ANALYSIS OF MYTHS.
"I shall indeed interpret all that I can, but I cannot
interpret all that I should like."--_Grimm._
[Sidenote: Early theories.]
In attempting an analysis of the foregoing myths, and an explanation
of their origin, it is impossible, in a work of this kind, to do more
than give a very superficial idea of the scientific theories of
various eminent mythologists, who, on this subject, like doctors, are
sure to disagree.
These myths, comprising "the entire intellectual stock of the age to
which they belonged," existed as "floating talk among the people" long
ere they passed into the literature of the nation; and while to us
mythology is merely "an affair of historical or antiquarian study, we
must remember that the interpretation of myths was once a thing full
of vital interest to men whose moral and religious beliefs were deeply
concerned." Received at first with implicit faith, these myths became
a stumbling block as civilization advanced. Cultured man recoiled from
much of the grossness which had appeared quite natural to his
ancestors in a savage state, and made an attempt to find out their
primitive meaning, or an explanation which would satisfy his purer
taste.
With the latter object in view, the sages and writers of old
interpreted all that seemed "silly and senseless" in mythology as
physical allegories,--a system subsequently carried to extremes by
many heathen philosophers in the vain hope of evading Christian
satire.
Learned men have also explained these selfsame myths as historical
facts disguised as metaphors, or as moral allegories, which the choice
of Hercules (p. 218) undoubtedly is. Euhemerus (316 B.C.) was the
pioneer of the former theory, and Bacon an exponent of the latter.
Euhemerus' method was exaggerated by his disciples, who declared Zeus
was merely a king of Crete; his war with the giants, an attempt to
repress a sedition; Danae's shower of gold (p. 240), the money with
which her guards were bribed; Prometheus, a maker of clay images,
"whence it was hyperbolically said he created man out of clay;" and
Atlas, an astronomer, who was therefore spoken of as supporting the
weight of the heavens. This mode of interpretation was carried to such
an extreme that it became ridiculous, and the inevitable reaction took
place. In the course of time, however, the germ of truth it contained
was again brought to light; and very few persons now refuse to believe
that some of the heroic myths have some slight historical basis, the
"silly and senseless" element being classed as accretions similar to
the fabulous tales attached to the indubitably historical name of
Charlemagne. During the seventeenth century, some philosophers,
incited by "the resemblance between biblical narrative and ancient
myths, came to the conclusion that the Bible contained a pure and the
myths a distorted form of an original revelation." But within the past
century new theories have gradually gained ground: for the
philologists have attempted to prove that the myths arose from a
"disease of language;" while the anthropologists, basing their theory
on comparative mythology, declare "it is man, it is human thought and
human language combined, which naturally and necessarily produced the
strange conglomerate of ancient fable."
[Sidenote: Modern theories.]
As these two last-named schools have either successfully confuted or
incorporated the theories of all their predecessors, a brief outline
of their respective beliefs will not be out of place. While philology
compares only the "myths of races which speak languages of the same
family" (as will shortly be demonstrated), anthropology resorts to all
folklore, and seeks for the origin of myths, not in language, which
it considers only as a subordinate cause, but in the "condition of
thought through which all races have passed."
[Sidenote: Anthropological theory.]
The anthropologists, or comparative mythologists, do not deny that
during the moderate allowance of two hundred and fifty thousand years,
which they allot to the human race on earth, the myths may have spread
from a single center, and either by migration, or by slave or wife
stealing, or by other natural or accidental methods, may have
"wandered all around the globe;" but they principally base their
arguments on the fact that just as flint arrowheads are found in all
parts of the world, differing but slightly in form and manufacture, so
the myths of all nations "resemble each other, because they were
formed to meet the same needs, out of the same materials."
They argue that this similarity exists, "not because the people came
from the same stock" (which is the philologist's view), "but because
they passed through the same savage intellectual condition." By
countless examples taken from the folklore of all parts of the earth,
they prove that the savage considers himself akin to beasts (generally
to the one whose image is used as a tribal or family badge or totem),
and "regards even plants, inanimate objects, and the most abstract
phenomena, as persons with human parts and passions." To the savage,
"sun, moon, and stars are persons, but savage persons;" and, as he
believes "many of his own tribe fellows to have the power of assuming
the form of animals," he concedes the same privilege and power to sun,
moon, and stars, etc. This school further prove that all pre-Christian
religions have idols representing beasts, that all mythologies
represent the gods as fond of appearing in animal forms, and declare,
that, although the Greeks were a thoroughly civilized people, we can
still find in their mythology and religion "abundant survivals of
savage manners and savage myths." They claim, that, during the
myth-making age, the ancestors of the Greeks were about on an
intellectual level with the present Australian Bushmen, and that
"everything in civilized mythologies which we regard as irrational,
seems only part of the accepted and rational order of things to the
contemporary savages, and in the past seemed equally rational and
natural to savages concerning whom we have historical information." Of
course it is difficult, not to say impossible, for civilized man to
put himself in the savage's place, and regard things from his point of
view. The nearest approach to primitive intelligence which comes under
our immediate observation is the working of the minds of small
children, who, before they can talk intelligibly, whip the table or
chair against which they have bumped their heads, and later on delight
in weaving the most extraordinary tales. A little four-year-old seized
a book and began to "read a story;" that is to say, to improvise a
very improbable and highly colored tale of a pony. Forced to pause
from lack of breath, she resumed the thread of her narrative with the
words, "Now, this dog;" and, when it was suggested that the story was
about a pony, she emphatically replied, "Well, this pony was a dog,"
and continued. Now, either because she perceived that the
transformation had attracted attention, or to satisfy the childish
inborn taste for the marvelous, in the course of the next few minutes
the pony underwent as many transformations as Proteus, all of which
apparently seemed perfectly natural to her. The anthropologists
explain the tales of the various transformations of Jupiter and his
animal progeny "as in many cases survivals of the totemistic belief in
descent from beasts," while the mythologists explain them as
"allegories of the fruitful union of heaven and earth, of rain and
grain." The former school also declare that the myth of Cupid and
Psyche, which has its parallel in stories found in all parts of the
world, was invented to explain curious marriage customs (for in some
countries it is unlawful for the husband to see his wife's face until
after she has given birth to her first child, and in others a wife may
not speak her husband's name): the latter school interpret the same
myth as a beautiful allegory of the soul and the union of faith and
love.
[Sidenote: Philological theory.]
The philologists' interpretation of myths is not only the most
accredited at the present time, but also the most poetical. We
therefore give a brief synopsis of their theory, together with an
analysis, from their point of view, of the principal myths told at
length in the course of this work. According to this school, "myths
are the result of a disease of language, as the pearl is the result of
a disease of the oyster;" the key to all mythologies lies in language;
and the original names of the gods, "ascertained by comparative
philology, will be found, as a rule, to denote elemental or physical
phenomena," that is, phenomena of the sunshine, the clouds, rain,
winds, fire, etc.
To make their process of reasoning plain, it should be explained, that
as French, Spanish, and Italian are derived from the Latin, even so
Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit have a common source in a much older
language; that, even if Latin were entirely lost, the similarity of
the word "bridge," for instance (_pons_ in Latin), in French (_pont_),
in Spanish (_puente_), and in Italian (_ponte_), would justify the
conclusion that these terms had their origin in a common language, and
that the people who spoke it were familiar with bridges, which they
evidently called by some name phonetically the same.
Further to prove their position, they demonstrate the similarity of
the most common words in all the languages of the same family, showing
(as is the case with the word "father" in the accompanying table) that
they undergo but few changes in sixteen different languages.
Sanskrit, _pitri_.
Zend, _paitar_.
Persian, _pader_.
Erse, _athair_.
Italian, _padre_.
Spanish, _padre_.
French, _père_.
Saxon, _fæder_.
Latin, _pater_.
Greek, pronounced _pätair_.
Gothic, _vatar_.
German, _vater_.
Dutch, _fader_.
Danish, _fader_.
Swedish, _fader_.
English, _father_.
The most learned of all these philologists argues that during the
first or Rhematic period, there existed a tribe in Central Asia which
spoke a monosyllabic language, in which lay the germs of the Turanian,
Aryan, and Semitic forms of speech. This Rhematic period was followed
by the Nomadic or Agglutinative age, when, little by little, the
languages "received once for all that peculiar impress of their
formative system which we still find in all the dialects and national
idioms comprised under the name of Aryan or Semitic;" that is to say,
in the Hindoo, Persian, Greek, Roman, Celt, Slav, and Teutonic
languages, and in some three thousand kindred dialects.
After the Agglutinative period, and previous to the National era and
"the appearance of the first traces of literature," he places "a
period represented everywhere by the same characteristic features,
called the Mythological or Mythopoeic age."
It was during this period that the main part of the vast fund of
mythic lore is supposed to have crystallized; for primitive man,
knowing nothing whatever of physical laws, cause and effect, and the
"necessary regularity of things," yet seeking an explanation of the
natural phenomena, described them in the only way possible to him, and
attributed to all inanimate objects his own sentiments and passions,
fancying them influenced by the same things, in the same way. This
tendency to personify or animate everything is universal among
savages, who are nothing but men in the primitive state; and "in early
philosophy throughout the world, the sun, moon, and stars are alive,
and, as it were, human in their nature." "Poetry has so far kept alive
in our minds the old animative theory of nature, that it is no great
effort in us to fancy the waterspout a huge giant or a sea monster,
and to depict, in what we call appropriate metaphor, its march across
the field of ocean."
As the names of the Greek gods and heroes have in a great measure been
found to correspond with the Sanskrit names of physical things, we
have been able to read some of the first thoughts of primitive man;
and "the obvious meaning" of many words "did much to preserve vestiges
of plain sense in classic legend, in spite of all the efforts of the
commentators."
According to the philologists, therefore, these thoughts had already
assumed a definite form in the remote epoch when many nations, now
scattered over the face of the earth, occupied the same country, spoke
the same language, and formed but one people. Of course, "as long as
such beings as Heaven or Sun are consciously talked of in mythic
language, the meaning of their legends is open to no question, and the
action ascribed to them will as a rule be natural and appropriate;"
but with the gradual diffusion of this one people to various parts of
the earth, the original meaning of these words was entirely lost, and
they came to be looked upon eventually simply as the names of deities
or heroes--very much in the way that the word "good-by" has long
survived its original form as a conscious prayer, "God be with you!"
and the word "ostracism" has lost all connection with an oyster shell.
The primitive meaning of a myth died away with the original meaning of
a word; and it is because "the Greek had forgotten that Zeus (Jupiter)
meant 'the bright sky,' that he could make him king" over a company of
manlike deities on Olympus.
We can best explain how the many anomalies occur, and how the myths
got so tangled up together that now it is almost impossible to
disentangle them and trace them back to their original meanings, by
comparing their descent through the ages to the course of a snowball,
which, rolling down a mountain side, gathers to itself snow, earth,
rocks, etc., until, in the vast agglomeration of kindred and foreign
substances, the original nucleus is entirely lost to sight.
The fact that there are many different myths to explain the same
phenomenon can readily be accounted for by the old saying,
"circumstances alter cases." Thus the heat of the sun, for example, so
beneficial at certain times, may prove baleful and injurious at
others.
The philologists, who believe that all myths (except the imitative
myths, of which the tale of Berenice is a fair example) were
originally nature myths, have divided them into a few large classes,
which include the myths of the sky, the sun, dawn, daylight, night,
moon, earth, sea, clouds, fire, wind, and finally those of the
underworld and of the demons of drought and darkness.
SKY MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Uranus.]
Taking them in the order in which they are presented in this work, we
find among the myths of the sky, Uranus, whose name, like that of the
old Hindoo god Varuna, is derived from the Sanskrit root _var_ ("to
veil, conceal, or cover"). This god was therefore a personification of
the heavens, which are spread out like a veil, and cover all the
earth; and we are further told that he hurled the thunder and
lightning, his Cyclop children, down from his abode into the abyss
called Tartarus.
[Sidenote: Jupiter.]
Zeus (or Jupiter), whose name is the same as the Hindoo Dyaus Pitar,
the god and personification of the bright sky or the heavens, has
likewise been traced to the Sanskrit root _div_ or _dyu_, meaning "to
shine;" and there is also a noun _dyu_ in that language which means
either "sky" or "day." In early times the name was applied to the one
God, and was therefore "retained by the Greeks and all other kindred
people to express all they felt toward God;" but as the word also
meant the visible sky, with its ever-changing aspect, some of the
phrases used to describe it came, in the course of time, to denote
vile and fickle actions, and apparently inconsistent behavior.
[Sidenote: Juno.]
The name of Hera (or Juno), the heavenly light, and therefore the
complement and consort of the sky, is supposed to be derived from the
Sanskrit _soar_ ("the bright sky") and _surya_ ("the sun"); and all
the manifold changes which at first merely denoted the varying
atmosphere, by being personified, gradually gave the impression of the
jealous, capricious, vengeful person whom poets and writers have taken
pleasure in depicting ever since.
[Sidenote: Argus.]
Another personification of the sky, this time under the nocturnal and
starry aspect, is Argus, whose many bright eyes never closed all at
once, but kept constant watch over the moon (Io)--confided to his care
by the heavenly light (Juno)--until at last their beams were quenched
by the wind and rain (Mercury).
SUN AND DAWN MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Europa.]
The myths of the sun, from which it is almost impossible to separate
those of the dawn, are probably more numerous than any others, and
have some main features of resemblance in all cases. The first sun
myth mentioned in the course of this work is the story of Europa, in
which Europa is "the broad spreading light," born in Phoenicia (the
"purple land of morn"), the child of Telephassa ("she who shines from
afar"), carried away from her eastern birthplace by the sky (Jupiter),
closely pursued by the sun (her brother Cadmus), who, after passing
through many lands, slays a dragon (the usual demon of drought or
darkness), and sets (dies) at last without having ever overtaken the
light of dawn (Europa).
[Sidenote: Apollo.]
Apollo, whose name of Helios is pure Greek for "the sun," had
therefore not lost all physical significance for the Hellenic race,
who worshiped in him the radiant personification of the orb of day.
Another of his appellations, Phoebus ("the lord of life and light"),
still further emphasizes his character; and we are informed that he
was born of the sky (Jupiter) and of the dark night (Leto), in the
"bright land" (Delos), whence he daily starts on his westward journey.
Like all other solar heroes, Apollo is beautiful and golden-haired,
radiant and genial, armed with unerring weapons, which he wields for
good or evil, as the mood sways him. He is forced to labor, against
his will at times, for the benefit of man, as, for instance, when he
serves Admetus and Laomedon; and the cattle, by which he evidently
sets such store, are the fleecy clouds, pasturing "in the infinite
meadows of heaven," whose full udders drop down rain and fatness upon
the land, which are stolen away either by the wind (Mercury), or the
storm demon (Cacus), or the impious companions of Ulysses, who pay for
their sacrilegious temerity with their lives.
[Sidenote: Coronis.]
The sun's affinity for the dawn is depicted by his love for Coronis,
who, however beloved, falls beneath his bright darts; and, as "the
sun was regarded naturally as the restorer of life" after the
blighting influence of winter and disease, so their offspring
(Æsculapius) was naturally supposed to have been endowed with
marvelous curative powers.
The sun, for the same reason, was supposed to wage continual warfare
against cold, sickness, and disease, and to use his bright beams or
arrows against the demon of drought, darkness, or illness (Python),
which in some form or other inevitably appears in every solar myth.
[Sidenote: Daphne.]
In the story of Daphne, a name derived from _Dahana_, the Sanskrit
_dawn_, we find another version of the same story, where the sun,
although enamored with the dawn, causes her death. As some
mythologists have interpreted it, Daphne is a personification of the
morning dew, which vanishes beneath the sun's hot breath, and leaves
no trace of its passage except in the luxuriant verdure.
[Sidenote: Cephalus and Procris.]
In Cephalus and Procris the sun again appears, and his unerring spear
unwittingly causes the death of his beloved Procris "while she lingers
in a thicket (a place where the dew lingers longest)." This
interpretation has been further confirmed by philological researches,
which prove that the name "Procris" originated from a Sanskrit word
meaning "to sprinkle;" and the stories evidently arose from three
simple phrases,--"'the sun loves the dew,' 'the morning loves the
sun,' and 'the sun kills the dew.'"
[Sidenote: Orpheus and Eurydice.]
In the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, while some mythologists see in
him a personification of the winds, which "tear up trees as they
course along, chanting their wild music," others see an emblem of "the
morning, with its short-lived beauty." Eurydice, whose name, like that
of Europa, comes from a Sanskrit word denoting "the broad spreading
flush of the dawn across the sky," is, of course, a personification of
that light, slain by "the serpent of darkness at twilight."
Orpheus is also sometimes considered as the sun, plunging into an
abyss of darkness, in hopes of overtaking the vanishing dawn,
Eurydice; and as the light (Eurydice) reappears opposite the place
where he disappeared, but is no more seen after the sun himself has
fairly risen, "they say that Orpheus has turned around too soon to
look at her, and so was parted from the wife he loved so dearly."
His death in the forest, when his strength had all forsaken him, and
his severed head floated down the stream murmuring "Eurydice," may
also, perchance, have been intended to represent either the last faint
breath of the expiring wind, or the setting of the sun in blood-tinged
clouds.
[Sidenote: Phaeton.]
In the story of Phaeton, whose name means "the bright and shining
one," a description of the golden palace and car of the sun is given
us. We are told that the venturesome young charioteer, by usurping his
father's place, causes incalculable mischief, and, in punishment for
his mismanagement of the solar steeds (the fleecy white clouds), is
hurled from his exalted seat by a thunderbolt launched by the hand of
Jupiter.
"This story arose from phrases which spoke of drought as caused by the
chariot of Helios, when driven by some one who knew not how to guide
his horses; and the smiting of Phaeton by the bolt of Zeus is the
ending of the time of drought by a sudden storm of thunder."
[Sidenote: Endymion.]
The story of Diana and Endymion has also been interpreted as a sun
myth, in which the name "Endymion" refers specially to the dying or
setting sun, who sinks to rest on Mount Latmus ("the land of
forgetfulness," derived from the same root as "Leto"). Müller, the
great authority in philology, tells us, that, in the ancient poetical
and proverbial language of Elis, people said, "Selene loves and
watches Endymion," instead of saying, "It is getting late;" "Selene
embraces Endymion," instead of, "The sun is setting and the moon is
rising;" "Selene kisses Endymion into sleep," instead of, "It is
night."
These expressions remained long after their real meaning had ceased
to be understood; and, as the human mind is generally as anxious for a
reason as ready to invent one, a story arose without any conscious
effort, that Endymion must have been a young lad loved by a young
maiden, Selene.
[Sidenote: Adonis.]
In the story of Adonis some mythologists find another sun myth, in
which Adonis, the short-lived sun, is slain by the boar, the demon of
darkness, and passionately mourned by the dawn or twilight (Venus),
who utterly refuses to exist without him.
[Sidenote: Tantalus.]
In the story of Tantalus (the sun), who in time of drought offers to
Jupiter the flesh of his own offspring, Pelops (the withered fruits),
and in punishment for his impiety is doomed to hunger and torturing
thirst, we have again merely a story founded upon an expression used
in time of drought, when the sun's heat, becoming too intense, burns
up the fruit his fostering rays had produced, and men exclaimed,
"Tantalus is slaying and roasting his own child!"
[Sidenote: Sisyphus.]
In the same way the stone which Sisyphus painfully forced up a steep
ascent, only to see it go rolling down and plunge into a dark abyss
enveloped in a great cloud of dust, has been interpreted to represent
the sun, which is no "sooner pushed up to the zenith, than it rolls
down to the horizon."
[Sidenote: Ixion.]
The name of Ixion has been identified with the Sanskrit word
_Akshanah_, denoting one who is bound to a wheel, and has been proved
akin "to the Greek _axôn_, the Latin _axis_, and the English _axle_."
This whirling wheel of fire is the bright orb of day, to which he was
bound by order of Jupiter (the sky) because he dared insult Juno (the
queen of the blue air); while Dia, his wife, is the dawn, the
counterpart of Europa, Coronis, Daphne, Procris, Eurydice, and Venus,
in the foregoing illustrations.
[Sidenote: Hercules.]
One of the greatest of all the solar heroes is doubtless the demigod
Hercules, born at Argos (a word signifying "brightness") from the sky
(Jupiter) and the dawn (Alcmene), who, in early infancy, throttles
the serpents of darkness, and who, with untiring strength and
patience, plods through life, never resting, and always on his journey
performing twelve great tasks, interpreted to represent either the
twelve signs of the Zodiac, or the twelve months of the solar year, or
the twelve hours of daylight.
[Sidenote: Iole.]
Like Apollo and Cadmus, Hercules is forced to labor for mankind
against his will. We see him early in life united to Megara, and, like
Tantalus, slaying his own offspring in a sudden fit of madness. He
loves and is soon forced to leave Iole, the violet-colored clouds. He
performs great deeds, slays innumerable demons of drought and darkness
on his way, and visits the enchanted land of the Hesperides,--a symbol
of the western sky and clouds at sunset.
[Sidenote: Deianeira.]
The main part of his life is spent with Deianeira ("the destroying
spouse"), a personification of the daylight; but toward the end of his
career he again encounters Iole, now the beautiful twilight. It is
then that Deianeira (the daylight), jealous of her rival's charms,
sends him the bloody Nessus robe, which he has no sooner donned, than
he tears it from his bleeding limbs, ascends the burning pile, and
ends his career in one grand blaze,--the emblem of the sun setting in
a framework of flaming crimson clouds.
Like all solar heroes, he too has unerring poisoned weapons ("the word
_ios_, 'a spear,' is the same in sound as the word _ios_, 'poison'"),
of which he is shorn only at death.
[Sidenote: Perseus.]
Perseus also belongs to this category of myths. Danae, his mother,
either the earth (_dano_ means "burnt earth") or the dawn, a daughter
of Acrisius (darkness), is born in Argos (brightness). Loved by
Jupiter, the all-embracing sky, she gives birth to the golden-haired
Perseus, a personification of the radiant orb of day; and he, like
many another solar hero, is cast adrift immediately after his birth,
owing to an ominous prophecy that he will slay the darkness from which
he originally sprang.
As soon as Perseus attains manhood, he is forced to journey against
his will into the distant land of the mists (the Grææ), and conquer
the terrible Medusa, "the starlit night, solemn in its beauty, but
doomed to die when the sun rises." He accomplishes this by means of
his irresistible sword, the piercing rays of the sun, and then passes
on to encounter the monster of drought, and to marry Andromeda,
another personification of the dawn, the offspring of Celeus and
Cassiopeia, who also represent night and darkness.
In company with Andromeda, Perseus, whose name also signifies "the
destroyer," revisits his native land, and fulfills the prophecy by
slaying Acrisius (the darkness), whence he originally sprang.
[Sidenote: Theseus.]
In the Athenian solar myth, Theseus is the sun, born of Ægeus (the
sea, derived from _aisso_, "to move quickly like the waves") and Æthra
(the pure air). He lingers in his birthplace, Troezene, until he has
acquired strength enough to wield his invincible sword, then journeys
onward in search of his father, performing countless great deeds for
the benefit of mankind. He slays the Minotaur, the terrible monster of
darkness, and carries off the dawn (Ariadne); whom he is, however,
forced to abandon shortly after on the Island of Naxos.
In his subsequent career we find him the involuntary cause of his
father's death, then warring against the Centaurs (personifications of
the clouds, through which the victorious sun is sometimes forced to
fight his way), then again plunging for a short space of time into the
depths of Tartarus, whence he emerges once more; and finally we see
him uniting his fate to Phædra (the twilight), a sister of the
beautiful dawn he loved in his youth. He ends his eventful career by
being hurled headlong from a cliff into the sea,--an emblem of the
sun, which often seems to plunge into the waves at eventide.
[Sidenote: Argonauts.]
In the story of the Argonautic expedition we have Athamas, who marries
Nephele (the mist). Their children are Phryxus and Helle (the cold and
warm air, or personifications of the clouds), carried off to the far
east by the ram--whose golden fleece was but an emblem of the rays of
the sun--to enable them to escape from the baleful influence of their
stepmother Ino (the broad daylight), who would fain encompass their
destruction.
[Sidenote: Medea.]
Helle, an emblem of the condensation of vapor, falls from her exalted
seat into the sea, where she is lost. The ship Argo "is a symbol of
the earth as a parent, which contains in itself the germs of all
living things." Its crew is composed mainly of solar heroes, all in
quest of the golden fleece (the rays of the sun), which Jason recovers
by the aid of Medea (the dawn), after slaying the dragon (the demon of
drought). Æetes, Medea's father, is a personification of the darkness,
which vainly attempts to recover his children, the dawn and light (?),
after they have been borne away by the all-conquering sun.
[Sidenote: Glauce.]
Glauce (the broad daylight) next charms Jason; and the poisoned robe
which causes her death is woven by Medea, now the evening twilight,
who mounts her dragon car and flies to the far east, forsaking her
husband (the sun) in his old age, when he is about to sink into the
sleep of death.
[Sidenote: Meleager.]
Meleager is also a solar hero. After joining the Argonautic
expedition, and wandering far and wide, he returns home, slays the
boar (or drought fiend), loves, but parts from, Atalanta (the dawn
maiden), and is finally slain by his own mother, who casts into the
flames the brand upon which his existence depends.
[Sidenote: Oedipus.]
In the Theban solar myth, Laius (derived from the same root as "Leto"
and "Latmus") is the emblem of darkness, who, after marrying Jocasta
(like Iole, a personification of the violet-tinted clouds of dawn),
becomes the father of Oedipus, doomed by fate to be the murderer of
his father. Early in life Oedipus is exposed on the barren hillside to
perish,--an emblem of the horizontal rays of the rising sun, which
seem to lie for a while upon the mountain slopes, ere they rise to
begin their journey.
He too, like Cadmus, Apollo, Hercules, Perseus, Theseus, and Jason, is
forced to wander far from home, and, after a prolonged journey,
encounters and slays Laius (the darkness), from whom he derived his
existence, and kills the dread monster of drought, the Sphinx, whose
very name means "one who binds fast,"--a creature who had imprisoned
the rain in the clouds, and thus caused great distress.
Urged on by unrelenting fate, he marries his own mother, Jocasta, now
the violet-tinted twilight, and ends his life amid lightning flashes
and rolls of thunder, after being accompanied to the end of his course
by Antigone ("the pale light which springs up opposite the sun at his
setting"). This story--which at first was merely intended to signify
that the sun (Oedipus) must slay the darkness (Laius) and linger for a
while beside the violet-colored clouds (Jocasta)--having lost its
physical meaning, the Thebans added the tragic sequel, for it seemed
but poetic justice that the author of such crimes should receive
signal punishment.
[Sidenote: Eumenides.]
As the Eumenides, or Erinnyes, were at first merely the searching
light of day, from which nothing can be hidden, they came gradually to
be considered the detectives and avengers of crime, and were therefore
said to take possession of a criminal at the end of his course, and
hurry him down into darkness to inflict horrible torments upon him.
[Sidenote: Bellerophon.]
In the story of Bellerophon, although the name originally came from
_Bellero_ (some "power of darkness, drought, winter, or moral evil")
and from _phon_ or _phontes_ (a word derived from the Sanskrit
_han-tâ_, "the killer"), the Greeks, having forgotten the
signification of the first part of the word, declared this hero was
the murderer of Bellero, his brother, for which involuntary crime he
was driven from home, and forced to wander about in search of shelter.
We find this hero, although enticed by Anteia (the dawn), virtuously
hastening away, then sent against his will to fight the Chimæra (the
monster of drought), whom he overcomes, thanks to his weapon and to
Pegasus (the clouds), born from the mist of the sea, beneath whose
hoofs fresh fountains were wont to spring.
Bellerophon, after many journeys, is finally united to Philonoe, a
personification of the twilight, and ends his career by being hurled
from the zenith into utter darkness by one of Jupiter's deadly
thunderbolts.
"The fall of Bellerophon is the rapid descent of the sun toward
evening, and the Alein plain is that broad expanse of somber light
through which the sun sometimes seems to travel sullenly and alone to
his setting."
[Sidenote: Trojan war.]
In the story of the Trojan war there are several sun myths; for Paris,
Menelaus, Agamemnon, and Achilles have equal claims to be considered
personifications of the sun. They love Oenone, Helen, Clytæmnestra,
Briseis, various impersonations of the dawn, and forsake, or are
forsaken by, their ladyloves, whom they meet again at the end of their
career: for Paris sees Oenone, and expires with her on the burning
pile; Menelaus recovers Helen, with whom he vanishes in the far west;
Agamemnon rejoins Clytæmnestra, and dies by her hand in a bloody bath;
while Achilles, after a period of sullen gloom, meets with an untimely
death shortly after recovering the beautiful Briseis.
Like Perseus and Oedipus, Paris is exposed in early infancy, and lives
to fulfill his destiny, and cause, though indirectly, the death of his
parents.
In this myth, Helen (the beautiful dawn or twilight), whose name
corresponds phonetically with the Sanskrit _Sarama_, born of the sky
(Jupiter) and of the night (Leda, derived from the same root as
"Leto," "Latmus," and "Laius"), is carried away by Paris, whom some
mythologists identify with the Hindoo _Panis_ (or "night demons")
instead of the sun. In this character he entices away the fickle
twilight (Helen) during her husband's temporary absence, and bears her
off to the far east, where, after struggling for a while to retain
possession of her and her treasures, he is finally forced to
relinquish her, and she returns to her husband and her allegiance.
The siege of Troy has thus been interpreted to signify "a repetition
of the daily siege of the east by the solar powers, that every evening
are robbed of their brightest treasures in the west."
Achilles, like several of his brother heroes, "fights in no quarrel of
his own; his wrath is the sun hiding his face behind the clouds; the
Myrmidons are his attendant beams, who no longer appear when the sun
is hidden; Patroclus is the feeble reflection of the sun's splendor,
and stands to him in precisely the same relation as Phaeton to
Helios," and, like him, meets with an early death.
[Sidenote: Ulysses.]
In the story of Ulysses we find a reproduction of the story of
Hercules and Perseus: for Ulysses, early in life, after wedding
Penelope, is forced to leave her to fight for another; and on his
return, although longing to rejoin his morning bride, he cannot turn
aside from the course marked out for him. He is detained by Circe (the
moon), who weaves airy tissues, and by Calypso (the nymph of
darkness); but neither can keep him forever, and he returns home
enveloped in an impenetrable disguise, after having visited the
Phæacian land (the land of clouds or mists). It is only after he has
slain the suitors of Penelope (the weaver of bright evening clouds)
that he casts aside his beggar's garb to linger for a short time
beside her ere he vanishes in the west.
[Sidenote: Minerva.]
The greater part of the dawn myths have been explained simultaneously
with the sun myths, with which they are inextricably interwoven. One
personification of the dawn, however, stands apart. It is Minerva,
whose Greek name, Athene, is derived, like Daphne, from the Sanskrit
_Dahana_, or _ahana_ (meaning "the light of daybreak"), and we are
thus enabled to understand why the Greeks described her as sprung from
the forehead of Zeus (the heavens). She gradually became the
impersonation of the illuminating and knowledge-giving light of the
sky; for in Sanskrit the same word also means "to wake" and "to know,"
while the Latins connected her name of Minerva with _mens_, the same
as the Greek _ménos_ and the English _mind_.
MOON MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Diana, Io, and Circe.]
In the moon myths the most important personification is first Diana,
the horned huntress, "for to the ancients the moon was not a lifeless
ball of stones and clods." Diana, like Apollo, her twin brother, was
also a child of the sky (Jupiter) and of night (Latona), and, like
him, was born in the "bright land" (Delos). She also possessed bright
and unerring arrows, and in the course of her nightly journey she
looked lovingly down upon the sleeping face of the setting sun
(Endymion).
Io and Circe, already mentioned, are also personifications of the
moon, and Io's wanderings represent its journeys across the sky.
EARTH MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Gæa and Rhea.]
In the earth myths, beside those already mentioned in connection with
the sun myths, we have Gæa and Rhea, the mothers and consorts of the
Sky and of Time, who swallows his own children, "the Days, as they
come each in order."
[Sidenote: Ceres and Proserpina.]
We have also Ceres or Demeter, "the mother of all things," and more
particularly of "the maiden" Cora (or Proserpina), whose loss she
grievously mourned; for she had been carried away by Pluto to the
underworld, whence she could only emerge at the command of Jupiter.
During the time of Ceres' mourning, the earth remained barren, and it
seemed as though all mortal things must die. But when Proserpina (the
spring or vegetation) returned from her sojourn under the ground,
people said "that the daughter of the earth was returning in all her
beauty; and when summer faded into winter, they said that the
beautiful child had been stolen away from her mother by dark beings,
who kept her imprisoned beneath the earth." The sorrow of Ceres was
therefore merely a poetical way of expressing "the gloom which falls
on the earth during the cheerless months of winter."
[Sidenote: Danae and Semele.]
Danae, as a personification of the earth, was quickened by the golden
shower, the light of the morning, which streamed in upon the darkness
of the night. Semele has also been interpreted as the earth, the
chosen bride of the sky, who brings forth her offspring in the midst
of the thunder and lightning of a summer storm.
SEA MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Oceanus and Neptune.]
The myths of the sea comprise, of course, Oceanus and Neptune (the
earth-shaker), whose name is connected with such words as "potent" and
"despot," and whose "green hair circles all the earth." We are further
informed that he loves the earth (Ceres), whom he embraces, and that
he marries the graceful undulating Amphitrite, whose gliding charms
appeal to him. Neptune's palace is beneath the deep waters near
Greece, and he is said to ride about his realm in a swift chariot
drawn by golden or white maned steeds.
[Sidenote: Nereus.]
Nereus, another personification of the sea, whose name is derived from
_nao_ ("to flow"), is quite inseparable from his native element, even
in the Greeks' conception of him, as are also the Tritons, Oceanides,
Nereides, and the alluring Sirens; who, however, have also been viewed
as personifications of the winds.
CLOUD MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Charon.]
The cloud myths, to which frequent allusion has already been made,
comprise not only the cattle of the sun, the Centaurs, Nephele,
Phryxus, Helle, and Pegasus, but as, "in primitive Aryan lore, the sky
itself was a blue sea, and the clouds were ships sailing over it," so
Charon's boat was supposed to be one of these vessels, and the gilded
shallop in which the sun daily made his pilgrimage back to the far
east, another.
[Sidenote: Niobe.]
As the ancient Aryan had the same word to denote cloud and mountain
("for the piles of vapor on the horizon were so like Alpine ranges"),
the cloud and mountain myths are often the same. In the story of Niobe
we have one of the cloud myths. According to some mythologists, Niobe
herself is a personification of the clouds. Her many children, the
mists, are fully as beautiful as Apollo and Diana, by whose bright
darts they are ruthlessly slain. Niobe grieves so sorely at their
untimely death, that she dissolves in a rain of tears, which turns
into hard ice on the mountain summit. According to other authorities,
she was a personification of winter, and her tears represented the
thaw occasioned by the sunbeams (Apollo's arrows).
FIRE MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Cyclopes.]
The fire myths also form quite a large class, and comprise the
Cyclopes (the thunder and lightning), children of Heaven and Earth,
whose single blazing eye has been considered an emblem of the sun.
They forge the terrible thunderbolts, the weapons of the sky
(Jupiter), by means of which he is enabled to triumph over all his
enemies, and rule supreme.
[Sidenote: Titans.]
The Titans are emblems of the subterranean fires and the volcanic
forces of nature, which, hidden deep underground, occasionally emerge,
heave up great masses of rock, and hurl them about with an
accompaniment of deafening roars, while their ponderous tread causes
the very earth beneath them to tremble.
[Sidenote: Prometheus.]
In this group we also find Prometheus, whose name has been traced to
the Sanskrit _pramantha_ (or "fire drill"). Learned men have therefore
proved that the "beneficent Titan, who stole fire from heaven and
bestowed it upon mankind as the richest of boons," was originally
nothing but the lightning ("the celestial drill which churns fire out
of the clouds"); but the Greeks had so entirely forgotten this
etymological meaning, that they interpreted his name as the
"fore-thinker," and considered him endowed with extraordinary
prophetic powers.
[Sidenote: Vulcan.]
Vulcan (or Hephæstus), strictly "the brightness of the flame," another
fire hero, is represented as very puny at birth, because the flame
comes from a tiny spark. His name is derived from the Hindoo _agni_,
whence come the Latin _ignis_ and the English verb _to ignite_. Vulcan
dwells by preference in the heart of volcanoes, where the intense heat
keeps the metals in fusion, and so malleable that he can mold them at
will; and, as "the association of the heavenly fire with the
life-giving forces of nature is very common," the Hindoo Agni was
considered the patron of marriage as well as of fire; and the Greeks,
to carry out this idea, united their fire god, Hephæstus, to the
goddess of marriage, Aphrodite.
[Sidenote: Vesta.]
The Greek Hestia (or Latin Vesta) was also a personification of fire;
and, her name having retained its primitive meaning to a great extent,
"she continued to the end, as she had been from the beginning, the
household altar, the sanctuary of peace and equity, and the source of
all happiness and wealth." Her office was not limited merely to the
hearths of households and cities, for it was supposed "that in the
center of the earth there was a hearth which answered to the hearth
placed in the center of the universe."
WIND MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Mercury.]
In the myths of the wind, Mercury (or Hermes) was one of the principal
personifications. According to the ancients, he was born of the sky
(Jupiter) and the plains (Maia), and after a very few hours' existence
assumed gigantic proportions, stole away the cattle of the sun (the
clouds), and, after fanning up a great fire in which he consumed some
of the herd, glided back into his cradle at dawn. With a low, mocking
chuckle at the recollection of the pranks he had played, he sank
finally into rest. His name, derived from the Sanskrit _Sarameias_,
means "the breeze of a summer morning;" and it is in his capacity of
god of the wind that he is supposed to waft away the souls of the
dead; for "the ancients held that in the wind were the souls of the
dead." Mercury is the "lying, tricksome wind god who invented music,"
for his music is but "the melody of the winds, which can awaken
feelings of joy and sorrow, of regret and yearning, of fear and hope,
of vehement gladness and utter despair."
[Sidenote: Mars.]
Another personification of the wind was Mars (or Ares), born of the
sky (Jupiter) and of the heavenly light (Juno) in the bleak land of
Thrace, rejoicing in din and in the noise of warfare. His nature is
further revealed by his inconstancy and capriciousness; and whenever
he is overcome, he is noted for his great roar. His name comes from
the same root as Maruts, the Indian god, and means the "grinder" or
"crusher." It was first applied "to the storms which throw heaven and
earth into confusion, and hence the idea of Ares is confined to mere
disorder and tumult."
[Sidenote: Otus and Ephialtes.]
Otus and Ephialtes, the gigantic sons of Neptune, were also at first
merely personifications of the wind and hurricanes. The name of the
latter indicates "one who leaps." Although very short-lived, these
giants were supposed to increase rapidly in size, and assume colossal
proportions, which inspired the hearts of men and gods with terror,
until they saw them finally slain by the unfailing arrows of the sun.
[Sidenote: Pan, Æolus, and the Harpies.]
Pan, Æolus, his numerous progeny, and the Harpies, were also wind
divinities who never entirely lost their original character with the
Greeks, and were therefore worshiped merely as personifications of the
elements.
UNDERWORLD MYTHS.
[Sidenote: Cerberus and Pluto.]
The myths of drought, darkness, and of the underworld have
sufficiently been dwelt upon as personified by Python, the Hydra,
Geryones, the Gorgons, Grææ, Minotaur, Sphinx, Chimæra, etc.; but
their main personifications were Cerberus (the grim three-headed
guardian of the nether world) and Pluto (or Aïdes), whose name means
"the wealth-giver," or "the unseen," who greedily drew all things down
into his realm, never to relinquish his grasp upon them.
Such is the physical explanation of the various poetical myths which
form the staple of classic literature, and which have been a fount of
inspiration for poets and artists of all ages.
GENEALOGICAL TABLE.
Note.--Double vertical lines indicate that several generations intervene.
Chaos-_Nyx_
|
+-Erebus-_Nyx_
|
+-_Hemera_-
+-Æther
| |
| +-_Gæa_
| | |
| | +-Uranus-_Gæa_
| | |
| | +-Oceanus-
| | +-_Thetis_
| | | |
| | | +-Achelous-_Calliope_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Sirens_
| | | |
| | | +-Alpheus-_Arethusa_
| | | |
| | | +-Peneus-_Gæa_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Daphne_
| | | |
| | | +-Inachus
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Io_
| | | |
| | | +-Proteus
| | | |
| | | +-_Doris_-Nereus
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Amphitrite_-Neptune
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Triton
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Dione_-Jupiter
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Venus_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Arethusa_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Galatea_-Acis
| | | | |
| | | | +-Peleus-_Thetis_
| | | | | |
| | | | | | Jupiter-_Antiope_-Lycus-_Dirce_
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Zethus Tantalus
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Amphion-_Niobe_-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | Pelops-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | Atreus-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | Tyndareus-_Leda_-Jupiter |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-_Helen_ |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Castor |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Pollux |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-_Clytæmnestra_-Agamemnon-+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | _Iphigenia_-+ |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Pylades-_Electra_+ |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Orestes-+ |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | +-Achilles _Helen_-Menelaus-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | +-Pyrrhus-_Hermione_-+
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Clymene_-Apollo
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Heliades_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Phaeton
| | | |
| | | +-_Metis_-Jupiter
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Minerva_
| | | |
| | | +-_Clymene_-Iapetus
| | | |
| | | +-_Æthra_-Atlas
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Pleiades_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Maia_-Jupiter
| | | | |
| | | | +-Mercury-_Penelope_-Ulysses
| | | | | |
| | | | +-Pan +-Telemachus
| | | |
| | | +-_Calypso_-Ulysses
| | | |
| | | +-_Clytie_
| | | |
| | | +-_Electra_-Jupiter
| | | |
| | | | Teucer
| | | | |
| | | +-Dardanus-_Batea_-+
| | | ||
| | | +-Laomedon
| | | | |
| | | | +-Priam-_Hecuba_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Hector-_Andromache_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Paris-_Helen_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Cassandra_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Polites
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Polyxena_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Deiphobus-_Helen_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Hesione_-Telamon
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Ajax
| | | | |
| | | | +-Tithonus-_Aurora_
| | | |
| | | +-_Themis_-Capys
| | | |
| | | +-Anchises-_Venus_
| | | |
| | | +-Æneas-_Creusa_
| | | & |
| | | -_Lavinia_ +-Iulus
| | | |
| | | +-Æneas Silvia
| | | ||
| | | +-Numitor
| | | |
| | | +-_Ilia_-Mars
| | | |
| | | +-Remus
| | | |
| | | +-Romulus
| | |
| | +-Coeus-
| | +-_Phoebe_
| | | |
| | | +-_Latona_-Jupiter Mars
| | | | |
| | | | _Dia_-Ixion-+
| | | | | |
| | | | Centaurs-+ |
| | | | | |
| | | | _Hippodamia_-Pirithous-+ |
| | | | |
| | | +-Apollo- & -_Coronis_--------+
| | | +-_Diana_ |
| | | +-Æsculapius
| | | |
| | | +-Machaon
| | | |
| | | +-_Hygeia_
| | |
| | +-Iapetus-_Clymene_
| | | |
| | | +-Menetius
| | | |
| | | +-Atlas
| | | |
| | | +-Hesperus
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Hesperides_
| | | |
| | | +-Epimetheus-_Pandora_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Pyrrha_-Deucalion
| | | | |
| | | | +-Hellen Sol
| | | | | |
| | | | +-Æolus _Pasiphæ_-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | +-Salmoneus _Circe_-+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-_Tyro_-Neptune Æetes-+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Æson Absyrtus-+
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-Jason-_Medea_-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Pelias
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Neleus
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Nestor
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Sisyphus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Glaucus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Bellerophon-_Philonoë_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Dorus
| | | | |
| | | | +-Xuthus
| | | | |
| | | | +-Ion
| | | | |
| | | | +-Achæus
| | | |
| | | +-Prometheus
| | | |
| | | +-Deucalion-_Pyrrha_
| | |
| | +-Hyperion-_Gæa_
| | | |
| | | +-_Aurora_-Æolus
| | | |
| | | +-Boreas-_Orithyia_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Zetus
| | | | |
| | | | +-Calais
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Cleopatra_
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Chione_
| | | |
| | | +-Corus
| | | |
| | | +-Eurus
| | | |
| | | +-Notus
| | | |
| | | +-Aquilo
| | | |
| | | +-Zephyrus-_Flora_
| | |
| | +-Crius
| | |
| | +-_Themis_-Jupiter
| | | |
| | | +-_Parcæ_
| | | |
| | | +-_Horæ_
| | |
| | +-_Ilia_
| | |
| | +-Cronus-
| | +-_Rhea_
| | | |
| | | +-_Vesta_
| | | |
| | | +-_Juno_-
| | | +-Jupiter
| | | | |
| | | | +-Mars-_Venus_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Anteros
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Cupid-_Psyche_
| | | | | |
| | | | | | Jupiter-_Io_
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Epaphus
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-_Libya_-Neptune
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | _Telephassa_- |
| | | | | | Agenor-+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-Belus
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-Pygmalion
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-_Dido_-Sychæus
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-Danaus
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-_Danaides_-50 Sons
| | | | | | | | ||
| | | | | | | | +-Acrisius
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-_Danae_-Jupiter
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Celeus- |
| | | | | | | | _Cassiopeia_ |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | _Andromeda_-+ |
| | | | | | | | -Perseus----+
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-Alcæus
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | +-Amphitryon-_Alcmene_
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | +-Iphicles
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | +-Iolaus
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-Electryon
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | +-_Alcmene_-Jupiter
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Oeneus-_Althæa_
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Meleager-+
| | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | _Deianeira_- -+
| | | | | | | | | +-Hercules
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | +-Hyllus-_Iole_
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-Sthenelus
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-Eurystheus
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | +-_Admete_
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-Ægyptus
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | +-50 Sons
| | | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Harmonia_ |
| | | | | | -Cadmus-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Cilix
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Phoenix
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-_Europa_-Jupiter
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Sarpedon
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Rhadamanthus
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Minos
| | | | | | ||
| | | | | | +-Minos-_Pasiphae_
| | | | | | Ægeus-_Æthra_ |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | _Hippolyte_ |
| | | | | | | & |
| | | | | | +----Theseus-_Phædra_-+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Hippolytus |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-_Ariadne_-Bacchus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Ino_-Athamas-_Nephele_
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Phryxus-+
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | _Helle_-+
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Palæmon
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Learchus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Autonoe_-Aristæus
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Actæon
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Agave_
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Pentheus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Semele_-Jupiter
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | +-Bacchus-_Ariadne_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Polydorus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Labdacus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Laius-_Jocasta_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Oedipus-_Jocasta_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Eteocles
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Polynices
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Antigone_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-_Ismene_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Vulcan-_Medusa_
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Cacus
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Periphetes
| | | | | |
| | | | | +-Cercyon
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Hebe_-Hercules
| | | |
| | | +-Neptune-_Amphitrite_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Triton
| | | |
| | | +-_Ceres_-Jupiter
| | | | |
| | | | +-_Proserpina_
| | | |
| | | +-Pluto-_Proserpina_
| | |
| | +-_Mnemosyne_-Jupiter
| | | |
| | | +-_Clio_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Hymen
| | | |
| | | +-_Calliope_
| | | | |
| | | | +-Orpheus-_Eurydice_
| | | |
| | | +-_Thalia_
| | | |
| | | +-_Euterpe_
| | | |
| | | +-_Urania_
| | | |
| | | +-_Melpomene_
| | | |
| | | +-_Terpsichore_
| | | |
| | | +-_Polyhymnia_
| | | |
| | | +-_Erato_
| | |
| | +-Brontes
| | |
| | +-Steropes
| | |
| | +-Arges
| | |
| | +-Briareus
| | |
| | +-Cottus
| | |
| | +-Gyes
| | |
| | +-Typhoeus
| | | |
| | | +-Hydra
| | | |
| | | +-Cerberus
| | | |
| | | +-Chimæra
| | | |
| | | +-Nemean Lion
| | | |
| | | +-_Sphinx_
| | |
| | +-Enceladus
| | |
| | +-Antæus
| | |
| | +-_Harpies_
| | |
| | +-Tityus
| | |
| | +-Nereus
| |
| +-Eros
| |
| +-Pontus
| |
| +-Phorcys
| |
| +-_Bellona_
| |
| +-_Stheno_
| |
| +-_Euryale_
| |
| +-_Medusa_-Neptune
| |
| +-Pegasus
| |
| +-Polyphemus
|
+-Charon
|
+-_Eris_
|
+-Somnus
| |
| +-Morpheus
|
+-Mors
{Transcription:
Chaos (M) married Nyx (F).
Their child was Erebus (M).
Erebus (M) married Nyx (F).
Their children were Hemera (F), Æther (M), Charon (M), Eris (F),
Somnus (M) and Mors (M).
Hemera (F) married Æther (M).
Their children were Gæa (F), Eros (M) and Pontus (M).
Gæa (F) had a child, Uranus (M).
Uranus (M) married Gæa (F).
Their children were Oceanus (M), Thetis (F), Coeus (M), Phoebe
(F), Iapetus (M), Hyperion (M), Crius (M), Themis (F),
Ilia (F), Cronus (M), Rhea (F), Mnemosyne (F), Brontes
(M), Steropes (M), Arges (M), Briareus (M), Cottus (M),
Gyes (M), Typhoeus (M), Enceladus (M), Antæus (M), Harpies
(F), Tityus (M) and Nereus (M).
Oceanus (M) married Thetis (F).
Their children were Achelous (M), Alpheus (M), Peneus (M),
Inachus (M), Proteus (M), Doris (F), Metis (F), Clymene
(F), Æthra (F), Calypso (F), Clytie (F) and Electra (F).
Achelous (M) married Calliope (F).
Their children were Sirens (F).
Alpheus (M) married Arethusa (F).
Peneus (M) married Gæa (F).
Their child was Daphne (F).
Inachus (M) had a child, Io (F).
Doris (F) married Nereus (M).
Their children were Amphitrite (F), Dione (F), Arethusa
(F), Galatea (F), Thetis (F) and Clymene (F).
Amphitrite (F) married Neptune (M).
Their child was Triton (M).
Dione (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Venus (F).
Galatea (F) married Acis (M).
Thetis (F) married Peleus (M).
Their child was Achilles (M).
Achilles (M) had a child, Pyrrhus (M).
Pyrrhus (M) married Hermione (F).
Hermione's parents were Menelaus (M) and Helen (F).
Menelaus (M) had a sibling, Agamemnon (M).
Their parent was Atreus (M).
Atreus' (M) parent was Pelops (M).
Pelops (M) had a sibling, Niobe (F).
Their parent was Tantalus (M).
Niobe (F) married Amphion (M).
Amphion (M) had a sibling, Zethus (M).
Their parents were Jupiter (M) and Antiope (F).
Antiope (F) also married Lycus (M), and Lycus (M)
also married Dirce (F).
Agamemnon (M) married Clytæmnestra (F).
Their children were Iphigenia (F), Electra (F) and
Orestes (M).
Electra (F) married Pylades (M).
Clytæmnestra (F) had three siblings, Helen (F),
Castor (M) and Pollux (M)
Their parents were Tyndareus (M) and Leda (F).
Leda (F) also married Jupiter (M).
Clymene (F) married Apollo (M).
Their children were Heliades (F) and Phaeton (M).
Metis (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Minerva (F).
Clymene (F) married Iapetus (M).
Æthra (F) married Atlas (M).
Their children were Pleiades (F) and Maia (F).
Maia (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Mercury (M).
Mercury (M) married Penelope (F).
Their child was Pan (M).
Penelope (F) also married Ulysses (M).
Their child was Telemachus (M).
Calypso (F) married Ulysses (M).
Electra (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Dardanus (M).
Dardanus (M) married Batea (F), whose parent was
Teucer (M).
Their descendants were Laomedon (M) and Themis (F).
Laomedon (M) had three children, Priam (M), Hesione
(F) and Tithonus (M).
Priam (M) married Hecuba (F).
Their children were Hector (M), Paris (M), Cassandra
(F), Polites (M), Polyxena (F) and Deiphobus (M).
Hector (M) married Andromache (F).
Paris (M) married Helen (F).
Deiphobus (M) married Helen (F).
Hesione (F) married Telamon (M).
Their child was Ajax (M).
Tithonus (M) married Aurora (F).
Themis (F) married Capys (M).
Their child was Anchises (M).
Anchises (M) married Venus (F).
Their child was Æneas (M).
Æneas (M) married Lavinia (F).
Their child was Æneas Silvia (M).
Æneas (M) also married Creusa (F).
Their child was Iulus (M).
Æneas Silvia's (M) descendant was Numitor (M).
Numitor (M) had a child, Ilia (F).
Ilia (F) married Mars (M).
Their children were Remus (M) and Romulus (M).
Coeus (M) married Phoebe (F).
Their child was Latona (F).
Latona (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their children were Apollo (M) and Diana (F).
Apollo (M) married Diana (F).
Apollo (M) also married Coronis (F).
Their child was Æsculapius (M).
Coronis (F) had a sibling, Ixion (M)
Their parent was Mars (M).
Ixion (M) married Dia (F).
Their children were Centaurs (M) and Pirithous (M).
Æsculapius (M) had two children, Machaon (M) and
Hygeia (F).
Pirithous married Hippodamia (F).
Iapetus (M) married Clymene (F).
Their children were Menetius (M), Atlas (M), Hesperus (M),
Epimetheus (M) and Prometheus (M).
Hesperus (M) had a child, Hesperides (F).
Epimetheus (M) married Pandora (F).
Their child was Pyrrha (F).
Prometheus (M) had a child, Deucalion (M).
Pyrrha (F) married Deucalion (M).
Their child was Hellen (M).
Hellen (M) had three children, Æolus (M), Dorus (M)
and Xuthus (M).
Æolus (M) had two children, Salmoneus (M) and
Sisyphus (M).
Salmoneus (M) had a child, Tyro (F).
Tyro (F) married Neptune (M).
Their children were Æson (M), Pelias (M) and
Neleus (M).
Æson (M) had a child, Jason (M).
Jason (M) married Medea (F).
Medea (F) had a sibling, Absyrtus (M).
Their parent was Æetes (M).
Æetes (M) had two siblings, Pasiphæ (F) and
Circe (F).
Their parent was Sol (M).
Neleus (M) had a child, Nestor (M).
Sisyphus (M) had a child, Glaucus (M).
Glaucus (M) had a child, Bellerophon (M).
Bellerophon (M) married Philonoë (F).
Xuthus (M) had two children, Ion (M) and Achæus (M).
Hyperion (M) married Gæa (F).
Their child was Aurora (F).
Aurora (F) married Æolus (M).
Their children were Boreas (M), Corus (M), Eurus (M),
Notus (M), Aquilo (M) and Zephyrus (M).
Boreas (M) married Orithyia (F).
Their children were Zetus (M), Calais (M), Cleopatra (F)
and Chione (F).
Zephyrus (M) married Flora (F).
Themis (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their children were Parcæ (F) and Horæ (F).
Cronus (M) married Rhea (F).
Their children were Vesta (F), Juno (F), Jupiter (M),
Neptune (M), Ceres (F) and Pluto (M).
Juno (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their children were Mars (M), Vulcan (M) and Hebe (F).
Mars (M) married Venus (F).
Their children were Anteros (M), Cupid (M) and
Harmonia (F).
Cupid (M) married Psyche (F).
Harmonia (F) married Cadmus (M).
Vulcan (M) married Medusa (F).
Their children were Cacus (M), Periphetes (M) and
Cercyon (M).
Hebe (F) married Hercules (M).
Jupiter (M) married Io (F).
Their child was Epaphus (M).
Epaphus (M) had a child, Libya (F).
Libya (F) married Neptune (M).
Their children were Agenor (M) and Belus (M).
Agenor (M) married Telephassa (F).
Their children were Cadmus (M), Cilix (M), Phoenix
(M) and Europa (F).
Cadmus (M) married Harmonia (F).
Their children were Ino (F), Autonoe (F), Agave
(F), Semele (F) and Polydorus (M).
Ino (F) married Athamas (M).
Their children were Palæmon (M) and Learchus (M).
Athamas (M) also married Nephele (F).
Their children were Phryxus (M) and Helle (F).
Autonoe (F) married Aristæus (M).
Their child was Actæon (M).
Agave (F) had a child, Pentheus (M).
Semele (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Bacchus (M).
Bacchus (M) married Ariadne (F).
Polydorus (M) had a child, Labdacus (M).
Labdacus (M) had a child, Laius (M).
Laius (M) married Jocasta (F).
Their child was Oedipus (M).
Oedipus married Jocasta (F).
Their children were Eteocles (M), Polynices
(M), Antigone (F) and Ismene (F).
Europa (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their children were Sarpedon (M), Rhadamanthus (M)
and Minos (M).
Minos' (M) descendant was Minos (M).
Minos (M) married Pasiphae (F).
Their children were Phædra (F) and Ariadne (F).
Phædra (F) married Theseus (M), whose parents
were Ægeus (M) and Æthra (F).
Theseus (M) also married Hippolyte (F).
Their child was Hippolytus (M).
Ariadne (F) married Bacchus (M).
Belus (M) had four children, Pygmalion (M), Dido (F),
Danaus (M) and Ægyptus (M).
Dido (F) married Sychæus (M).
Danaus' (M) children were the Danaides (F).
Ægyptus (M) had 50 sons.
The Danaides (F) married the 50 sons.
Their descendant was Acrisius (M).
Acrisius (M) had a child, Danae (F).
Danae (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Perseus (M).
Perseus (M) married Andromeda (F), whose
parents were Celeus (M) and Cassiopeia (F).
Their children were Alcæus (M), Electryon (M)
and Sthenelus (M).
Alcæus (M) had a child, Amphitryon (M).
Electryon (M) had a child, Alcmene (F).
Amphitryon (M) married Alcmene (F).
Their child was Iphicles (M).
Iphicles (M) had a child, Iolaus (M).
Alcmene (F) also married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Hercules (M).
Hercules (M) married Deianeira (F),
whose sibling was Meleager (M),
and whose parents were Oeneus (M)
and Althæa (F).
Their child was Hyllus (M), who married
Iole (F).
Sthenelus (M) had a child, Eurystheus (M).
Eurystheus (M) had a child, Admete (F).
Neptune (M) married Amphitrite (F).
Their child was Triton (M).
Ceres (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their child was Proserpina (F).
Pluto (M) married Proserpina (F).
Mnemosyne (F) married Jupiter (M).
Their children were Clio (F), Calliope (F), Thalia (F),
Euterpe (F), Urania (F), Melpomene (F), Terpsichore
(F), Polyhymnia (F) and Erato (F).
Clio (F) had a child, Hymen (M).
Calliope (F) had a child, Orpheus (M).
Orpheus (M) married Eurydice (F).
Typhoeus (M) had three children, Hydra (M), Cerberus (M)
and Chimæra (M).
Chimæra (M) had two children, Nemean Lion (M) and
Sphinx (F).
Pontus (M) had a child, Phorcys (M).
Phorcys (M) had four children, Bellona (F), Stheno (F), Euryale
(F) and Medusa (F).
Medusa (F) married Neptune (M).
Their children were Pegasus (M) and Polyphemus (M).
Somnus (M) had a child, Morpheus (M).}
INDEX TO POETICAL QUOTATIONS.
Addison, 24, 49, 83, 85, 165, 172, 173.
Æschylus, 246.
Akenside, 163.
Apollonius, 126.
Apollonius Rhodius, 181, 269.
Arion, 158.
Aristophanes, 15.
Arnold, Edwin, 111, 112, 114.
Arnold, Matthew, 74.
Beaumont and Fletcher, 300.
Bion, 108, 110.
Boyesen, 97, 137.
Browning, E. B., 22, 108, 137.
Bryant, 41, 43, 58, 94, 145, 153, 172, 211, 305, 315, 318, 319,
320, 321, 323, 324, 325, 326, 328, 329, 336, 338, 344, 345,
346, 349, 352, 354, 355, 357, 358, 359.
Byron, 49, 91, 93, 116.
Catullus, 226, 255, 257, 259, 306.
Chapman, 149.
Coluthus, 308, 312.
Conington, 41, 51, 64, 142, 193, 202, 213, 224, 333, 360, 361,
362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 369, 370, 373, 376, 377.
Cornwall, 184.
Cowper, 131, 156, 308.
Croxall, 177, 178.
Darwin, 123, 187, 218, 219, 228, 230.
Dryden, 35, 37, 44, 70, 161, 168, 169, 208.
Elton, 12, 15, 21, 29, 33, 45, 52, 108, 110, 136, 138, 154, 171,
220, 241, 255, 267, 269, 271, 307, 308, 310, 312, 339.
Emerson, 297.
Euripides, 166, 229, 311, 315, 316.
Eusden, 118.
Flaccus, 52, 220, 269, 271.
Fletcher, 38.
Francklin, 169, 232, 234, 236, 280, 281, 282, 283, 285, 286, 287,
288, 290, 331.
Frere, 15.
Goldsmith, 134.
Gray, 179.
Hemans, 60, 98.
H. H. (Helen Hunt Jackson), 73.
Hesiod, 15, 21, 29, 33, 154, 229, 339.
Holmes, 330.
Homer, 23, 39, 41, 43, 58, 94, 145, 147, 149, 153, 156, 161, 167,
168, 172, 211, 292, 297, 305, 315, 318, 319, 320, 321, 323,
324, 325, 326, 328, 329, 336, 338, 344, 345, 346, 349, 352,
354, 355, 357, 358, 359.
Homeric Hymn, 190, 195.
Horace, 27, 75, 278.
Hunt, 114, 216, 341.
Ingelow, 187, 194.
Iriarte, Tomas de, 372.
Keats, 67, 90, 98, 105, 119, 120, 134, 149, 176, 179, 192, 301,
303, 304.
Landon, 113.
Longfellow, 27, 88, 99, 107, 206.
Lowell, 23, 64, 79, 131.
Lucan, 214.
Macaulay, 130, 279.
Martinez de la Rosa, 177.
Melanippides, 73.
Meleager, 94, 265.
Meredith, Owen, 72.
Milton, 79, 144, 163, 238.
Moore, 16, 71, 72, 193, 278.
Morris, 97, 100, 101, 110, 123, 127, 128, 151, 183, 194, 235, 248,
252, 335.
Moschus, 45, 137.
Nonnus, 171.
Onomacritus, 267, 269, 271.
Orphic Argonautics, 266.
Orphic Hymn, 188.
Ovid, 12, 35, 37, 44, 70, 118, 172, 173, 177, 178, 208, 255, 298, 299.
Pike, 61.
Pindar, 17, 168.
Pitt, 163, 196, 205.
Pope, 23, 39, 57, 77, 147, 156, 167, 168, 239, 292, 298, 299.
Potter, 166, 229, 246, 311, 315, 316.
Prior, 68, 143, 148, 174, 243, 283.
Quintus Smyrnæus, 307.
St. John, 242, 244.
Saxe, 62, 63, 77, 84, 119, 160, 253, 255.
Schiller, 121, 238.
Scott, 165.
S. G. B., 238.
Shakespeare, 44, 76, 139.
Shelley, 55, 103, 241.
Simonides, 241.
Somerville, 90.
Sophocles, 169, 232, 234, 236, 280, 281, 282, 283, 285, 286, 287,
288, 290, 331.
Southey, 91.
Spenser, 59, 82, 105.
Statius, 136, 138.
Swift, 75.
Tennyson, 59, 80, 105, 306, 307, 331, 339, 359.
Theocritus, 216, 310, 341.
Timocreon of Rhodes, 159.
Virgil, 41, 51, 64, 131, 142, 160, 161, 163, 168, 169, 182, 193,
196, 202, 205, 213, 224, 333, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365,
366, 367, 369, 370, 373, 374, 376, 377.
Warton, 182.
Wordsworth, 33, 65, 88, 223, 273, 295, 316, 317.
Worsley, 87.
Young, 202.
GLOSSARY AND INDEX.
Ab-syr´tus.
Son of King Æetes of Colchis;
slain by Medea, 271.
A-by´dus.
A city of Asia Minor;
the home of Leander, 111-116.
A-chæ´us.
Grandson of Hellen, and ancestor of the Achaians, 38.
A-cha´i-ans.
Inhabitants of the province of Achaia, 38.
A-cha´tes.
Friend and inseparable companion of Æneas, 366, 367.
Ach-e-lo´us.
River in Greece, bearing the name of its god, 232.
Ach-e-men´i-des.
Ulysses' sailor, rescued from Polyphemus by Æneas, 365.
Ach´e-ron.
1. River in Hades, 161;
Ulysses visits, 350;
Æneas crosses, 372.
2. Father of Furies, 163.
A-chil´les.
Son of Peleus and Thetis, 314-316;
surrenders Briseis, 318, 319;
the Greeks appeal to, 323-325;
slays Hector, 326-329;
death, 330;
in Happy Isles, 359;
father of Pyrrhus, 361;
significance, 394, 395.
A´cis.
Youth loved by Galatea, and slain by Polyphemus, 341.
A-cris´i-us.
King of Argos, and father of Danae, 240, 241, 249;
significance, 390, 391.
A-crop´o-lis.
Hill in Athens, the site of the Parthenon and Theseus' temple, 262.
Ac-tæ´on.
Hunter changed to a stag by Diana, 100, 101.
Ad-me´te.
Daughter of Eurystheus, covets Hippolyte's girdle, 223.
Ad-me´tus.
King of Thessaly, served by Apollo, and saved from death by
Alcestis, 64, 65;
Hercules restores Alcestis to, 230;
one of the Argonauts, 266;
in Calydonian Hunt, 275;
significance, 386.
A-do´nis.
Hunter loved by Venus and slain by a boar, 108-110;
significance, 195, 389.
A-dras´tus.
King of Argos;
his horse Arion, 153;
father of Hippodamia, 260;
sends expedition against Thebes, 287.
Æ´a-cus.
One of the three judges of the dead in Hades, 163.
Æ-æ´a.
Island inhabited by Circe and visited by Ulysses, 347-350.
Æ-e´tes.
King of Colchis, father of Medea and Absyrtus, 268, 271;
brother of Circe, 347;
significance, 392.
Æ-ge´an Sea.
Delos chained in, 62;
Arion borne by dolphins in, 82, 83;
named after Ægeus, 259.
Æ-ge´us.
King of Athens;
father of Theseus, 250, 252, 253;
drowns himself, 259;
significance, 391.
Æ´gis.
Shield or breastplate of Minerva and Jupiter, 58;
loaned to Perseus, 243;
bears Medusa's head, 249.
Æ-gis´thus.
Murderer of Agamemnon;
slain by Orestes, 336.
Æg´le.
One of the Heliades;
changed to a poplar tree, 87.
Æ-gyp´tus.
Brother of Danaus, 166.
Æ-ne´a-dæ.
City which Æneas proposed to found in Thrace, 363.
Æ-ne´as.
Son of Venus and Anchises, 111;
Æneas' descendants, 140;
worship introduced into Italy by, 198;
hero of Virgil's Æneid, 360-377.
Æ-ne´as Sil´vi-a.
Son of Æneas;
founder of Alba Longa, 377.
Æ-ne´id.
Virgil's epic poem on the adventures of Æneas, 374.
Æ-o´li-a.
1. Same as Æolian Islands.
2. In Asia Minor, near Ægean Sea, 214.
Æ-o´li-an Islands.
The home of Æolus, god of the winds, 213, 346;
supposed to be Lipari Islands, 213.
Æ-o´li-an Race.
Descendants of Æolus, son of Hellen, 38.
Æ´o-lus.
1. God of the winds, 213-215;
Juno's bargain with, 266;
gift to Ulysses, 346;
destruction of Æneas' fleet, 365;
significance, 400.
2. Son of Hellen, founder of the Æolian race, 38.
Æs-cu-la´pi-us.
Son of Apollo and Coronis, 63, 64;
Machaon, son of, 331;
significance, 387.
Æ´son.
Father of Jason, 263;
rejuvenated by Medea, 273.
Æ´ther.
God of light, 13;
dethroned, 17.
Æ´thra.
Princess of Troezene, 250;
mother of Theseus, 253;
Helen intrusted to, 260;
significance, 391.
Æt´na.
Volcano in Sicily, 183;
the tomb of Enceladus, 24;
forge of Vulcan, 145, 148, 326;
Ceres' visit to, 187.
Æ-to´li-a.
Country between Epirus and Locris, 275.
Af´ri-ca.
Hercules' visit to, 226, 227.
Afterthought.
Name given to Epimetheus, 25.
Ag-a-mem´non.
Chief of the expedition against Troy, 314-319;
return of, 336;
troops of, 361;
significance, 394.
A-ga´ve.
Mother of Pentheus;
infuriated by Bacchus, slays her son, 182.
A-ge´nor.
Father of Europa, Cadmus, Cilix, Phoenix, 44-47.
Ag-la´ia.
One of the Graces;
an attendant of Venus, 105.
A-ï´des.
Same as Pluto;
significance, 401.
A-ï-do´neus.
Same as Pluto, god of the Infernal Regions, 159.
A´jax.
Greek hero in Trojan war, 314;
Patroclus' corpse recovered by, 328;
insanity of, 330.
Al´ba Lon´ga.
City in Italy founded by Æneas Silvia, 377.
Al-ces´tis.
Wife of Admetus;
dies to save his life, 65;
restored by Hercules, 230.
Al-ci´des.
Same as Hercules, 216;
lion skin of, 220;
Deianeira accompanies, 234;
Deianeira's charm for, 236;
pose of, 239.
Al-cim´e-de.
Queen of Iolcus;
mother of Jason, 263.
Al-cin´o-us.
Phæacian king, enables Ulysses to reach Ithaca, 355.
Al-cip´pe.
Daughter of Mars;
carried off by Halirrhothius, 139.
Alc-me´ne.
Wife of Jupiter, and mother of Hercules, 28, 216;
significance, 389.
A-lec´to.
One of the Furies, 163;
sent by Juno to kindle war between Æneas and the Latins, 373.
A-lec´try-on.
Servant of Mars;
changed to a cock, 106, 107.
Al-phe´us.
1. River of Peloponnesus;
dammed to clean Augean stable, 221.
2. The river god who pursued Arethusa, 190-193.
Al-thæ´a.
Mother of Meleager, 275, 276.
Am-al-the´a.
Goat which nursed Jupiter, 21.
Am-a-se´nus.
River over which Metabus flung Camilla, 373.
A-ma´ta.
Wife of Latinus, 372;
driven mad by Alecto, 373;
suicide of, 376.
Am´a-zons.
Nation of warlike women;
Hercules visits, 224;
Theseus visits, 259;
Bellerophon visits, 295;
Queen of the, 329.
Am-bro´si-a.
Celestial food used by the gods, 41;
gods deprived of, 84.
Am´mon.
Temple of Jupiter in Libya, 48.
A´mor.
Same as Eros, Cupid, etc.;
god of love, 13;
son of Venus and Mars, 107.
Am-phi´on.
Son of Jupiter and Antiope;
musician;
King of Thebes, 80-82.
Am-phi-tri´te.
Same as Salacia, queen of the sea;
wife of Neptune, 154, 158;
train of, 155;
significance, 397.
An-chi´ses.
Husband of Venus, 111;
father of Æneas, 360-362;
prophecy recalled by, 364;
death of, 365;
death anniversary of, 369;
Æneas' visit to, 370-372.
An-ci´le.
Shield of Mars, guarded by the Salii in Rome, 143.
An-dræ´mon.
Husband of Dryope;
saw her changed to a tree, 298.
An-drom´a-che.
Wife of Hector;
parting of Hector and, 321-323;
grief of, 328;
captivity of, 365.
An-drom´e-da.
Daughter of Celeus and Cassiopeia;
saved by Perseus, 246-249;
significance, 391.
An-tæ´us.
Giant son of Gæa;
defender of the Pygmies;
slain by Hercules, 227, 228.
An-te´i-a.
Wife of Proetus;
accuses Bellerophon falsely, 291;
significance, 393.
An´te-ros.
God of passion, 107, 108;
son of Venus and Mars, 140.
An-tig´o-ne.
Daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta;
buried alive, 285-288;
significance, 393.
An-tin´o-us.
One of Penelope's suitors;
slain by Ulysses, 358.
An-ti´o-pe.
Wife of Jupiter;
mother of Amphion and Zethus;
persecuted by Dirce, 80.
A-pha´re-us.
Father of Castor's murderer, 279.
Aph-ro-di´te.
Same as Venus, Dione, etc., 103, 105;
significance, 399.
A-pol´lo.
Same as Phoebus, Sol, and Helios, 61-91;
god of the sun, music, poetry, and medicine, 55;
Diana's brother, 93;
Niobe's sons slain by, 94;
Mars and Venus seen by, 106, 107;
Mercury steals cattle of, 132-134;
giants slain by, 139;
walls built by, 151, 152;
Marpessa claimed by, 155;
Vesta loved by, 198;
Janus, son of, 205;
oracles of, 280, 281;
steed of, 294;
Cassandra loved by, 310;
Chryses appeals to, 318, 319;
Ulysses incurs anger of, 354;
significance, 386, 390, 393, 396, 398.
Aq´ui-lo.
West wind, son of Æolus and Aurora, 213, 215.
A-rach´ne.
Minerva's needlework contest with, 58, 59.
Ar-ca´di-a.
Province of Peloponnesus, 221, 275;
Mercury's birthplace, 131.
Ar´cas.
Son of Jupiter and Callisto;
constellation of the Little Bear, 52.
A-re-o-pa-gi´tæ.
Judges of the criminal court of Athens, 140.
A-re-op´a-gus.
Hill near Athens;
site of the Parthenon, 140.
A´res.
Same as Mars, 138;
significance, 400.
A-re´te.
1. Goddess of virtue;
takes charge of Hercules, 218-220.
2. Wife of Alcinous;
mother of Nausicaa, 355.
Ar-e-thu´sa.
Nymph of Diana;
changed to a fountain, 190-193.
Ar´ges (Sheet-lightning).
A Cyclop;
son of Uranus and Gæa, 18.
Ar´go.
Vessel in which Jason set sail in search of the golden fleece,
266-274;
significance, 392.
Ar-go-nau´tic Expedition
in search of golden fleece, 154;
Zetes and Calais in, 215;
Hercules in, 230;
Meleager in, 275;
significance, 391, 392.
Ar´go-nauts.
Name given to Jason and crew, 267-271;
significance, 392.
Ar´gos.
City in Argolis, dedicated to Juno, 52-54;
Eurystheus, king of, 218-220;
Acrisius, king of, 240, 249;
Adrastus, king of, 260, 287;
Proetus, king of, 291;
Agamemnon's return to, 336;
significance, 389, 390.
Ar´gus.
1. Name of myriad-eyed giant who watched Io, 135-137;
significance, 385.
2. Name of Ulysses' faithful hound, 357.
A-ri-ad´ne.
Daughter of Minos;
Theseus aided by, 256, 257;
deserted by Theseus, 179, 257;
marries Bacchus, 181;
significance, 391.
A-ri´on.
1. Winged steed;
the offspring of Neptune and Ceres, 153.
2. Musician;
thrown into the sea by pirates, saved by a dolphin, 82, 83.
Ar-is-tæ´us.
Youth who indirectly causes Eurydice's death, 76.
Ar´te-mis.
Same as Diana, goddess of the moon and the chase, 93, 97.
As-cal´a-phus.
Spirit in Hades who saw Proserpina eat pomegranate seeds, 195.
A´si-a Mi´nor.
West of Asia;
Bacchus' visit to, 176;
Vesta's shrine in, 198;
Thetis' flight from, 326.
As-kle´pi-os.
Same as Æsculapius;
son of Apollo and Coronis, 63.
As-ty´a-nax.
Infant son of Hector and Andromache, 321.
At-a-lan´ta.
Maiden who takes part in Calydonian Hunt and races with Milanion
or Hippomenes, 275-278;
significance, 392.
Ath´a-mas.
King of Thebes;
father of Phryxus and Helle, 265;
Ino in madness slain by, 174;
significance, 391.
A-the´ne.
Same as Minerva, 55;
tutelary goddess of Athens, 57;
significance, 395.
A-the´ni-ans.
Inhabitants of Athens, 215;
tribute of, 253, 256;
ingratitude of, 262.
Ath´ens.
Minerva's festivals at, 60;
tribunal at, 139, 140;
contest for, 152;
Ægeus, king of, 250;
Theseus' arrival at, 252, 253;
Ariadne elopes to, 256;
Castor and Pollux' visit to, 260;
Theseus, king of, 262;
Peleus, king of, 305.
At´las.
1. Mountains.
2. One of Iapetus' sons, 25;
daughters of, 98;
heavens supported by, 227-229;
Perseus petrifies, 244-246;
significance, 379.
At´ro-pos.
One of the Fates;
cuts the thread of life, 165.
At´ti-ca.
Province of Greece;
Cecrops founds city in, 57;
oppression of, 255;
shores of, 259.
Au-ge´as.
King of Elis;
his stables were cleansed by Hercules, 221-223.
Au´lis.
Port in Boeotia, the meeting-place of the Greek expedition
against Troy, 312, 315.
Au-ro´ra.
Same as Eos, goddess of dawn;
attendant of Apollo, 85, 107;
jealousy of, 70;
Tithonus loved by, 90;
Æolus' wife, 213.
Aus´ter.
Southwest wind, same as Notus;
a son of Æolus and Aurora, 215.
Au-tom´e-don.
Achilles' charioteer, 328.
Av´en-tine.
One of the seven hills on which Rome is built, 226.
A-ver´nus.
Lake near Naples;
the entrance to Hades in Italy, 160;
Æneas' visit to, 370.
Bab´y-lon.
The home of Pyramus and Thisbe, 117.
Bac-cha-na´li-a.
Festivals in honor of Bacchus, 182.
Bac-chan´tes.
Female followers of Bacchus, 176, 182;
Orpheus slain by, 79, 80.
Bac´chus.
Same as Dionysus, god of wine and revelry;
son of Jupiter and Semele, 171-182;
Vulcan visited by, 147;
Ariadne rescued by, 257;
tutor of, 300;
gift from, 306.
Bau´cis.
1. The mortal who showed hospitality to Jupiter and Mercury;
wife of Philemon, 43, 44.
2. Father of Dryope (changed to a tree), 298.
Bel-ler´o-phon.
Demigod;
mounts Pegasus and slays the dread Chimæra, 291-296;
significance, 393, 394.
Bel-lo´na.
Goddess of war;
attendant of Mars, 138.
Ber-e-ni´ce.
Queen whose hair was changed into a comet, 130, 384.
Ber´o-e.
Nurse of Semele, whose form Juno assumes to arouse Semele's
jealousy, 171, 172.
Bi´ton.
Brother of Cleobis;
draws his mother to the temple, 54.
Boe-o´ti-a.
Province in Greece, whose principal city was Thebes, 47, 280.
Bo´re-as.
North wind;
son of Æolus and Aurora;
kidnaps Orithyia, 213-215;
sons of, 267.
Bos´po-rus.
Channel connecting Black Sea and Sea of Marmora, on route of
Argonauts, 268.
Brass Age.
Third age of world, 35.
Bri-a´re-us.
One of the Centimani;
son of Uranus and Gæa, 18;
umpire, 152.
Bri-se´is.
Captive of Achilles during Trojan war;
claimed by Agamemnon, 318, 319, 324;
significance, 394.
Bron´tes (Thunder).
A Cyclop;
son of Uranus and Gæa, 18.
Bru´tus.
Unborn soul of Roman hero, seen by Anchises in Hades, 372.
Ca´cus.
Son of Vulcan, 148;
giant slain by Hercules on Mount Aventine, 226;
significance, 386.
Cad´mus.
Brother of Europa;
founder of Thebes, 45-48;
husband of Harmonia, 107;
daughter of, 171;
dragon-tooth seed of, 268;
significance, 386, 390, 393.
Ca-du´ce-us.
Wand given to Mercury by Apollo, 134.
Cæ´sar.
Unborn soul of Roman hero, seen by Anchises in Hades, 372.
Cal´a-is.
Son of Boreas and Orithyia, 215.
Cal´chas.
Soothsayer of the Greeks during the Trojan war, 315.
Cal-li´o-pe.
One of the nine Muses, loved by Apollo, 90;
mother of Orpheus, 75.
Cal-lis´to.
Maiden loved by Jupiter;
changed into a bear by Juno;
the Great Bear, 52.
Cal´y-don.
Home of Meleager;
site of Calydonian Hunt, 275.
Cal-y-do´ni-an Hunt.
Organized by Meleager to slay a boar, 275-279.
Ca-lyp´so.
Nymph who detained Ulysses on Ogygia seven years, 354;
significance, 395.
Ca-mil´la.
Volscian maiden;
fights, and is slain by, Æneas, 373, 376;
dedicated to Diana, 374.
Ca-mil´lus.
Unborn soul of Roman hero, seen by Anchises in Hades, 372.
Cam´pus mar´ti-us.
Roman exercising grounds sacred to Mars, 143.
Can´cer.
Crab which attacked Hercules to defend the Hydra;
a constellation, 221.
Cap´i-tol.
Temple dedicated to Jupiter in Rome, 48.
Car´thage.
A city in Africa, built by Dido, visited by Æneas, 367.
Cas-san´dra.
Daughter of Priam;
her prophecies, though true, were always disbelieved, 310, 364;
captivity of, 361.
Cas-si-o-pe´ia.
Mother of Andromeda, 246;
a constellation, 249;
significance, 391.
Cas´tor.
One of the Dioscuri or Gemini, 278, 279;
rescue of Helen by, 260;
Argonauts joined by, 266;
Calydonian Hunt joined by, 275.
Cau-ca´si-an Mountains.
Same as Caucasus;
Prometheus chained to, 28, 227.
Ce´crops.
Founder of Athens, 57;
descendants of, 255.
Ce-læ´no.
One of the Harpies;
frightens Æneas by prophesying harm, 365.
Ce´le-us.
1. King of Eleusis;
father of Triptolemus, 188.
2. Father of Andromeda;
significance, 391.
Cen´taurs.
Children of Ixion, half man, half horse;
Chiron, 218, 263, 314;
Hercules fights, 221;
battle of, 230, 260;
Nessus, 234-236;
significance, 391, 397.
Cen-tim´a-ni (Hundred-handed).
Three sons of Uranus and Gæa, 17, 18.
Ceph´a-lus.
Hunter loved by Procris and Aurora, 70, 71, 90;
significance, 387.
Cer´be-rus.
Three-headed dog which guarded the entrance of Hades, 76, 77, 160;
Hercules captures, 229, 260;
significance, 401.
Cer´cy-on.
Son of Vulcan, 148;
encountered by Theseus, 252.
Ce-re-a´li-a.
Festivals in honor of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, 196.
Ce´res.
Same as Demeter, goddess of agriculture and civilization, 159,
183-197;
Cronus disgorges, 22;
Psyche consults, 127, 128;
Neptune loves, 153;
Pelops' shoulder eaten by, 167;
significance, 396, 397.
Cer-y-ne´a.
Town of Achaia, 221.
Cer-y-ne´ian Stag.
Stag taken by Hercules;
one of his labors, 221.
Ces´tus.
Venus' magic, love-inspiring girdle, 130, 308.
Ce´yx.
King of Thessaly;
shipwrecked, and changed with his wife Halcyone into birds, 211, 212.