Apollo and King Admetus
There would have been but little trouble between Jupiter and his
stately wife if no one but Minerva ever gave the watchful Juno[8] cause
for jealousy; but other goddesses, and even mortal maidens, found
favor in the eyes of Jupiter, and for their sake he often left her
side. From his throne in the high heavens the ruler of the world saw
not only the goddesses, with their glory of immortal youth, but also
the daughters of men endowed with that same beauty and grace which
the gods themselves had bestowed upon the first woman. Though Juno
"of the snow-white arms" alone enjoyed the title of queen of heaven,
she knew that she had many rivals for the love of Jupiter; and it was
this jealousy of all loveliness in woman that made her ever watchful
and revengeful. Perhaps it was the cause, too, of the very changeable
temper that her husband accused her of possessing.
[Illustration: Apollo Belvedere]
Whoever won the affections of Jupiter was sure to be persecuted by
"cruel Juno's unrelenting hate," as the poet Virgil says; but this
did not hinder the ruler of the gods from leaving very often the marble
halls of Olympus to wander, in some disguise, about the earth. It was
after such an absence that the watchful Juno learned of Jupiter's love
for fair-haired Latona, goddess of dark nights. As this new rival was
not a mortal maiden who could be punished with death, the wrathful
queen was forced to be content with banishing the goddess forever from
Olympus, and compelling her to live upon the earth. Not satisfied with
this, she decreed that any one who took pity on the unhappy goddess, or
gave her any help, would incur the lasting displeasure of Juno.
For days and nights Latona wandered, not daring to ask for food or
shelter, since all men knew of Juno's decree. She slept at night in
some spot where the trees offered protection from wind and rain,
and her only food was the scanty store that she could gather by the
way--berries, nuts, wild honey, and sometimes bits of bread dropped
by children in their play. One day, being very thirsty, she stopped
beside a clear pool to drink; but some reapers who were passing by saw
her, and hoping to gain favor with Juno they stepped into the pool and
stirred up the water into such muddiness that poor Latona could not
drink. Angered by such uncalled-for cruelty, the goddess prayed to
Jupiter that these wicked men might never leave the spot where they
were standing. Jupiter from his throne in the high heavens heard her
prayer, and in answer he turned the reapers into ugly green frogs and
bade them stay forever in the muddy pool. And ever afterward when men
came upon slimy ponds, where rank weeds grew and the water oozed from
muddy banks, there they found the blinking frogs--even as Jupiter had
willed.
After wandering some miles further Latona came at last to the seashore
and here she begged Neptune, "the god who shakes the shores," to come
to her aid, for she knew that Juno's power did not extend to the ruler
of the sea. Seeing her distress, and pitying the poor persecuted
goddess, Neptune sent her a dolphin, who took her on his back and swam
with her to the floating island of Delos, which the kindly sea-god had
caused to appear out of the depth of the ocean. Here Latona landed,
and was for a time content; but the rocking of the island soon grew
unbearable, and she begged the aid of Neptune a second time. He
obligingly chained the island to the bottom of the Ægean Sea, and
Latona had no further cause for complaint. On this island were born her
two children: Apollo, god of the sun, and Diana, goddess of the moon.
When the children were grown, Jupiter took them to Olympus, though not
without much protest from the ever-jealous Juno. The young Apollo's
beauty and his skill in music gained him great favor among the gods,
and found him worshipers in every town and city throughout the land of
Greece. So conscious of his power did Apollo become, that he sometimes
dared to assert his authority, unmindful of the will of Jupiter; and on
one occasion he so angered his divine parent that he was banished to
the earth, and made to serve Admetus, king of Thessaly.
In spite of his disgrace, Apollo managed to cheer his lonely hours of
labor with his music; and as his work was no more difficult than to
care for the king's sheep, he had abundant leisure to play upon his
lyre while his flocks grazed on the sunny hillsides. As soon as he
touched the strings, all the wild things in the forest crept out to
hear. The fox came slinking from his hole among the rocks, and the
timid deer drew close to the player and stayed beside him, listening.
The strains of the wonderful music were carried across the meadows,
and the mowers stopped their work, wondering where the player might
be. One day they brought word to the king that some god must be among
them, for no mortal could produce such music as they had heard. So
Admetus sent for the shepherd, and when the youth stood before him, he
marveled at his great beauty, and still more at the golden lyre that
Apollo held in his hand. Then when the young musician, in obedience to
the king's command, began to play, all those who heard him were filled
with wonder, and felt sure that a god had come to dwell among them. But
Admetus asked no questions, only made the youth his head shepherd and
treated him with all kindness.
Though a god, and no true shepherd, Apollo served the king faithfully,
and when, at last, his time of service was over and Jupiter called
him back to Olympus, Apollo, wishing to show some favor in return for
the king's kindness, begged for Admetus the gift of immortality. This
request the wise Jupiter granted, but only on the condition that when
the time came for the king to die, some one could be found to take
his place. Apollo agreed to these terms, and Admetus, knowing the
conditions on which the gift was made, accepted his immortality gladly.
For a time all went well; but the inevitable hour came when the Fates
decreed that Admetus's life was ended, and that he must go the way of
all mortals unless some one would die in his stead. The king was much
beloved by his people; but no one's devotion to his sovereign was great
enough to inspire him to make the needed sacrifice.
Then Alcestis, the beautiful wife of Admetus, learned of the price that
must be paid for her husband's immortality and gladly offered her life
in exchange for the king's. So, in all her young grace and beauty,
she went down into the dark region of Hades, where no sunlight ever
came and where her joyous laughter was forever hushed in the silence
that reigns among the dead. Thus Admetus gained immortality; but his
happiness was too dearly bought, for as the days went by he mourned
more and more for his beautiful young wife, and in his dreams he saw
her walking like a shadow among the grim shapes that move noiselessly
in the silent halls of death. Bitterly he repented of his selfishness
in accepting the sacrifice of her life, and his immortality grew
hateful to him since each day only added to his sorrow. So he prayed to
Apollo to recall his gift, and to give him back his wife Alcestis. It
was not in the power of that god to change a decree of Jupiter's; but
the Ruler of all things looked down from heaven, and, seeing the great
grief and remorse of Admetus, he withdrew the gift that had cost the
king so dear, and sent Hercules to the kingdom of Pluto with commands
to let Alcestis go. Very gladly the god carried this message to the
gloomy realm of Hades, where amid the myriad shadow-shapes he sought
and found Alcestis; and out of the dreadful darkness in which she
walked alone, Hercules led her back to earth again.[9]