Published in 1868 as the first story in the collection called _The
Earthly Paradise_. The episode was a favorite with Greek and Latin
writers, and has been used occasionally in modern times. The metre in
this version is the antiquated Rime Royal.
[289] 1. =Arcadia= was a province of the Grecian peninsula.
[290] 14. =Cornel= is a kind of wood of great hardness used for making
bows.
[291] 28. =King Schoenus=; a Boeotian king, the son of Athamas. Most
other versions of the story name Iasius as Atalanta's father.
[292] 62. =Image of the sun=; a statue of Phoebus Apollo, the sun-god.
[293] 63. =The Fleet-foot One=; Mercury (Hermes), the messenger of the
gods.
[294] 79. =Diana=; the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and the sister of
Apollo. She was the goddess of the moon and of the hunt. She was also
the protector of chastity. See Guerber, _Myths of Greece and Rome_,
Chapter VI.
[295] 80. =Lists=; desires.
[296] 177. =Saffron gown=; the orange-yellow dress indicative of the
bride.
[297] 184. =The sea-born one=; Aphrodite (Venus). See page 266.
[298] 206. The =Dryads= were wood-nymphs who were supposed to watch over
vegetation.
[299] 208. =Adonis' bane=; the wild boar. Adonis was a beautiful youth
who was passionately loved by Venus, though he did not return her
affection. He was mortally wounded at a hunt by a wild boar, and died in
the arms of the goddess.
[300] 211. =Argive=; Grecian.
[301] 224. =Must=; the juice of the grape before fermentation.
[302] 353. =Argos=; a city in Argolis, a province in the northeast part
of the Peloponnesian peninsula in Greece.
[303] 373. =Queen Venus.= It was to Venus, the goddess of love, that
unhappy lovers were accustomed to turn for aid.
[304] 391. =Holpen=; the old past participle of the word help.
[305] 516. =Damascus=; the chief city of Syria.
[306] 535. =Saturn= (Cronus or Time) was the father of Jupiter. Under
his rule came the so-called Golden Age of the world.
[307] 671. =Phoenician.= The Phoenicians lived on the eastern shore
of the Mediterranean Sea, and were famous for their commerce and trade.