid, so far below.
At last she left her chariot, and all day long watched him from the
shore. When the sun had gone and she started to return to her home
under the waves, she could not move. Her feet had become fastened to
the soil and her form began to change into the sunflower. Her green
dress became the stalk and leaves, and her golden hair changed into
the yellow petals.
But the flower still loves the sun. In the morning it looks toward the
east and rejoices when the sun appears above the horizon, following
his course and slowly turning its face toward the west.
So this flower is the emblem of constancy. Poets often speak of the
great love and faithfulness of Clytie, and artists paint her picture
or sculpture her form.
In the art galleries may be found a lovely bust of a young girl. The
sculptor is unknown, but the bust is supposed to be one of Clytie, for
the shoulders seem to rise from the leaves of the sunflower.
[Illustration: Daisies.
A. Cabanel (1823-1889).]
THE DAISY.
There is a flower, a little flower,
With silver crest and golden eye,
That welcomes every changing hour,
And weathers every sky.
The prouder beauties of the field
In gay but quick succession shine;
Race after race their honors yield,
They flourish and decline.
But this small flower, to Nature dear,
While moons and stars their courses run,
Enwreathes the circle of the year,
Companion of the sun.
It smiles upon the lap of May,
To sultry August spreads its charm,
Lights pale October on his way,
And twines December's arm.
The purple heath and golden broom
On moory mountains catch the gale;
O'er lawns the lily sheds perfume,
The violet in the vale.
But this bold floweret climbs the hill,
Hides in the forest, haunts the glen,
Plays on the margin of the rill,
Peeps round the fox's den.
Within the garden's cultured round
It shares the sweet carnation's bed;
And blooms on consecrated ground
In honor of the dead.
The lambkin crops its crimson gem;
The wild bee murmurs on its breast;
The blue fly bends its pensile stem
Light o'er the skylark's nest.
'Tis Flora's page; in every place,
In every season, fresh and fair,
It opens with perennial grace,
And blossoms everywhere.
On waste and woodland, rock and plain,
Its humble buds unheeded rise:
The rose has but a summer reign;
The daisy never dies!
--James Montgomery.
[Illustration: Niobe and Child.
_Uffizi Gallery, Florence._]
NIOBE.
Apollo and Diana are both hunters and carry bows and arrows. One day
Niobe, queen of Thebes, boasted that she had more children than
Latona, the mother of Apollo and Diana, and that her children were
more beautiful.
Latona called upon her children to punish Niobe for her pride, and
they shot their arrows at the children of the boasting Niobe. Soon all
were slain, although their mother, in her grief, tried to protect
those she loved so well. Apollo killed the seven handsome sons, and
Diana aimed her arrows at the seven lovely daughters.
Niobe grieved so over the loss of her dear children that she turned
into stone, but her tears still continued to flow.
There is a room in a famous gallery in Florence, Italy, called the
Niobe room, because here are placed the famous statues of Niobe and
her fourteen children, trying, in vain, to escape the fatal arrows of
the divine archers.
Some people believe that this story means that the rays of the sun and
moon are harmful. But others say that it only shows that Apollo, the
sun, battles with Niobe and her children, who are the powers of
winter. When his rays have overcome them, Niobe dissolves in tears,
and the cold snows melt and disappear.
[Illustration: Diana as Huntress.
Hamo Thornycroft (_modern_).]
APOLLO.
Lord of the unerring bow,
The God of life and poesy and light--
The sun in human limbs arrayed, and brow
All radiant from his triumph in the fight.
The shaft has just been shot--the arrow bright
With an immortal's vengeance; in his eye
And nostril, beautiful disdain and might
And majesty flash their full lightnings by,
Developing in that one glance the Deity.
--George Gordon Byron.
[Illustration: Apollo Belvedere.
_Vatican, Rome._]
JUPITER.
Jupiter, or Jove, as he is sometimes called, king of the gods, lives
in high Olympus, a mountain in Greece. All the gods obey him, except
the Fates, who are more powerful than the gods.
Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, Diana, Mars, Minerva, Pluto, Ceres, Mercury,
Venus, Neptune, and Vesta are the twelve gods whose home is on Mount
Olympus. Vulcan prefers his home in Mount Etna, and is generally busy
at work there. Pluto, also, is seldom away from his underground home.
In the palace of Jupiter, all the questions in which the gods are
interested are discussed and settled. Ceres came hither to ask Jupiter
to restore her dear Persephone. Cupid brought Psyche to Olympus after
their many trials on earth. Minerva and Neptune had their celebrated
contest for the honor of naming Athens, in the presence of these gods.
Juno, the wife of Jupiter, sits at his left. She wears a crown, and
holds the royal scepter; for she is queen of gods and men. Peacocks
with many-colored feathers draw her chariot, and Iris, with her
rainbow wings, is Juno's messenger.
Jupiter holds the terrible thunderbolts in his powerful right hand,
and on his left hand stands the goddess Victory. The eagle, king of
birds, is sacred to Jove.
He has dominion over the sky, the earth, and the sea. As the clouds
are continually changing their shape, now piling up like great white
mountains, now looking like birds or fishes, Jupiter is said to change
his form to an eagle, a swan, a cloud, or a shower of gold. He
sometimes visits earth in mortal form, to see if men are just and
kind. When he finds them cruel or wicked, he punishes them; but he
rejoices to find those who are generous, just, and helpful.
[Illustration: Jove in his Chariot.
Raphael.]
ABOU BEN ADHEM.
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?" The vision raised its head,
And, with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel.--Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellowmen."
The angel wrote and vanished. The next night
It came again, with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,--
And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest!
--Leigh Hunt.
NEPTUNE.
Jupiter gave to Neptune, his brother, dominion over the sea. He rides
over the placid waves in his chariot, made of shells of many colors,
gleaming in the sunlight. If he wishes a storm, he strikes upon the
waves with his trident, and calls the winds, and the huge billows
threaten the clouds. Tritons with wreathed horns follow his chariot,
and naiads as graceful as the waves sport in the opaline waters.
The palaces of the water gods and nymphs are more wonderful than those
on earth. Shells, glistening sand, corals, and sea mosses lend beauty
of color and form. The music of the waves lulls these beings to sleep.
They ride upon a dolphin's back, or are borne onward by the
waves,--free, happy, frolicking water sprites, dashing the spray and
diving in graceful play through the deep waves of the sea.
Neptune is strong and calm. He is represented in art as bearing the
trident, and surrounded by his attendants and the inhabitants of the
sea. There is a celebrated fountain in Rome adorned with a fine statue
of Neptune. It is said that a visitor who throws a coin into its
waters will return to that famous city.
Sailors used to take offerings to the temples of Neptune, so that he
would give them prosperous voyages.
[Illustration: Neptune.
Adam (_Louvre, Paris_).]
NEPTUNE.
King of the stormy sea!
Brother of Jove, and coinheritor
Of elements! Eternally before
Thee the waves awful bow. Fast, stubborn rock,
At thy feared trident shrinking, doth unlock
Its deep foundations, hissing into foam.
All mountain rivers lost, in the wide home
Of thy capacious bosom ever flow.
Thou frownest, and old Æolus, thy foe,
Skulks to his cavern, 'mid the gruff complaint
Of all his rebel tempests. Dark clouds faint
When, from thy diadem, a silver gleam
Slants over blue dominion. Thy bright team
Gulfs in the morning light, and scuds along
To bring thee nearer to that golden song
Apollo singeth, while his chariot
Waits at the doors of heaven. Thou art not
For scenes like this: an empire stern hast thou
And it hath furrowed that large front: yet now,
As newly come of heaven, dost thou sit
To blend and interknit
Subduéd majesty with this glad time.
O shell-born king sublime!
We lay our hearts before thee evermore--
We sing, and we adore!
--John Keats.
VULCAN.
Vulcan, the son of Jupiter and Juno, is the blacksmith of the gods.
His forges are in the caverns of volcanic mountains, where the fires
are bright and ready to heat the gold, silver, and iron, of which he
has made many wonderful things.
Vulcan built the magnificent palaces of the gods on Mount Olympus,
Juno's golden throne, and the chariot of Apollo. The delicate girdle
of Venus, the wife of Vulcan, was also made in his workshop. This was
a magic girdle; for whoever wore it inspired love in all she met, and
sometimes the goddesses would beg Venus to lend it to them.
The armor of Mars, god of war, and the shield of Minerva, goddess of
wisdom, were the work of Vulcan. Sometimes he even manufactured armor
for mortals, and Homer tells us of the marvelous shield he wrought for
Achilles, the bravest of the Greeks. The most powerful weapons that
Vulcan made at his forges were the dread thunderbolts of Jove and the
arrows of mischievous Cupid, the winged god of love.
Vulcan is represented as rather short and thickset, lame in one foot,
with a cap on his curly head, and a hammer in his hand. His workmen
are the Cyclops, powerful giants, who excel in all work in metals.
[Illustration: Blossoms.
Gamba le Preydour (_modern_).]
WORK.
Sweet wind, fair wind, where have you been?
"I've been sweeping the cobwebs out of the sky;
I've been grinding a grist in the mill hard by;
I've been laughing at work while others sigh;
Let those laugh who win!"
Sweet rain, soft rain, what are you doing?
"I'm urging the corn to fill out its cells;
I'm helping the lily to fashion its bells;
I'm swelling the torrent and brimming the wells:
Is that worth pursuing?"
Redbreast, redbreast, what have you done?
"I've been watching the nest where my fledgelings lie;
I've sung them to sleep with a lullaby;
By and by I shall teach them to fly,
Up and away, every one!"
Honeybee, honeybee, where are you going?
"To fill my basket with precious pelf;
To toil for my neighbor as well as myself;
To find out the sweetest flower that grows,
Be it a thistle or be it a rose--
A secret worth the knowing!"
Wind and rain fulfilling His word!
Tell me, was ever a legend heard
Where the wind, commanded to blow, deferred;
Or the rain, that was bidden to fall, demurred?
--Mary N. Prescott.
VENUS.
Venus is the goddess of beauty, born of the ocean spray. When the
tritons and nymphs who live in the sea beheld her, they loved her for
her beauty, and the waves and gentle breezes bore her to Olympus.
Venus is attended by three maidens called the Graces, who give to the
beauty of the goddess a charm which makes her lovely to all.
When she came to Olympus, all the gods loved her, but she proudly
rejected the eager suitors. When Jupiter, the king of the gods, fared
no better than the rest, he declared that she should be punished for
her pride and must marry Vulcan, the lame blacksmith god who lived in
the volcano, Mount Etna. Vulcan was delighted with her grace and
beauty, and made for her a magic girdle, and the wonderful arrows of
Cupid.
Joy and mirth always attend the goddess of beauty. Cupid, her son, the
roguish god of love, is her constant companion, and he sends his
arrows wherever she directs. Venus drives in a chariot drawn by
graceful swans. Cooing doves are her favorite birds, and roses and
myrtle are sacred to her.
[Illustration: Venus de Milo.
_Louvre, Paris._]
At the wedding of Thetis, a water nymph, all the gods and goddesses
except Eris were seated at the banquet. Eris is the goddess of
discord, and she had not been invited, as she always causes people to
quarrel and so is loved by no one. She was angry at this slight, and,
coming to the door of the banquet hall, she threw a golden apple upon
the table.
On the apple was written, "To the fairest." Eris knew that this would
be an apple of discord, because all the nymphs and goddesses were
fair, and each would claim to be fairer than the others.
After much discussion, the guests agreed that Juno, Minerva, and Venus
were fairer than all the others. These three at last decided to go to
Paris and let him judge between them. Paris was a shepherd of Mount
Ida, in Troy, and before him the lovely trio appeared in all their
wonderful beauty. He held the apple long in his hand, for all were so
fair that it was very difficult to decide. At last he gave the apple
to Venus, and thus decided that she was fairest of all the goddesses.
This decision is called the "Judgment of Paris."
Artists have often tried to paint their ideals of Venus. The most
beautiful statues in the world, ideals of womanly beauty, are those of
this goddess. They are in the galleries of the Old World. The one said
to be the most lovely is the Venus de Milo, in the gallery of the
Louvre, Paris.
[Illustration: A Star.]
HER FACE.
Such a starved bank of moss
Till, that May morn,
Blue ran the flash across:
Violets were born!
Sky--what a scowl of cloud
Till, near and far,
Ray on ray split the shroud:
Splendid, a star!
World--how it walled about
Life with disgrace,
Till God's own smile came out:
That was thy face!
--Robert Browning.
[Illustration: Psyche.
Kray (_modern_).]
CUPID AND PSYCHE.
There once lived a maid, called Psyche, who was so very beautiful that
the people who knew her thought her more lovely than Venus. So they
worshiped her, and refused to place garlands and offerings upon the
shrines of the goddess.
Desiring to punish the people for their impiety, Venus sent Cupid to
destroy the innocent Psyche. Although Cupid had used his weapons upon
others, he himself had never loved. But when he saw Psyche, he started
in surprise at her wonderful youthful beauty, and one of his own
arrows pricked his heart. So he loved her, and, instead of obeying his
mother's command, he carried her away to his home on a distant
mountain.
Here she lived in a palace of gleaming marble, surrounded by gardens
wherein were fragrant flowers and sparkling fountains. But one thing
troubled her. Cupid had told her that he could visit her only during
the night, and so she had never seen his face.
One night Psyche yielded to her curiosity, and held a lamp over him
while he slept. Dear Love was so beautiful as he lay there asleep,
that she tipped the lamp in her surprise, and a drop of oil fell upon
his rounded arm. Then he awoke and blamed Psyche for her curiosity and
lack of confidence, and, spreading his wings, flew far away to his
home with the gods. Poor Psyche wept bitterly, but Cupid did not
return.
Psyche means the soul, and this story teaches that love comes unsought
and unseen to the soul which is faithful and worthy; but if doubt and
curiosity possess the soul, love departs.
The Greeks chose the butterfly as the best emblem of the soul of man,
because it emerges from the chrysalis state into which the caterpillar
entered more beautiful than before. Psyche, the soul, is thus shown in
the works of art with the wings of a butterfly, or holding one of the
exquisite creatures in her hand.
LOVE.
The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.
--Francis Bourdillon.
[Illustration: Psyche and Charon.
E. Neide (_modern_).]
PSYCHE AND VENUS.