VIRGIL

Virgil, called also by his surname, Maro, from whose poem of the

"Aeneid" we have taken the story of Aeneas, was one of the great

poets who made the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus so

celebrated, under the name of the Augustan age. Virgil was born in

Mantua in the year 70 B.C. His great poem is ranked next to those

of Homer, in the highest class of poetical composition, the Epic.

Virgil is far inferior to Homer in originality and invention, but

superior to him in correctness and elegance. To critics of English

lineage Milton alone of modern poets seems worthy to be classed

with these illustrious ancients. His poem of "Paradise Lost," from

which we have borrowed so many illustrations, is in many respects

equal, in some superior, to either of the great works of

antiquity. The following epigram of Dryden characterizes the three

poets with as much truth as it is usual to find in such pointed

criticism:

"ON MILTON

"Three poets in three different ages born,

Greece, Italy, and England did adorn

The first in loftiness of soul surpassed,

The next in majesty, in both the last.

The force of nature could no further go;

To make a third she joined the other two."

From Cowper's "Table Talk":

"Ages elapsed ere Homer's lamp appeared,

And ages ere the Mantuan swan was heard.

To carry nature lengths unknown before,

To give a Milton birth, asked ages more.

Thus genius rose and set at ordered times,

And shot a dayspring into distant climes,

Ennobling every region that he chose;

He sunk in Greece, in Italy he rose,

And, tedious years of Gothic darkness past,

Emerged all splendor in our isle at last.

Thus lovely Halcyons dive into the main,

Then show far off their shining plumes again."

OVID

Ovid, often alluded to in poetry by his other name of Naso, was

born in the year 43 B.C. He was educated for public life and held

some offices of considerable dignity, but poetry was his delight,

and he early resolved to devote himself to it. He accordingly

sought the society of the contemporary poets, and was acquainted

with Horace and saw Virgil, though the latter died when Ovid was

yet too young and undistinguished to have formed his acquaintance.

Ovid spent an easy life at Rome in the enjoyment of a competent

income. He was intimate with the family of Augustus, the emperor,

and it is supposed that some serious offence given to some member

of that family was the cause of an event which reversed the poet's

happy circumstances and clouded all the latter portion of his

life. At the age of fifty he was banished from Rome, and ordered

to betake himself to Tomi, on the borders of the Black Sea. Here,

among the barbarous people and in a severe climate, the poet, who

had been accustomed to all the pleasures of a luxurious capital

and the society of his most distinguished contemporaries, spent

the last ten years of his life, worn out with grief and anxiety.

His only consolation in exile was to address his wife and absent

friends, and his letters were all poetical. Though these poems

(the "Trista" and "Letters from Pontus") have no other topic than

the poet's sorrows, his exquisite taste and fruitful invention

have redeemed them from the charge of being tedious, and they are

read with pleasure and even with sympathy.

The two great works of Ovid are his "Metamorphoses" and his

"Fasti." They are both mythological poems, and from the former we

have taken most of our stories of Grecian and Roman mythology. A

late writer thus characterizes these poems:

"The rich mythology of Greece furnished Ovid, as it may still

furnish the poet, the painter, and the sculptor, with materials

for his art. With exquisite taste, simplicity, and pathos he has

narrated the fabulous traditions of early ages, and given to them

that appearance of reality which only a master hand could impart.

His pictures of nature are striking and true; he selects with care

that which is appropriate; he rejects the superfluous; and when he

has completed his work, it is neither defective nor redundant. The

'Metamorphoses' are read with pleasure by youth, and are re-read

in more advanced age with still greater delight. The poet ventured

to predict that his poem would survive him, and be read wherever

the Roman name was known."

The prediction above alluded to is contained in the closing lines

of the "Metamorphoses," of which we give a literal translation

below:

"And now I close my work, which not the ire

Of Jove, nor tooth of time, nor sword, nor fire

Shall bring to nought. Come when it will that day

Which o'er the body, not the mind, has sway,

And snatch the remnant of my life away,

My better part above the stars shall soar,

And my renown endure forevermore.

Where'er the Roman arms and arts shall spread

There by the people shall my book be read;

And, if aught true in poet's visions be,

My name and fame have immortality."

CHAPTER XXXVI

MODERN MONSTERS--THE PHOENIX--BASILISK--UNICORN--SALAMANDER

MODERN MONSTERS

There is a set of imaginary beings which seem to have been the

successors of the "Gorgons, Hydras, and Chimeras dire" of the old

superstitions, and, having no connection with the false gods of

Paganism, to have continued to enjoy an existence in the popular

belief after Paganism was superseded by Christianity. They are

mentioned perhaps by the classical writers, but their chief

popularity and currency seem to have been in more modern times. We

seek our accounts of them not so much in the poetry of the

ancients as in the old natural history books and narrations of

travellers. The accounts which we are about to give are taken

chiefly from the Penny Cyclopedia.

THE PHOENIX

Ovid tells the story of the Phoenix as follows: "Most beings

spring from other individuals; but there is a certain kind which

reproduces itself. The Assyrians call it the Phoenix. It does not

live on fruit or flowers, but on frankincense and odoriferous

gums. When it has lived five hundred years, it builds itself a

nest in the branches of an oak, or on the top of a palm tree. In

this it collects cinnamon, and spikenard, and myrrh, and of these

materials builds a pile on which it deposits itself, and dying,

breathes out its last breath amidst odors. From the body of the

parent bird, a young Phoenix issues forth, destined to live as

long a life as its predecessor. When this has grown up and gained

sufficient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree (its own

cradle and its parent's sepulchre), and carries it to the city of

Heliopolis in Egypt, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun."

Such is the account given by a poet. Now let us see that of a

philosophic historian. Tacitus says, "In the consulship of Paulus

Fabius (A.D. 34) the miraculous bird known to the world by the

name of the Phoenix, after disappearing for a series of ages,

revisited Egypt. It was attended in its flight by a group of

various birds, all attracted by the novelty, and gazing with

wonder at so beautiful an appearance." He then gives an account of

the bird, not varying materially from the preceding, but adding

some details. "The first care of the young bird as soon as

fledged, and able to trust to his wings, is to perform the

obsequies of his father. But this duty is not undertaken rashly.

He collects a quantity of myrrh, and to try his strength makes

frequent excursions with a load on his back. When he has gained

sufficient confidence in his own vigor, he takes up the body of

his father and flies with it to the altar of the Sun, where he

leaves it to be consumed in flames of fragrance." Other writers

add a few particulars. The myrrh is compacted in the form of an

egg, in which the dead Phoenix is enclosed. From the mouldering

flesh of the dead bird a worm springs, and this worm, when grown

large, is transformed into a bird. Herodotus DESCRIBES the bird,

though he says, "I have not seen it myself, except in a picture.

Part of his plumage is gold-colored, and part crimson; and he is

for the most part very much like an eagle in outline and bulk."

The first writer who disclaimed a belief in the existence of the

Phoenix was Sir Thomas Browne, in his "Vulgar Errors," published

in 1646. He was replied to a few years later by Alexander Ross,

who says, in answer to the objection of the Phoenix so seldom

making his appearance, "His instinct teaches him to keep out of

the way of the tyrant of the creation, MAN, for if he were to be

got at, some wealthy glutton would surely devour him, though there

were no more in the world."

Dryden in one of his early poems has this allusion to the Phoenix:

"So when the new-born Phoenix first is seen,

Her feathered subjects all adore their queen,

And while she makes her progress through the East,

From every grove her numerous train's increased;

Each poet of the air her glory sings,

And round him the pleased audience clap their wings."

Milton, in "Paradise Lost," Book V., compares the angel Raphael

descending to earth to a Phoenix:

"... Down thither, prone in flight

He speeds, and through the vast ethereal sky

Sails between worlds and worlds, with steady wing,

Now on the polar winds, then with quick fan

Winnows the buxom air; till within soar

Of towering eagles, to all the fowls he seems

A Phoenix, gazed by all; as that sole bird

When, to enshrine his relics in the sun's

Bright temple, to Egyptian Thebes he flies."

THE COCKATRICE, OR BASILISK

This animal was called the king of the serpents. In confirmation

of his royalty, he was said to be endowed with a crest, or comb

upon the head, constituting a crown. He was supposed to be

produced from the egg of a cock hatched under toads or serpents.

There were several species of this animal. One species burned up

whatever they approached; a second were a kind of wandering

Medusa's heads, and their look caused an instant horror which was

immediately followed by death. In Shakspeare's play of "Richard

the Third," Lady Anne, in answer to Richard's compliment on her

eyes, says, "Would they were basilisk's, to strike thee dead!"

The basilisks were called kings of serpents because all other

serpents and snakes, behaving like good subjects, and wisely not

wishing to be burned up or struck dead, fled the moment they heard

the distant hiss of their king, although they might be in full

feed upon the most delicious prey, leaving the sole enjoyment of

the banquet to the royal monster.

The Roman naturalist Pliny thus describes him: "He does not impel

his body, like other serpents, by a multiplied flexion, but

advances lofty and upright. He kills the shrubs, not only by

contact, but by breathing on them, and splits the rocks, such

power of evil is there in him." It was formerly believed that if

killed by a spear from on horseback the power of the poison

conducted through the weapon killed not only the rider, but the

horse also. To this Lucan alludes in these lines:

"What though the Moor the basilisk hath slain,

And pinned him lifeless to the sandy plain,

Up through the spear the subtle venom flies,

The hand imbibes it, and the victor dies."

Such a prodigy was not likely to be passed over in the legends of

the saints. Accordingly we find it recorded that a certain holy

man, going to a fountain in the desert, suddenly beheld a

basilisk. He immediately raised his eyes to heaven, and with a

pious appeal to the Deity laid the monster dead at his feet.

These wonderful powers of the basilisk are attested by a host of

learned persons, such as Galen, Avicenna, Scaliger, and others.

Occasionally one would demur to some part of the tale while he

admitted the rest. Jonston, a learned physician, sagely remarks,

"I would scarcely believe that it kills with its look, for who

could have seen it and lived to tell the story?" The worthy sage

was not aware that those who went to hunt the basilisk of this

sort took with them a mirror, which reflected back the deadly

glare upon its author, and by a kind of poetical justice slew the

basilisk with his own weapon.

But what was to attack this terrible and unapproachable monster?

There is an old saying that "everything has its enemy"--and the

cockatrice quailed before the weasel. The basilisk might look

daggers, the weasel cared not, but advanced boldly to the

conflict. When bitten, the weasel retired for a moment to eat some

rue, which was the only plant the basilisks could not wither,

returned with renewed strength and soundness to the charge, and

never left the enemy till he was stretched dead on the plain. The

monster, too, as if conscious of the irregular way in which he

came into the world, was supposed to have a great antipathy to a

cock; and well he might, for as soon as he heard the cock crow he

expired.

The basilisk was of some use after death. Thus we read that its

carcass was suspended in the temple of Apollo, and in private

houses, as a sovereign remedy against spiders, and that it was

also hung up in the temple of Diana, for which reason no swallow

ever dared enter the sacred place.

The reader will, we apprehend, by this time have had enough of

absurdities, but still we can imagine his anxiety to know what a

cockatrice was like. The following is from Aldrovandus, a

celebrated naturalist of the sixteenth century, whose work on

natural history, in thirteen folio volumes, contains with much

that is valuable a large proportion of fables and inutilities. In

particular he is so ample on the subject of the cock and the bull

that from his practice, all rambling, gossiping tales of doubtful

credibility are called COCK AND BULL STORIES. Aldrovandus,

however, deserves our respect and esteem as the founder of a

botanic garden, and as a pioneer in the now prevalent custom of

making scientific collections for purposes of investigation and

research.

Shelley, in his "Ode to Naples," full of the enthusiasm excited by

the intelligence of the proclamation of a Constitutional

Government at Naples, in 1820, thus uses an allusion to the

basilisk:

"What though Cimmerian anarchs dare blaspheme

Freedom and thee? a new Actaeon's error

Shall theirs have been,--devoured by their own hounds!

Be thou like the imperial basilisk,

Killing thy foe with unapparent wounds!

Gaze on oppression, till at that dread risk,

Aghast she pass from the earth's disk.

Fear not, but gaze,--for freemen mightier grow,

And slaves more feeble, gazing on their foe."

THE UNICORN

Pliny, the Roman naturalist, out of whose account of the unicorn

most of the modern unicorns have been described and figured,

records it as "a very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its

body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant,

the tail of a boar, a deep, bellowing voice, and a single black

horn, two cubits in length, standing out in the middle of its

forehead." He adds that "it cannot be taken alive;" and some such

excuse may have been necessary in those days for not producing the

living animal upon the arena of the amphitheatre.

The unicorn seems to have been a sad puzzle to the hunters, who

hardly knew how to come at so valuable a piece of game. Some

described the horn as movable at the will of the animal, a kind of

small sword, in short, with which no hunter who was not

exceedingly cunning in fence could have a chance. Others

maintained that all the animal's strength lay in its horn, and

that when hard pressed in pursuit, it would throw itself from the

pinnacle of the highest rocks horn foremost, so as to pitch upon

it, and then quietly march off not a whit the worse for its fall.

But it seems they found out how to circumvent the poor unicorn at

last. They discovered that it was a great lover of purity and

innocence, so they took the field with a young virgin, who was

placed in the unsuspecting admirer's way. When the unicorn spied

her, he approached with all reverence, couched beside her, and

laying his head in her lap, fell asleep. The treacherous virgin

then gave a signal, and the hunters made in and captured the

simple beast.

Modern zoologists, disgusted as they well may be with such fables

as these, disbelieve generally the existence of the unicorn. Yet

there are animals bearing on their heads a bony protuberance more

or less like a horn, which may have given rise to the story. The

rhinoceros horn, as it is called, is such a protuberance, though

it does not exceed a few inches in height, and is far from

agreeing with the descriptions of the horn of the unicorn. The

nearest approach to a horn in the middle of the forehead is

exhibited in the bony protuberance on the forehead of the giraffe;

but this also is short and blunt, and is not the only horn of the

animal, but a third horn, standing in front of the two others. In

fine, though it would be presumptuous to deny the existence of a

one-horned quadruped other than the rhinoceros, it may be safely

stated that the insertion of a long and solid horn in the living

forehead of a horse-like or deer-like animal is as near an

impossibility as anything can be.

THE SALAMANDER

The following is from the "Life of Benvenuto Cellini," an Italian

artist of the sixteenth century, written by himself: "When I was

about five years of age, my father, happening to be in a little

room in which they had been washing, and where there was a good

fire of oak burning, looked into the flames and saw a little

animal resembling a lizard, which could live in the hottest part

of that element. Instantly perceiving what it was, he called for

my sister and me, and after he had shown us the creature, he gave

me a box on the ear. I fell a-crying, while he, soothing me with

caresses, spoke these words: 'My dear child, I do not give you

that blow for any fault you have committed, but that you may

recollect that the little creature you see in the fire is a

salamander; such a one as never was beheld before to my

knowledge.' So saying he embraced me, and gave me some money."

It seems unreasonable to doubt a story of which Signor Cellini was

both an eye and ear witness. Add to which the authority of

numerous sage philosophers, at the head of whom are Aristotle and

Pliny, affirms this power of the salamander. According to them,

the animal not only resists fire, but extinguishes it, and when he

sees the flame charges it as an enemy which he well knows how to

vanquish.

That the skin of an animal which could resist the action of fire

should be considered proof against that element is not to be

wondered at. We accordingly find that a cloth made of the skin of

salamanders (for there really is such an animal, a kind of lizard)

was incombustible, and very valuable for wrapping up such articles

as were too precious to be intrusted to any other envelopes. These

fire-proof cloths were actually produced, said to be made of

salamander's wool, though the knowing ones detected that the

substance of which they were composed was asbestos, a mineral,

which is in fine filaments capable of being woven into a flexible

cloth.

The foundation of the above fables is supposed to be the fact that

the salamander really does secrete from the pores of his body a

milky juice, which when he is irritated is produced in

considerable quantity, and would doubtless, for a few moments,

defend the body from fire. Then it is a hibernating animal, and in

winter retires to some hollow tree or other cavity, where it coils

itself up and remains in a torpid state till the spring again

calls it forth. It may therefore sometimes be carried with the

fuel to the fire, and wake up only time enough to put forth all

its faculties for its defence. Its viscous juice would do good

service, and all who profess to have seen it, acknowledge that it

got out of the fire as fast as its legs could carry it; indeed,

too fast for them ever to make prize of one, except in one

instance, and in that one the animal's feet and some parts of its

body were badly burned.

Dr. Young, in the "Night Thoughts," with more quaintness than good

taste, compares the sceptic who can remain unmoved in the

contemplation of the starry heavens to a salamander unwarmed in

the fire:

"An undevout astronomer is mad!

"O, what a genius must inform the skies!

And is Lorenzo's salamander-heart

Cold and untouched amid these sacred fires?"

CHAPTER XXXVII

EASTERN MYTHOLOGY--ZOROASTER--HINDU MYTHOLOGY--CASTES--BUDDHA--

GRAND LAMA

ZOROASTER

Our knowledge of the religion of the ancient Persians is

principally derived from the Zendavesta, or sacred books of that

people. Zoroaster was the founder of their religion, or rather the

reformer of the religion which preceded him. The time when he

lived is doubtful, but it is certain that his system became the

dominant religion of Western Asia from the time of Cyrus (550

B.C.) to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. Under the

Macedonian monarchy the doctrines of Zoroaster appear to have been

considerably corrupted by the introduction of foreign opinions,

but they afterwards recovered their ascendency.

Zoroaster taught the existence of a supreme being, who created two

other mighty beings and imparted to them as much of his own nature

as seemed good to him. Of these, Ormuzd (called by the Greeks

Oromasdes) remained faithful to his creator, and was regarded as

the source of all good, while Ahriman (Arimanes) rebelled, and

became the author of all evil upon the earth. Ormuzd created man

and supplied him with all the materials of happiness; but Ahriman

marred this happiness by introducing evil into the world, and

creating savage beasts and poisonous reptiles and plants. In

consequence of this, evil and good are now mingled together in

every part of the world, and the followers of good and evil--the

adherents of Ormuzd and Ahriman--carry on incessant war. But this

state of things will not last forever. The time will come when the

adherents of Ormuzd shall everywhere be victorious, and Ahriman

and his followers be consigned to darkness forever.

The religious rites of the ancient Persians were exceedingly

simple. They used neither temples, altars, nor statues, and

performed their sacrifices on the tops of mountains. They adored

fire, light, and the sun as emblems of Ormuzd, the source of all

light and purity, but did not regard them as independent deities.

The religious rites and ceremonies were regulated by the priests,

who were called Magi. The learning of the Magi was connected with

astrology and enchantment, in which they were so celebrated that

their name was applied to all orders of magicians and enchanters.

Wordsworth thus alludes to the worship of the Persians:

"... the Persian,--zealous to reject

Altar and Image, and the inclusive walls

And roofs of temples built by human hands,--

The loftiest heights ascending, from their tops,

With myrtle-wreathed Tiara on his brows,

Presented sacrifice to Moon and Stars,

And to the Winds and mother Elements,

And the whole circle of the Heavens, for him

A sensitive existence and a God."

--Excursion, Book IV.

In "Childe Harold" Byron speaks thus of the Persian worship:

"Not vainly did the early Persian make

His altar the high places and the peak

Of earth-o'er-gazing mountains, and thus take

A fit and unwalled temple, there to seek

The Spirit, in whose honor shrines are weak,

Upreared of human hands. Come and compare

Columns and idol-dwellings, Goth or Greek,

With Nature's realms of worship, earth and air,

Nor fix on fond abodes to circumscribe thy prayer."

III., 91.

The religion of Zoroaster continued to flourish even after the

introduction of Christianity, and in the third century was the

dominant faith of the East, till the rise of the Mahometan power

and the conquest of Persia by the Arabs in the seventh century,

who compelled the greater number of the Persians to renounce their

ancient faith. Those who refused to abandon the religion of their

ancestors fled to the deserts of Kerman and to Hindustan, where

they still exist under the name of Parsees, a name derived from

Pars, the ancient name of Persia. The Arabs call them Guebers,

from an Arabic word signifying unbelievers. At Bombay the Parsees

are at this day a very active, intelligent, and wealthy class. For

purity of life, honesty, and conciliatory manners, they are

favorably distinguished. They have numerous temples to Fire, which

they adore as the symbol of the divinity.

The Persian religion makes the subject of the finest tale in

Moore's "Lalla Rookh," the "Fire Worshippers." The Gueber chief

says,

"Yes! I am of that impious race,

Those slaves of Fire, that morn and even

Hail their creator's dwelling-place

Among the living lights of heaven;

Yes! I am of that outcast crew

To Iran and to vengeance true,

Who curse the hour your Arabs came

To desecrate our shrines of flame,

And swear before God's burning eye,

To break our country's chains or die."

HINDU MYTHOLOGY

The religion of the Hindus is professedly founded on the Vedas. To

these books of their scripture they attach the greatest sanctity,

and state that Brahma himself composed them at the creation. But

the present arrangement of the Vedas is attributed to the sage

Vyasa, about five thousand years ago.

The Vedas undoubtedly teach the belief of one supreme God. The

name of this deity is Brahma. His attributes are represented by

the three personified powers of creation, preservation, and

destruction, which under the respective names of Brahma, Vishnu,

and Siva form the Trimurti or triad of principal Hindu gods. Of

the inferior gods the most important are: 1. Indra, the god of

heaven, of thunder, lightning, storm, and rain; 2. Agni, the god

of fire; 3. Yama, the god of the infernal regions; 4. Surya, the

god of the sun.

Brahma is the creator of the universe, and the source from which

all the individual deities have sprung, and into which all will

ultimately be absorbed. "As milk changes to curd, and water to

ice, so is Brahma variously transformed and diversified, without

aid of exterior means of any sort." The human soul, according to

the Vedas, is a portion of the supreme ruler, as a spark is of the

fire.

VISHNU

Vishnu occupies the second place in the triad of the Hindus, and

is the personification of the preserving principle. To protect the

world in various epochs of danger, Vishnu descended to the earth

in different incarnations, or bodily forms, which descents are

called Avatars. They are very numerous, but ten are more

particularly specified. The first Avatar was as Matsya, the Fish,

under which form Vishnu preserved Manu, the ancestor of the human

race, during a universal deluge. The second Avatar was in the form

of a Tortoise, which form he assumed to support the earth when the

gods were churning the sea for the beverage of immortality,

Amrita.

We may omit the other Avatars, which were of the same general

character, that is, interpositions to protect the right or to

punish wrong-doers, and come to the ninth, which is the most

celebrated of the Avatars of Vishnu, in which he appeared in the

human form of Krishna, an invincible warrior, who by his exploits

relieved the earth from the tyrants who oppressed it.

Buddha is by the followers of the Brahmanical religion regarded as

a delusive incarnation of Vishnu, assumed by him in order to

induce the Asuras, opponents of the gods, to abandon the sacred

ordinances of the Vedas, by which means they lost their strength

and supremacy.

Kalki is the name of the tenth Avatar, in which Vishnu will appear

at the end of the present age of the world to destroy all vice and

wickedness, and to restore mankind to virtue and purity.

SIVA

Siva is the third person of the Hindu triad. He is the

personification of the destroying principle. Though the third

name, he is, in respect to the number of his worshippers and the

extension of his worship, before either of the others. In the

Puranas (the scriptures of the modern Hindu religion) no allusion

is made to the original power of this god as a destroyer; that

power not being to be called into exercise till after the

expiration of twelve millions of years, or when the universe will

come to an end; and Mahadeva (another name for Siva) is rather the

representative of regeneration than of destruction.

The worshippers of Vishnu and Siva form two sects, each of which

proclaims the superiority of its favorite deity, denying the

claims of the other, and Brahma, the creator, having finished his

work, seems to be regarded as no longer active, and has now only

one temple in India, while Mahadeva and Vishnu have many. The

worshippers of Vishnu are generally distinguished by a greater

tenderness for life, and consequent abstinence from animal food,

and a worship less cruel than that of the followers of Siva.

JUGGERNAUT

Whether the worshippers of Juggernaut are to be reckoned among the

followers of Vishnu or Siva, our authorities differ. The temple

stands near the shore, about three hundred miles south-west of

Calcutta. The idol is a carved block of wood, with a hideous face,

painted black, and a distended blood-red mouth. On festival days

the throne of the image is placed on a tower sixty feet high,

moving on wheels. Six long ropes are attached to the tower, by

which the people draw it along. The priests and their attendants

stand round the throne on the tower, and occasionally turn to the

worshippers with songs and gestures. While the tower moves along

numbers of the devout worshippers throw themselves on the ground,

in order to be crushed by the wheels, and the multitude shout in

approbation of the act, as a pleasing sacrifice to the idol. Every

year, particularly at two great festivals in March and July,

pilgrims flock in crowds to the temple. Not less than seventy or

eighty thousand people are said to visit the place on these

occasions, when all castes eat together.

CASTES

The division of the Hindus into classes or castes, with fixed

occupations, existed from the earliest times. It is supposed by

some to have been founded upon conquest, the first three castes

being composed of a foreign race, who subdued the natives of the

country and reduced them to an inferior caste. Others trace it to

the fondness of perpetuating, by descent from father to son,

certain offices or occupations.

The Hindu tradition gives the following account of the origin of

the various castes: At the creation Brahma resolved to give the

earth inhabitants who should be direct emanations from his own

body. Accordingly from his mouth came forth the eldest born,

Brahma (the priest), to whom he confided the four Vedas; from his

right arm issued Shatriya (the warrior), and from his left, the

warrior's wife. His thighs produced Vaissyas, male and female

(agriculturists and traders), and lastly from his feet sprang

Sudras (mechanics and laborers).

The four sons of Brahma, so significantly brought into the world,

became the fathers of the human race, and heads of their

respective castes. They were commanded to regard the four Vedas as

containing all the rules of their faith, and all that was

necessary to guide them in their religious ceremonies. They were

also commanded to take rank in the order of their birth, the

Brahmans uppermost, as having sprung from the head of Brahma.

A strong line of demarcation is drawn between the first three

castes and the Sudras. The former are allowed to receive

instruction from the Vedas, which is not permitted to the Sudras.

The Brahmans possess the privilege of teaching the Vedas, and were

in former times in exclusive possession of all knowledge. Though

the sovereign of the country was chosen from the Shatriya class,

also called Rajputs, the Brahmans possessed the real power, and

were the royal counsellors, the judges and magistrates of the

country; their persons and property were inviolable; and though

they committed the greatest crimes, they could only be banished

from the kingdom. They were to be treated by sovereigns with the

greatest respect, for "a Brahman, whether learned or ignorant, is

a powerful divinity."

When the Brahman arrives at years of maturity it becomes his duty

to marry. He ought to be supported by the contributions of the

rich, and not to be obliged to gain his subsistence by any

laborious or productive occupation. But as all the Brahmans could

not be maintained by the working classes of the community, it was

found necessary to allow them to engage in productive employments.

We need say little of the two intermediate classes, whose rank and

privileges may be readily inferred from their occupations. The

Sudras or fourth class are bound to servile attendance on the

higher classes, especially the Brahmans, but they may follow

mechanical occupations and practical arts, as painting and

writing, or become traders or husbandmen. Consequently they

sometimes grow rich, and it will also sometimes happen that

Brahmans become poor. That fact works its usual consequence, and

rich Sudras sometimes employ poor Brahmans in menial occupations.

There is another class lower even than the Sudras, for it is not

one of the original pure classes, but springs from an unauthorized

union of individuals of different castes. These are the Pariahs,

who are employed in the lowest services and treated with the

utmost severity. They are compelled to do what no one else can do

without pollution. They are not only considered unclean

themselves, but they render unclean everything they touch. They

are deprived of all civil rights, and stigmatized by particular

laws regulating their mode of life, their houses, and their

furniture. They are not allowed to visit the pagodas or temples of

the other castes, but have their own pagodas and religious

exercises. They are not suffered to enter the houses of the other

castes; if it is done incautiously or from necessity, the place

must be purified by religious ceremonies. They must not appear at

public markets, and are confined to the use of particular wells,

which they are obliged to surround with bones of animals, to warn

others against using them. They dwell in miserable hovels, distant

from cities and villages, and are under no restrictions in regard

to food, which last is not a privilege, but a mark of ignominy, as

if they were so degraded that nothing could pollute them. The

three higher castes are prohibited entirely the use of flesh. The

fourth is allowed to use all kinds except beef, but only the

lowest caste is allowed every kind of food without restriction.

BUDDHA

Buddha, whom the Vedas represent as a delusive incarnation of

Vishnu, is said by his followers to have been a mortal sage, whose

name was Gautama, called also by the complimentary epithets of

Sakyasinha, the Lion, and Buddha, the Sage.

By a comparison of the various epochs assigned to his birth, it is

inferred that he lived about one thousand years before Christ.

He was the son of a king; and when in conformity to the usage of

the country he was, a few days after his birth, presented before

the altar of a deity, the image is said to have inclined its head

as a presage of the future greatness of the new-born prophet. The

child soon developed faculties of the first order, and became

equally distinguished by the uncommon beauty of his person. No

sooner had he grown to years of maturity than he began to reflect

deeply on the depravity and misery of mankind, and he conceived

the idea of retiring from society and devoting himself to

meditation. His father in vain opposed this design. Buddha escaped

the vigilance of his guards, and having found a secure retreat,

lived for six years undisturbed in his devout contemplations. At

the expiration of that period he came forward at Benares as a

religious teacher. At first some who heard him doubted of the

soundness of his mind; but his doctrines soon gained credit, and

were propagated so rapidly that Buddha himself lived to see them

spread all over India. He died at the age of eighty years.

The Buddhists reject entirely the authority of the Vedas, and the

religious observances prescribed in them and kept by the Hindus.

They also reject the distinction of castes, and prohibit all

bloody sacrifices, and allow animal food. Their priests are chosen

from all classes; they are expected to procure their maintenance

by perambulation and begging, and among other things it is their

duty to endeavor to turn to some use things thrown aside as

useless by others, and to discover the medicinal power of plants.

But in Ceylon three orders of priests are recognized; those of the

highest order are usually men of high birth and learning, and are

supported at the principal temples, most of which have been richly

endowed by the former monarchs of the country.

For several centuries after the appearance of Buddha, his sect

seems to have been tolerated by the Brahmans, and Buddhism appears

to have penetrated the peninsula of Hindustan in every direction,

and to have been carried to Ceylon, and to the eastern peninsula.

But afterwards it had to endure in India a long-continued

persecution, which ultimately had the effect of entirely

abolishing it in the country where it had originated, but to

scatter it widely over adjacent countries. Buddhism appears to

have been introduced into China about the year 65 of our era. From

China it was subsequently extended to Corea, Japan, and Java.

THE GRAND LAMA

It is a doctrine alike of the Brahminical Hindus and of the

Buddhist sect that the confinement of the human soul, an emanation

of the divine spirit, in a human body, is a state of misery, and

the consequence of frailties and sins committed during former

existences. But they hold that some few individuals have appeared

on this earth from time to time, not under the necessity of

terrestrial existence, but who voluntarily descended to the earth

to promote the welfare of mankind. These individuals have

gradually assumed the character of reappearances of Buddha

himself, in which capacity the line is continued till the present

day, in the several Lamas of Thibet, China, and other countries

where Buddhism prevails. In consequence of the victories of Gengis

Khan and his successors, the Lama residing in Thibet was raised to

the dignity of chief pontiff of the sect. A separate province was

assigned to him as his own territory, and besides his spiritual

dignity he became to a limited extent a temporal monarch. He is

styled the Dalai Lama.

The first Christian missionaries who proceeded to Thibet were

surprised to find there in the heart of Asia a pontifical court

and several other ecclesiastical institutions resembling those of

the Roman Catholic church. They found convents for priests and

nuns; also processions and forms of religious worship, attended

with much pomp and splendor; and many were induced by these

similarities to consider Lamaism as a sort of degenerated

Christianity. It is not improbable that the Lamas derived some of

these practices from the Nestorian Christians, who were settled in

Tartary when Buddhism was introduced into Thibet.

PRESTER JOHN

An early account, communicated probably by travelling merchants,

of a Lama or spiritual chief among the Tartars, seems to have

occasioned in Europe the report of a Presbyter or Prester John, a

Christian pontiff resident in Upper Asia. The Pope sent a mission

in search of him, as did also Louis IX. of France, some years

later, but both missions were unsuccessful, though the small

communities of Nestorian Christians, which they did find, served

to keep up the belief in Europe that such a personage did exist

somewhere in the East. At last in the fifteenth century, a

Portuguese traveller, Pedro Covilham, happening to hear that there

was a Christian prince in the country of the Abessines

(Abyssinia), not far from the Red Sea, concluded that this must be

the true Prester John. He accordingly went thither, and penetrated

to the court of the king, whom he calls Negus. Milton alludes to

him in "Paradise Lost," Book XI., where, describing Adam's vision

of his descendants in their various nations and cities, scattered

over the face of the earth, he says,--

"... Nor did his eyes not ken

Th' empire of Negus, to his utmost port,

Ercoco, and the less maritime kings,

Mombaza and Quiloa and Melind."

CHAPTER XXXVIII

NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY--VALHALLA--THE VALKYRIOR

NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY

The stories which have engaged our attention thus far relate to

the mythology of southern regions. But there is another branch of

ancient superstitions which ought not to be entirely overlooked,

especially as it belongs to the nations from which we, through our

English ancestors, derive our origin. It is that of the northern

nations, called Scandinavians, who inhabited the countries now

known as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. These mythological

records are contained in two collections called the Eddas, of

which the oldest is in poetry and dates back to the year 1056, the

more modern or prose Edda being of the date of 1640.

According to the Eddas there was once no heaven above nor earth

beneath, but only a bottomless deep, and a world of mist in which

flowed a fountain. Twelve rivers issued from this fountain, and

when they had flowed far from their source, they froze into ice,

and one layer accumulating over another, the great deep was filled

up.

Southward from the world of mist was the world of light. From this

flowed a warm wind upon the ice and melted it. The vapors rose in

the air and formed clouds, from which sprang Ymir, the Frost giant

and his progeny, and the cow Audhumbla, whose milk afforded

nourishment and food to the giant. The cow got nourishment by

licking the hoar frost and salt from the ice. While she was one

day licking the salt stones there appeared at first the hair of a

man, on the second day the whole head, and on the third the entire

form endowed with beauty, agility, and power. This new being was a

god, from whom and his wife, a daughter of the giant race, sprang

the three brothers Odin, Vili, and Ve. They slew the giant Ymir,

and out of his body formed the earth, of his blood the seas, of

his bones the mountains, of his hair the trees, of his skull the

heavens, and of his brain clouds, charged with hail and snow. Of

Ymir's eyebrows the gods formed Midgard (mid earth), destined to

become the abode of man.

Odin then regulated the periods of day and night and the seasons

by placing in the heavens the sun and moon and appointing to them

their respective courses. As soon as the sun began to shed its

rays upon the earth, it caused the vegetable world to bud and

sprout. Shortly after the gods had created the world they walked

by the side of the sea, pleased with their new work, but found

that it was still incomplete, for it was without human beings.

They therefore took an ash tree and made a man out of it, and they

made a woman out of an elder, and called the man Aske and the

woman Embla. Odin then gave them life and soul, Vili reason and

motion, and Ve bestowed upon them the senses, expressive features,

and speech. Midgard was then given them as their residence, and

they became the progenitors of the human race.

The mighty ash tree Ygdrasill was supposed to support the whole

universe. It sprang from the body of Ymir, and had three immense

roots, extending one into Asgard (the dwelling of the gods), the

other into Jotunheim (the abode of the giants), and the third to

Niffleheim (the regions of darkness and cold). By the side of each

of these roots is a spring, from which it is watered. The root

that extends into Asgard is carefully tended by the three Norns,

goddesses, who are regarded as the dispensers of fate. They are

Urdur (the past), Verdandi (the present), Skuld (the future). The

spring at the Jotunheim side is Ymir's well, in which wisdom and

wit lie hidden, but that of Niffleheim feeds the adder Nidhogge

(darkness), which perpetually gnaws at the root. Four harts run

across the branches of the tree and bite the buds; they represent

the four winds. Under the tree lies Ymir, and when he tries to

shake off its weight the earth quakes.

Asgard is the name of the abode of the gods, access to which is

only gained by crossing the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow). Asgard

consists of golden and silver palaces, the dwellings of the gods,

but the most beautiful of these is Valhalla, the residence of

Odin. When seated on his throne he overlooks all heaven and earth.

Upon his shoulders are the ravens Hugin and Munin, who fly every

day over the whole world, and on their return report to him all

they have seen and heard. At his feet lie his two wolves, Geri and

Freki, to whom Odin gives all the meat that is set before him, for

he himself stands in no need of food. Mead is for him both food

and drink. He invented the Runic characters, and it is the

business of the Norns to engrave the runes of fate upon a metal

shield. From Odin's name, spelt Woden, as it sometimes is, came

Wednesday, the name of the fourth day of the week.

Odin is frequently called Alfadur (All-father), but this name is

sometimes used in a way that shows that the Scandinavians had an

idea of a deity superior to Odin, uncreated and eternal.

OF THE JOYS OF VALHALLA

Valhalla is the great hall of Odin, wherein he feasts with his

chosen heroes, all those who have fallen bravely in battle, for

all who die a peaceful death are excluded. The flesh of the boar

Schrimnir is served up to them, and is abundant for all. For

although this boar is cooked every morning, he becomes whole again

every night. For drink the heroes are supplied abundantly with

mead from the she-goat Heidrum. When the heroes are not feasting

they amuse themselves with fighting. Every day they ride out into

the court or field and fight until they cut each other in pieces.

This is their pastime; but when meal time comes they recover from

their wounds and return to feast in Valhalla.

THE VALKYRIE

The Valkyrie are warlike virgins, mounted upon horses and armed

with helmets and spears. Odin, who is desirous to collect a great

many heroes in Valhalla to be able to meet the giants in a day

when the final contest must come, sends down to every battle-field

to make choice of those who shall be slain. The Valkyrie are his

messengers, and their name means "Choosers of the slain." When

they ride forth on their errand, their armor sheds a strange

flickering light, which flashes up over the northern skies, making

what men call the "Aurora Borealis," or "Northern Lights."

[Footnote: Gray's ode, "The Fatal Sisters," is founded on this

superstition.]

OF THOR AND THE OTHER GODS

Thor, the thunderer, Odin's eldest son, is the strongest of gods

and men, and possesses three very precious things. The first is a

hammer, which both the Frost and the Mountain giants know to their

cost, when they see it hurled against them in the air, for it has

split many a skull of their fathers and kindred. When thrown, it

returns to his hand of its own accord. The second rare thing he

possesses is called the belt of strength. When he girds it about

him his divine might is doubled. The third, also very precious, is

his iron gloves, which he puts on whenever he would use his mallet

efficiently. From Thor's name is derived our word Thursday.

Frey is one of the most celebrated of the gods. He presides over

rain and sunshine and all the fruits of the earth. His sister

Freya is the most propitious of the goddesses. She loves music,

spring, and flowers, and is particularly fond of the Elves

(fairies). She is very fond of love ditties, and all lovers would

do well to invoke her.

Bragi is the god of poetry, and his song records the deeds of

warriors. His wife, Iduna, keeps in a box the apples which the

gods, when they feel old age approaching, have only to taste of to

become young again.

Heimdall is the watchman of the gods, and is therefore placed on

the borders of heaven to prevent the giants from forcing their way

over the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow). He requires less sleep than

a bird, and sees by night as well as by day a hundred miles around

him. So acute is his ear that no sound escapes him, for he can

even hear the grass grow and the wool on a sheep's back.

OF LOKI AND HIS PROGENY

There is another deity who is described as the calumniator of the

gods and the contriver of all fraud and mischief. His name is

Loki. He is handsome and well made, but of a very fickle mood and

most evil disposition. He is of the giant race, but forced himself

into the company of the gods, and seems to take pleasure in

bringing them into difficulties, and in extricating them out of

the danger by his cunning, wit, and skill. Loki has three

children. The first is the wolf Fenris, the second the Midgard

serpent, the third Hela (Death), The gods were not ignorant that

these monsters were growing up, and that they would one day bring

much evil upon gods and men. So Odin deemed it advisable to send

one to bring them to him. When they came he threw the serpent into

that deep ocean by which the earth is surrounded. But the monster

had grown to such an enormous size that holding his tail in his

mouth he encircles the whole earth. Hela he cast into Niffleheim,

and gave her power over nine worlds or regions, into which she

distributes those who are sent to her; that is, all who die of

sickness or old age. Her hall is called Elvidner. Hunger is her

table, Starvation her knife, Delay her man, Slowness her maid,

Precipice her threshold, Care her bed, and Burning Anguish forms

the hangings of the apartments. She may easily be recognized, for

her body is half flesh color and half blue, and she has a

dreadfully stern and forbidding countenance. The wolf Fenris gave

the gods a great deal of trouble before they succeeded in chaining

him. He broke the strongest fetters as if they were made of

cobwebs. Finally the gods sent a messenger to the mountain

spirits, who made for them the chain called Gleipnir. It is

fashioned of six things, viz., the noise made by the footfall of a

cat, the beards of women, the roots of stones, the breath of

fishes, the nerves (sensibilities) of bears, and the spittle of

birds. When finished it was as smooth and soft as a silken string.

But when the gods asked the wolf to suffer himself to be bound

with this apparently slight ribbon, he suspected their design,

fearing that it was made by enchantment. He therefore only

consented to be bound with it upon condition that one of the gods

put his hand in his (Fenris's) mouth as a pledge that the band was

to be removed again. Tyr (the god of battles) alone had courage

enough to do this. But when the wolf found that he could not break

his fetters, and that the gods would not release him, he bit off

Tyr's hand, and he has ever since remained one-handed. HOW THOR

PAID THE MOUNTAIN GIANT HIS WAGES

Once on a time, when the gods were constructing their abodes and

had already finished Midgard and Valhalla, a certain artificer

came and offered to build them a residence so well fortified that

they should be perfectly safe from the incursions of the Frost

giants and the giants of the mountains. But he demanded for his

reward the goddess Freya, together with the sun and moon. The gods

yielded to his terms, provided he would finish the whole work

himself without any one's assistance, and all within the space of

one winter. But if anything remained unfinished on the first day

of summer he should forfeit the recompense agreed on. On being

told these terms the artificer stipulated that he should be

allowed the use of his horse Svadilfari, and this by the advice of

Loki was granted to him. He accordingly set to work on the first

day of winter, and during the night let his horse draw stone for

the building. The enormous size of the stones struck the gods with

astonishment, and they saw clearly that the horse did one-half

more of the toilsome work than his master. Their bargain, however,

had been concluded, and confirmed by solemn oaths, for without

these precautions a giant would not have thought himself safe

among the gods, especially when Thor should return from an

expedition he had then undertaken against the evil demons.

As the winter drew to a close, the building was far advanced, and

the bulwarks were sufficiently high and massive to render the

place impregnable. In short, when it wanted but three days to

summer, the only part that remained to be finished was the

gateway. Then sat the gods on their seats of justice and entered

into consultation, inquiring of one another who among them could

have advised to give Freya away, or to plunge the heavens in

darkness by permitting the giant to carry away the sun and the

moon.

They all agreed that no one but Loki, the author of so many evil

deeds, could have given such bad counsel, and that he should be

put to a cruel death if he did not contrive some way to prevent

the artificer from completing his task and obtaining the

stipulated recompense. They proceeded to lay hands on Loki, who in

his fright promised upon oath that, let it cost him what it would,

he would so manage matters that the man should lose his reward.

That very night when the man went with Svadilfari for building

stone, a mare suddenly ran out of a forest and began to neigh. The

horse thereat broke loose and ran after the mare into the forest,

which obliged the man also to run after his horse, and thus

between one and another the whole night was lost, so that at dawn

the work had not made the usual progress. The man, seeing that he

must fail of completing his task, resumed his own gigantic

stature, and the gods now clearly perceived that it was in reality

a mountain giant who had come amongst them. Feeling no longer

bound by their oaths, they called on Thor, who immediately ran to

their assistance, and lifting up his mallet, paid the workman his

wages, not with the sun and moon, and not even by sending him back

to Jotunheim, for with the first blow he shattered the giant's

skull to pieces and hurled him headlong into Niffleheim.

THE RECOVERY OF THE HAMMER

Once upon a time it happened that Thor's hammer fell into the

possession of the giant Thrym, who buried it eight fathoms deep

under the rocks of Jotunheim. Thor sent Loki to negotiate with

Thrym, but he could only prevail so far as to get the giant's

promise to restore the weapon if Freya would consent to be his

bride. Loki returned and reported the result of his mission, but

the goddess of love was quite horrified at the idea of bestowing

her charms on the king of the Frost giants. In this emergency Loki

persuaded Thor to dress himself in Freya's clothes and accompany

him to Jotunheim. Thrym received his veiled bride with due

courtesy, but was greatly surprised at seeing her eat for her

supper eight salmons and a full grown ox, besides other

delicacies, washing the whole down with three tuns of mead. Loki,

however, assured him that she had not tasted anything for eight

long nights, so great was her desire to see her lover, the

renowned ruler of Jotunheim. Thrym had at length the curiosity to

peep under his bride's veil, but started back in affright and

demanded why Freya's eyeballs glistened with fire. Loki repeated

the same excuse and the giant was satisfied. He ordered the hammer

to be brought in and laid on the maiden's lap. Thereupon Thor

threw off his disguise, grasped his redoubted weapon, and

slaughtered Thrym and all his followers.

Frey also possessed a wonderful weapon, a sword which would of

itself spread a field with carnage whenever the owner desired it.

Frey parted with this sword, but was less fortunate than Thor and

never recovered it. It happened in this way: Frey once mounted

Odin's throne, from whence one can see over the whole universe,

and looking round saw far off in the giant's kingdom a beautiful

maid, at the sight of whom he was struck with sudden sadness,

insomuch that from that moment he could neither sleep, nor drink,

nor speak. At last Skirnir, his messenger, drew his secret from

him, and undertook to get him the maiden for his bride, if he

would give him his sword as a reward. Frey consented and gave him

the sword, and Skirnir set off on his journey and obtained the

maiden's promise that within nine nights she would come to a

certain place and there wed Frey. Skirnir having reported the

success of his errand, Frey exclaimed:

"Long is one night,

Long are two nights,

But how shall I hold out three?

Shorter hath seemed

A month to me oft

Than of this longing time the half."

So Frey obtained Gerda, the most beautiful of all women, for his

wife, but he lost his sword.

This story, entitled "Skirnir For," and the one immediately

preceding it, "Thrym's Quida," will be found poetically told in

Longfellow's "Poets and Poetry of Europe."

CHAPTER XXXIX

THOR'S VISIT TO JOTUNHEIM

THOR'S VISIT TO JOTUNHEIM, THE GIANT'S COUNTRY

One day the god Thor, with his servant Thialfi, and accompanied by

Loki, set out on a journey to the giant's country. Thialfi was of

all men the swiftest of foot. He bore Thor's wallet, containing

their provisions. When night came on they found themselves in an

immense forest, and searched on all sides for a place where they

might pass the night, and at last came to a very large hall, with

an entrance that took the whole breadth of one end of the

building. Here they lay down to sleep, but towards midnight were

alarmed by an earthquake which shook the whole edifice. Thor,

rising up, called on his companions to seek with him a place of

safety. On the right they found an adjoining chamber, into which

the others entered, but Thor remained at the doorway with his

mallet in his hand, prepared to defend himself, whatever might

happen. A terrible groaning was heard during the night, and at

dawn of day Thor went out and found lying near him a huge giant,

who slept and snored in the way that had alarmed them so. It is

said that for once Thor was afraid to use his mallet, and as the

giant soon waked up, Thor contented himself with simply asking his

name.

"My name is Skrymir," said the giant, "but I need not ask thy

name, for I know that thou art the god Thor. But what has become

of my glove?" Thor then perceived that what they had taken

overnight for a hall was the giant's glove, and the chamber where

his two companions had sought refuge was the thumb. Skrymir then

proposed that they should travel in company, and Thor consenting,

they sat down to eat their breakfast, and when they had done,

Skrymir packed all the provisions into one wallet, threw it over

his shoulder, and strode on before them, taking such tremendous

strides that they were hard put to it to keep up with him. So they

travelled the whole day, and at dusk Skrymir chose a place for

them to pass the night in under a large oak tree. Skrymir then

told them he would lie down to sleep. "But take ye the wallet," he

added, "and prepare your supper."

Skrymir soon fell asleep and began to snore strongly; but when

Thor tried to open the wallet, he found the giant had tied it up

so tight he could not untie a single knot. At last Thor became

wroth, and grasping his mallet with both hands he struck a furious

blow on the giant's head. Skrymir, awakening, merely asked whether

a leaf had not fallen on his head, and whether they had supped and

were ready to go to sleep. Thor answered that they were just going

to sleep, and so saying went and laid himself down under another

tree. But sleep came not that night to Thor, and when Skrymir

snored again so loud that the forest reechoed with the noise, he

arose, and grasping his mallet launched it with such force at the

giant's skull that it made a deep dint in it. Skrymir, awakening,

cried out, "What's the matter? Are there any birds perched on this

tree? I felt some moss from the branches fall on my head. How

fares it with thee, Thor?" But Thor went away hastily, saying that

he had just then awoke, and that as it was only midnight, there

was still time for sleep. He, however, resolved that if he had an

opportunity of striking a third blow, it should settle all matters

between them. A little before daybreak he perceived that Skrymir

was again fast asleep, and again grasping his mallet, he dashed it

with such violence that it forced its way into the giant's skull

up to the handle. But Skrymir sat up, and stroking his cheek said,

"An acorn fell on my head. What! Art thou awake, Thor? Me thinks

it is time for us to get up and dress ourselves; but you have not

now a long way before you to the city called Utgard. I have heard

you whispering to one another that I am not a man of small

dimensions; but if you come to Utgard you will see there many men

much taller than I. Wherefore, I advise you, when you come there,

not to make too much of yourselves, for the followers of Utgard--

Loki will not brook the boasting of such little fellows as you

are. You must take the road that leads eastward, mine lies

northward, so we must part here."

Hereupon he threw his wallet over his shoulders and turned away

from them into the forest, and Thor had no wish to stop him or to

ask for any more of his company.

Thor and his companions proceeded on their way, and towards noon

descried a city standing in the middle of a plain. It was so lofty

that they were obliged to bend their necks quite back on their

shoulders in order to see to the top of it. On arriving they

entered the city, and seeing a large palace before them with the

door wide open, they went in, and found a number of men of

prodigious stature, sitting on benches in the hall. Going further,

they came before the king, Utgard-Loki, whom they saluted with

great respect. The king, regarding them with a scornful smile,

said, "If I do not mistake me, that stripling yonder must be the

god Thor." Then addressing himself to Thor, he said, "Perhaps thou

mayst be more than thou appearest to be. What are the feats that

thou and thy fellows deem yourselves skilled in, for no one is

permitted to remain here who does not, in some feat or other,

excel all other men?"

"The feat that I know," said Loki, "is to eat quicker than any one

else, and in this I am ready to give a proof against any one here

who may choose to compete with me."

"That will indeed be a feat," said Utgard-Loki, "if thou

performest what thou promisest, and it shall be tried forthwith."

He then ordered one of his men who was sitting at the farther end

of the bench, and whose name was Logi, to come forward and try his

skill with Loki. A trough filled with meat having been set on the

hall floor, Loki placed himself at one end, and Logi at the other,

and each of them began to eat as fast as he could, until they met

in the middle of the trough. But it was found that Loki had only

eaten the flesh, while his adversary had devoured both flesh and

bone, and the trough to boot. All the company therefore adjudged

that Loki was vanquished.

Utgard-Loki then asked what feat the young man who accompanied

Thor could perform. Thialfi answered that he would run a race with

any one who might be matched against him. The king observed that

skill in running was something to boast of, but if the youth would

win the match he must display great agility. He then arose and

went with all who were present to a plain where there was good

ground for running on, and calling a young man named Hugi, bade

him run a match with Thialfi. In the first course Hugi so much

out-stripped his competitor that he turned back and met him not

far from the starting place. Then they ran a second and a third

time, but Thialfi met with no better success.

Utgard-Loki then asked Thor in what feats he would choose to give

proofs of that prowess for which he was so famous. Thor answered

that he would try a drinking-match with any one. Utgard-Loki bade

his cup-bearer bring the large horn which his followers were

obliged to empty when they had trespassed in any way against the

law of the feast. The cupbearer having presented it to Thor,

Utgard-Loki said, "Whoever is a good drinker will empty that horn

at a single draught, though most men make two of it, but the most

puny drinker can do it in three."

Thor looked at the horn, which seemed of no extraordinary size

though somewhat long; however, as he was very thirsty, he set it

to his lips, and without drawing breath, pulled as long and as

deeply as he could, that he might not be obliged to make a second

draught of it; but when he set the horn down and looked in, he

could scarcely perceive that the liquor was diminished.

After taking breath, Thor went to it again with all his might, but

when he took the horn from his mouth, it seemed to him that he had

drunk rather less than before, although the horn could now be

carried without spilling.

"How now, Thor?" said Utgard-Loki; "thou must not spare thyself;

if thou meanest to drain the horn at the third draught thou must

pull deeply; and I must needs say that thou wilt not be called so

mighty a man here as thou art at home if thou showest no greater

prowess in other feats than methinks will be shown in this."

Thor, full of wrath, again set the horn to his lips, and did his

best to empty it; but on looking in found the liquor was only a

little lower, so he resolved to make no further attempt, but gave

back the horn to the cup-bearer.

"I now see plainly," said Utgard-Loki, "that thou art not quite so

stout as we thought thee: but wilt thou try any other feat, though

methinks thou art not likely to bear any prize away with thee

hence."

"What new trial hast thou to propose?" said Thor.

"We have a very trifling game here," answered Utgard-Loki, "in

which we exercise none but children. It consists in merely lifting

my cat from the ground; nor should I have dared to mention such a

feat to the great Thor if I had not already observed that thou art

by no means what we took thee for."

As he finished speaking, a large gray cat sprang on the hall

floor. Thor put his hand under the cat's belly and did his utmost

to raise him from the floor, but the cat, bending his back, had,

notwithstanding all Thor's efforts, only one of his feet lifted

up, seeing which Thor made no further attempt.

"This trial has turned out," said Utgard-Loki, "just as I imagined

it would. The cat is large, but Thor is little in comparison to

our men."

"Little as ye call me," answered Thor, "let me see who among you

will come hither now I am in wrath and wrestle with me."

"I see no one here," said Utgard-Loki, looking at the men sitting

on the benches, "who would not think it beneath him to wrestle

with thee; let somebody, however, call hither that old crone, my

nurse Elli, and let Thor wrestle with her if he will. She has

thrown to the ground many a man not less strong than this Thor

is."

A toothless old woman then entered the hall, and was told by

Utgard-Loki to take hold of Thor. The tale is shortly told. The

more Thor tightened his hold on the crone the firmer she stood. At

length after a very violent struggle Thor began to lose his

footing, and was finally brought down upon one knee. Utgard-Loki

then told them to desist, adding that Thor had now no occasion to

ask any one else in the hall to wrestle with him, and it was also

getting late; so he showed Thor and his companions to their seats,

and they passed the night there in good cheer.

The next morning, at break of day, Thor and his companions dressed

themselves and prepared for their departure. Utgard-Loki ordered a

table to be set for them, on which there was no lack of victuals

or drink. After the repast Utgard-Loki led them to the gate of the

city, and on parting asked Thor how he thought his journey had

turned out, and whether he had met with any men stronger than

himself. Thor told him that he could not deny but that he had

brought great shame on himself. "And what grieves me most," he

added, "is that ye will call me a person of little worth."

"Nay," said Utgard-Loki, "it behooves me to tell thee the truth,

now thou art out of the city, which so long as I live and have my

way thou shalt never enter again. And, by my troth, had I known

beforehand that thou hadst so much strength in thee, and wouldst

have brought me so near to a great mishap, I would not have

suffered thee to enter this time. Know then that I have all along

deceived thee by my illusions; first in the forest, where I tied

up the wallet with iron wire so that thou couldst not untie it.

After this thou gavest me three blows with thy mallet; the first,

though the least, would have ended my days had it fallen on me,

but I slipped aside and thy blows fell on the mountain, where thou

wilt find three glens, one of them remarkably deep. These are the

dints made by thy mallet. I have made use of similar illusions in

the contests you have had with my followers. In the first, Loki,

like hunger itself, devoured all that was set before him, but Logi

was in reality nothing else than Fire, and therefore consumed not

only the meat, but the trough which held it. Hugi, with whom

Thialfi contended in running, was Thought, and it was impossible

for Thialfi to keep pace with that. When thou in thy turn didst

attempt to empty the horn, thou didst perform, by my troth, a deed

so marvellous that had I not seen it myself I should never have

believed it. For one end of that horn reached the sea, which thou

wast not aware of, but when thou comest to the shore thou wilt

perceive how much the sea has sunk by thy draughts. Thou didst

perform a feat no less wonderful by lifting up the cat, and to

tell thee the truth, when we saw that one of his paws was off the

floor, we were all of us terror-stricken, for what thou tookest

for a cat was in reality the Midgard serpent that encompasseth the

earth, and he was so stretched by thee that he was barely long

enough to enclose it between his head and tail. Thy wrestling with

Elli was also a most astonishing feat, for there was never yet a

man, nor ever will be, whom Old Age, for such in fact was Elli,

will not sooner or later lay low. But now, as we are going to

part, let me tell thee that it will be better for both of us if

thou never come near me again, for shouldst thou do so, I shall

again defend myself by other illusions, so that thou wilt only

lose thy labor and get no fame from the contest with me."

On hearing these words Thor in a rage laid hold of his mallet and

would have launched it at him, but Utgard-Loki had disappeared,

and when Thor would have returned to the city to destroy it, he

found nothing around him but a verdant plain.

CHAPTER XL

THE DEATH OF BALDUR--THE ELVES--RUNIC LETTERS--ICELAND--TEUTONIC

MYTHOLOGY--NIBELUNGEN LIED

THE DEATH OF BALDUR

Baldur the Good, having been tormented with terrible dreams

indicating that his life was in peril, told them to the assembled

gods, who resolved to conjure all things to avert from him the

threatened danger. Then Frigga, the wife of Odin, exacted an oath

from fire and water, from iron and all other metals, from stones,

trees, diseases, beasts, birds, poisons, and creeping things, that

none of them would do any harm to Baldur. Odin, not satisfied with

all this, and feeling alarmed for the fate of his son, determined

to consult the prophetess Angerbode, a giantess, mother of Fenris,

Hela, and the Midgard serpent. She was dead, and Odin was forced

to seek her in Hela's dominions. This Descent of Odin forms the

subject of Gray's fine ode beginning,--

"Uprose the king of men with speed

And saddled straight his coal-black steed"

But the other gods, feeling that what Frigga had done was quite

sufficient, amused themselves with using Baldur as a mark, some

hurling darts at him, some stones, while others hewed at him with

their swords and battle-axes; for do what they would, none of them

could harm him. And this became a favorite pastime with them and

was regarded as an honor shown to Baldur. But when Loki beheld the

scene he was sorely vexed that Baldur was not hurt. Assuming,

therefore, the shape of a woman, he went to Fensalir, the man-

sion of Frigga. That goddess, when she saw the pretended woman,

inquired of her if she knew what the gods were doing at their

meetings. She replied that they were throwing darts and stones at

Baldur, without being able to hurt him. "Ay," said Frigga,

"neither stones, nor sticks, nor anything else can hurt Baldur,

for I have exacted an oath from all of them." "What," exclaimed

the woman, "have all things sworn to spare Baldur?" "All things,"

replied Frigga, "except one little shrub that grows on the eastern

side of Valhalla, and is called Mistletoe, and which I thought too

young and feeble to crave an oath from."

As soon as Loki heard this he went away, and resuming his natural

shape, cut off the mistletoe, and repaired to the place where the

gods were assembled. There he found Hodur standing apart, without

partaking of the sports, on account of his blindness, and going up

to him, said, "Why dost thou not also throw something at Baldur?"

"Because I am blind," answered Hodur, "and see not where Baldur

is, and have, moreover, nothing to throw."

"Come, then," said Loki, "do like the rest, and show honor to

Baldur by throwing this twig at him, and I will direct thy arm

towards the place where he stands."

Hodur then took the mistletoe, and under the guidance of Loki,

darted it at Baldur, who, pierced through and through, fell down

lifeless. Surely never was there witnessed, either among gods or

men, a more atrocious deed than this. When Baldur fell, the gods

were struck speechless with horror, and then they looked at each

other, and all were of one mind to lay hands on him who had done

the deed, but they were obliged to delay their vengeance out of

respect for the sacred place where they were assembled. They gave

vent to their grief by loud lamentations. When the gods came to

themselves, Frigga asked who among them wished to gain all her

love and good will. "For this," said she, "shall he have who will

ride to Hel and offer Hela a ransom if she will let Baldur return

to Asgard." Whereupon Hermod, surnamed the Nimble, the son of

Odin, offered to undertake the journey. Odin's horse, Sleipnir,

which has eight legs and can outrun the wind, was then led forth,

on which Hermod mounted and galloped away on his mission. For the

space of nine days and as many nights he rode through deep glens

so dark that he could not discern anything, until he arrived at

the river Gyoll, which he passed over on a bridge covered with

glittering gold. The maiden who kept the bridge asked him his name

and lineage, telling him that the day before five bands of dead

persons had ridden over the bridge, and did not shake it as much

as he alone. "But," she added, "thou hast not death's hue on thee;

why then ridest thou here on the way to Hel?"

"I ride to Hel," answered Hermod, "to seek Baldur. Hast thou

perchance seen him pass this way?"

She replied, "Baldur hath ridden over Gyoll's bridge, and yonder

lieth the way he took to the abodes of death"

Hermod pursued his journey until he came to the barred gates of

Hel. Here he alighted, girthed his saddle tighter, and remounting

clapped both spurs to his horse, who cleared the gate by a

tremendous leap without touching it. Hermod then rode on to the

palace, where he found his brother Baldur occupying the most

distinguished seat in the hall, and passed the night in his

company. The next morning he besought Hela to let Baldur ride home

with him, assuring her that nothing but lamentations were to be

heard among the gods. Hela answered that it should now be tried

whether Baldur was so beloved as he was said to be. "If,

therefore," she added, "all things in the world, both living and

lifeless, weep for him, then shall he return to life; but if any

one thing speak against him or refuse to weep, he shall be kept in

Hel."

Hermod then rode back to Asgard and gave an account of all he had

heard and witnessed.

The gods upon this despatched messengers throughout the world to

beg everything to weep in order that Baldur might be delivered

from Hel. All things very willingly complied with this request,

both men and every other living being, as well as earths, and

stones, and trees, and metals, just as we have all seen these

things weep when they are brought from a cold place into a hot

one. As the messengers were returning, they found an old hag named

Thaukt sitting in a cavern, and begged her to weep Baldur out of

Hel. But she answered,

"Thaukt will wail

With dry tears

Baldur's bale-fire.

Let Hela keep her own."

It was strongly suspected that this hag was no other than Loki

himself, who never ceased to work evil among gods and men. So

Baldur was prevented from coming back to Asgard.

[Footnote: In Longfellow's Poems will be found a poem entitled

"Tegner's Drapa," upon the subject of Baldur's death.]

The gods took up the dead body and bore it to the seashore where

stood Baldur's ship "Hringham," which passed for the largest in

the world. Baldur's dead body was put on the funeral pile, on

board the ship, and his wife Nanna was so struck with grief at the

sight that she broke her heart, and her body was burned on the

same pile as her husband's. There was a vast concourse of various

kinds of people at Baldur's obsequies. First came Odin accompanied

by Frigga, the Valkyrie, and his ravens; then Frey in his car

drawn by Gullinbursti, the boar; Heimdall rode his horse Gulltopp,

and Freya drove in her chariot drawn by cats. There were also a

great many Frost giants and giants of the mountain present.

Baldur's horse was led to the pile fully caparisoned and consumed

in the same flames with his master.

But Loki did not escape his deserved punishment. When he saw how

angry the gods were, he fled to the mountain, and there built

himself a hut with four doors, so that he could see every

approaching danger. He invented a net to catch the fishes, such as

fishermen have used since his time. But Odin found out his hiding-

place and the gods assembled to take him. He, seeing this, changed

himself into a salmon, and lay hid among the stones of the brook.

But the gods took his net and dragged the brook, and Loki, finding

he must be caught, tried to leap over the net; but Thor caught him

by the tail and compressed it, so that salmons ever since have had

that part remarkably fine and thin. They bound him with chains and

suspended a serpent over his head, whose venom falls upon his face

drop by drop. His wife Siguna sits by his side and catches the

drops as they fall, in a cup; but when she carries it away to

empty it, the venom falls upon Loki, which makes him howl with

horror, and twist his body about so violently that the whole earth

shakes, and this produces what men call earthquakes.

THE ELVES

The Edda mentions another class of beings, inferior to the gods,

but still possessed of great power; these were called Elves. The

white spirits, or Elves of Light, were exceedingly fair, more

brilliant than the sun, and clad in garments of a delicate and

transparent texture. They loved the light, were kindly disposed to

mankind, and generally appeared as fair and lovely children. Their

country was called Alfheim, and was the domain of Freyr, the god

of the sun, in whose light they were always sporting.

The Black or Night Elves were a different kind of creatures. Ugly,

long-nosed dwarfs, of a dirty brown color, they appeared only at

night, for they avoided the sun as their most deadly enemy,

because whenever his beams fell upon any of them they changed them

immediately into stones. Their language was the echo of solitudes,

and their dwelling-places subterranean caves and clefts. They were

supposed to have come into existence as maggots produced by the

decaying flesh of Ymir's body, and were afterwards endowed by the

gods with a human form and great understanding. They were

particularly distinguished for a knowledge of the mysterious

powers of nature, and for the runes which they carved and

explained. They were the most skilful artificers of all created

beings, and worked in metals and in wood. Among their most noted

works were Thor's hammer, and the ship "Skidbladnir," which they

gave to Freyr, and which was so large that it could contain all

the deities with their war and household implements, but so

skillfully was it wrought that when folded together it could be

put into a side pocket.

RAGNAROK, THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

It was a firm belief of the northern nations that a time would

come when all the visible creation, the gods of Valhalla and

Niffleheim, the inhabitants of Jotunheim, Alfheim, and Midgard,

together with their habitations, would be destroyed. The fearful

day of destruction will not, however, be without its forerunners.

First will come a triple winter, during which snow will fall from

the four corners of the heavens, the frost be very severe, the

wind piercing, the weather tempestuous, and the sun impart no

gladness. Three such winters will pass away without being tempered

by a single summer. Three other similar winters will then follow,

during which war and discord will spread over the universe. The

earth itself will be frightened and begin to tremble, the sea

leave its basin, the heavens tear asunder, and men perish in great

numbers, and the eagles of the air feast upon their still

quivering bodies. The wolf Fenris will now break his bands, the

Midgard serpent rise out of her bed in the sea, and Loki, released

from his bonds, will join the enemies of the gods. Amidst the

general devastation the sons of Muspelheim will rush forth under

their leader Surtur, before and behind whom are flames and burning

fire. Onward they ride over Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, which

breaks under the horses' hoofs. But they, disregarding its fall,

direct their course to the battlefield called Vigrid. Thither also

repair the wolf Fenris, the Midgard serpent, Loki with all the

followers of Hela, and the Frost giants.

Heimdall now stands up and sounds the Giallar horn to assemble the

gods and heroes for the contest. The gods advance, led on by Odin,

who engages the wolf Fenris, but falls a victim to the monster,

who is, however, slain by Vidar, Odin's son. Thor gains great

renown by killing the Midgard serpent, but recoils and falls dead,

suffocated with the venom which the dying monster vomits over him.

Loki and Heimdall meet and fight till they are both slain. The

gods and their enemies having fallen in battle, Surtur, who has

killed Freyr, darts fire and flames over the world, and the whole

universe is burned up. The sun becomes dim, the earth sinks into

the ocean, the stars fall from heaven, and time is no more.

After this Alfadur (the Almighty) will cause a new heaven and a

new earth to arise out of the sea. The new earth filled with

abundant supplies will spontaneously produce its fruits without

labor or care. Wickedness and misery will no more be known, but

the gods and men will live happily together.

RUNIC LETTERS

One cannot travel far in Denmark, Norway, or Sweden without

meeting with great stones of different forms, engraven with

characters called Runic, which appear at first sight very

different from all we know. The letters consist almost invariably

of straight lines, in the shape of little sticks either singly or

put together. Such sticks were in early times used by the northern

nations for the purpose of ascertaining future events. The sticks

were shaken up, and from the figures that they formed a kind of

divination was derived.

The Runic characters were of various kinds. They were chiefly used

for magical purposes. The noxious, or, as they called them, the

BITTER runes, were employed to bring various evils on their

enemies; the favorable averted misfortune. Some were medicinal,

others employed to win love, etc. In later times they were

frequently used for inscriptions, of which more than a thousand

have been found. The language is a dialect of the Gothic, called

Norse, still in use in Iceland. The inscriptions may therefore be

read with certainty, but hitherto very few have been found which

throw the least light on history. They are mostly epitaphs on

tombstones.

Gray's ode on the "Descent of Odin" contains an allusion to the

use of Runic letters for incantation:

"Facing to the northern clime,

Thrice he traced the Runic rhyme;

Thrice pronounced, in accents dread,

The thrilling verse that wakes the dead,

Till from out the hollow ground

Slowly breathed a sullen sound."

THE SKALDS

The Skalds were the bards and poets of the nation, a very

important class of men in all communities in an early stage of

civilization. They are the depositaries of whatever historic lore

there is, and it is their office to mingle something of

intellectual gratification with the rude feasts of the warriors,

by rehearsing, with such accompaniments of poetry and music as

their skill can afford, the exploits of their heroes living or

dead. The compositions of the Skalds were called Sagas, many of

which have come down to us, and contain valuable materials of

history, and a faithful picture of the state of society at the

time to which they relate.

ICELAND

The Eddas and Sagas have come to us from Iceland. The following

extract from Carlyle's lectures on "Heroes and Hero Worship" gives

an animated account of the region where the strange stories we

have been reading had their origin. Let the reader contrast it for

a moment with Greece, the parent of classical mythology:

"In that strange island, Iceland,--burst up, the geologists say,

by fire from the bottom of the sea, a wild land of barrenness and

lava, swallowed many months of every year in black tempests, yet

with a wild, gleaming beauty in summer time, towering up there

stern and grim in the North Ocean, with its snow yokuls

[mountains], roaring geysers [boiling springs], sulphur pools, and

horrid volcanic chasms, like the waste, chaotic battlefield of

Frost and Fire,--where, of all places, we least looked for

literature or written memorials,--the record of these things was

written down. On the seaboard of this wild land is a rim of grassy

country, where cattle can subsist, and men by means of them and of

what the sea yields; and it seems they were poetic men these, men

who had deep thoughts in them and uttered musically their

thoughts. Much would be lost had Iceland not been burst up from

the sea, not been discovered by the Northmen!"

TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY

In the mythology of Germany proper, the name of Odin appears as

Wotan; Freya and Frigga are regarded as one and the same divinity,

and the gods are in general represented as less warlike in

character than those in the Scandinavian myths. As a whole,

however, Teutonic mythology runs along almost identical lines with

that of the northern nations. The most notable divergence is due

to modifications of the legends by reason of the difference in

climatic conditions. The more advanced social condition of the

Germans is also apparent in their mythology.

THE NIBELUNGEN LIED

One of the oldest myths of the Teutonic race is found in the great

national epic of the Nibelungen Lied, which dates back to the

prehistoric era when Wotan, Frigga, Thor, Loki, and the other gods

and goddesses were worshipped in the German forests. The epic is

divided into two parts, the first of which tells how Siegfried,

the youngest of the kings of the Netherlands, went to Worms, to

ask in marriage the hand of Kriemhild, sister of Gunther, King of

Burgundy. While he was staying with Gunther, Siegfried helped the

Burgundian king to secure as his wife Brunhild, queen of Issland.

The latter had announced publicly that he only should be her

husband who could beat her in hurling a spear, throwing a huge

stone, and in leaping. Siegfried, who possessed a cloak of

invisibility, aided Gunther in these three contests, and Brunhild

became his wife. In return for these services, Gunther gave

Siegfried his sister Kriemhild in marriage.

After some time had elapsed, Siegfried and Kriemhild went to visit

Gunther, when the two women fell into a dispute about the relative

merits of their husbands. Kriemhild, to exalt Siegfried, boasted

that it was to the latter that Gunther owed his victories and his

wife. Brunhild, in great anger, employed Hagan, liegeman of

Gunther, to murder Siegfried. In the epic Hagan is described as

follows:

"Well-grown and well-compacted was that redoubted guest; Long were

his legs and sinewy, and deep and broad his chest; His hair, that

once was sable, with gray was dashed of late; Most terrible his

visage, and lordly was his gait."

--Nibelungen Lied, stanza 1789.

This Achilles of German romance stabbed Siegfried between the

shoulders, as the unfortunate King of the Netherlands was stooping

to drink from a brook during a hunting expedition.

The second part of the epic relates how, thirteen years later,

Kriemhild married Etzel, King of the Huns. After a time, she

invited the King of Burgundy, with Hagan and many others, to the

court of her husband. A fearful quarrel was stirred up in the

banquet hall, which ended in the slaughter of all the Burgundians

but Gunther and Hagan. These two were taken prisoners and given to

Kriemhild, who with her own hand cut off the heads of both. For

this bloody act of vengeance Kriemhild was herself slain by

Hildebrand, a magician and champion, who in German mythology holds

a place to an extent corresponding to that of Nestor in the Greek

mythology.

THE NIBELUNGEN HOARD

This was a mythical mass of gold and precious stones which

Siegfried obtained from the Nibelungs, the people of the north

whom he had conquered and whose country he had made tributary to

his own kingdom of the Netherlands. Upon his marriage, Siegfried

gave the treasure to Kriemhild as her wedding portion. After the

murder of Siegfried, Hagan seized it and buried it secretly

beneath the Rhine at Lochham, intending to recover it at a future

period. The hoard was lost forever when Hagan was killed by

Kriemhild. Its wonders are thus set forth in the poem:

"'Twas as much as twelve huge wagons in four whole nights and days

Could carry from the mountain down to the salt sea bay;

Though to and fro each wagon thrice journeyed every day.

"It was made up of nothing but precious stones and gold;

Were all the world bought from it, and down the value told,

Not a mark the less would there be left than erst there was, I ween."

--Nibelungen Lied, XIX.

Whoever possessed the Nibelungen hoard were termed Nibelungers.

Thus at one time certain people of Norway were so called. When

Siegfried held the treasure he received the title "King of the

Nibelungers."

WAGNER'S NIBELUNGEN RING

Though Richard Wagner's music-drama of the Nibelungen Ring bears

some resemblance to the ancient German epic, it is a wholly

independent composition and was derived from various old songs and

sagas, which the dramatist wove into one great harmonious story.

The principal source was the Volsunga Saga, while lesser parts

were taken from the Elder Edda and the Younger Edda, and others

from the Nibelungen Lied, the Ecklenlied, and other Teutonic

folklore.

In the drama there are at first only four distinct races,--the

gods, the giants, the dwarfs, and the nymphs. Later, by a special

creation, there come the valkyrie and the heroes. The gods are the

noblest and highest race, and dwell first in the mountain meadows,

later in the palace of Valhalla on the heights. The giants are a

great and strong race, but lack wisdom; they hate what is noble,

and are enemies of the gods; they dwell in caves near the earth's

surface. The dwarfs, or nibelungs, are black uncouth pigmies,

hating the good, hating the gods; they are crafty and cunning, and

dwell in the bowels of the earth. The nymphs are pure, innocent

creatures of the water. The valkyrie are daughters of the gods,

but mingled with a mortal strain; they gather dead heroes from the

battle-fields and carry them to Valhalla. The heroes are children

of the gods, but also mingled with a mortal strain; they are

destined to become at last the highest race of all, and to succeed

the gods in the government of the world.

The principal gods are Wotan, Loki, Donner, and Froh. The chief

giants are Fafner and Fasolt, brothers. The chief dwarfs are

Alberich and Mime, brothers, and later Hagan, son of Alberich. The

chief nymphs are the Rhine-daughters, Flosshilda, Woglinda, and

Wellgunda. There are nine Valkyrie, of whom Brunhild is the

leading one.

Wagner's story of the Ring may be summarized as follows:

A hoard of gold exists in the depths of the Rhine, guarded by the

innocent Rhine-maidens. Alberich, the dwarf, forswears love to

gain this gold. He makes it into a magic ring. It gives him all

power, and he gathers by it a vast amount of treasures.

Meanwhile Wotan, chief of the gods, has engaged the giants to

build for him a noble castle, Valhalla, from whence to rule the

world, promising in payment Freya, goddess of youth and love. But

the gods find they cannot spare Freya, as they are dependent on

her for their immortal youth. Loki, called upon to provide a

substitute, tells of Alberich's magic ring and other treasure.

Wotan goes with Loki, and they steal the ring and the golden hoard

from Alberich, who curses the ring and lays the curse on all who

shall henceforth possess it. The gods give the ring and the

treasure to the giants as a substitute for Freya. The curse at

once begins. One giant, Fafner, kills his brother to get all, and

transforms himself into a dragon to guard his wealth. The gods

enter Valhalla over the rainbow bridge. This ends the first part

of the drama, called the Rhine-Gold.

The second part, the Valkyrie, relates how Wotan still covets the

ring. He cannot take it himself, for he has given his word to the

giants. He stands or falls by his word. So he devises an artifice

to get the ring. He will get a hero-race to work for him and

recover the ring and the treasures. Siegmund and Sieglinda are

twin children of this new race. Sieglinda is carried off as a

child and is forced into marriage with Hunding. Siegmund comes,

and unknowingly breaks the law of marriage, but wins Nothung, the

great sword, and a bride. Brunhild, chief of the Valkyrie, is

commissioned by Wotan at the instance of Fricka, goddess of

marriage, to slay him for his sin. She disobeys and tries to save

him, but Hunding, helped by Wotan, slays him. Sieglinda, however,

about to bear the free hero, to be called Siegfried, is saved by

Brunhild, and hid in the forest. Brunhild herself is punished by

being made a mortal woman. She is left sleeping on the mountains

with a wall of fire around her which only a hero can penetrate.

The drama continues with the story of Siegfried, which opens with

a scene in the smithy between Mime the dwarf and Siegfried. Mime

is welding a sword, and Siegfried scorns him. Mime tells him

something of his mother, Sieglinda, and shows him the broken

pieces of his father's sword. Wotan comes and tells Mime that only

one who has no fear can remake the sword. Now Siegfried knows no

fear and soon remakes the sword Nothung. Wotan and Alberich come

to where the dragon Fafner is guarding the ring. They both long

for it, but neither can take it. Soon Mime comes bringing

Siegfried with the mighty sword. Fafner comes out, but Siegfried

slays him. Happening to touch his lips with the dragon's blood, he

understands the language of the birds. They tell him of the ring.

He goes and gets it. Siegfried now has possession of the ring, but

it is to bring him nothing of happiness, only evil. It is to curse

love and finally bring death. The birds also tell him of Mime's

treachery. He slays Mime. He longs for some one to love. The birds

tell him of the slumbering Brunnhilda, whom he finds and marries.

The Dusk of the Gods portrays at the opening the three norns or

fates weaving and measuring the thread of destiny. It is the

beginning of the end. The perfect pair, Siegfried and Brunhild,

appear in all the glory of their life, splendid ideals of manhood

and womanhood. But Siegfried goes out into the world to achieve

deeds of prowess. He gives her the Nibelungen ring to keep as a

pledge of his love till his return. Meanwhile Alberich also has

begotten a son, Hagan, to achieve for him the possession of the

ring. He is partly of the Gibichung race, and works through

Gunther and Gutrune, half-brother and half-sister to him. They

beguile Siegfried to them, give him a magic draught which makes

him forget Brunhild and fall in love with Gutrune. Under this same

spell, he offers to bring Brunhild for wife to Gunther. Now is

Valhalla full of sorrow and despair. The gods fear the end. Wotan

murmurs, "O that she would give back the ring to the Rhine." But

Brunhild will not give it up,--it is now her pledge of love.

Siegfried comes, takes the ring, and Brunhild is now brought to

the Rhine castle of the Gibichungs, but Siegfried under the spell

does not love her. She is to be wedded to Gunther. She rises in

wrath and denounces Siegfried. But at a hunting banquet Siegfried

is given another magic draught, remembers all, and is slain by

Hagan by a blow in the back, as he calls on Brunhild's name in

love. Then comes the end. The body of Siegfried is burned on a

funeral pyre, a grand funeral march is heard, and Brunhild rides

into the flames and sacrifices herself for love's sake; the ring

goes back to the Rhine-daughters; and the old world--of the gods

of Valhalla, of passion and sin--is burnt up with flames, for the

gods have broken moral law, and coveted power rather than love,

gold rather than truth, and therefore must perish. They pass, and

a new era, the reign of love and truth, has begun.

Those who wish to study the differences in the legends of the

Nibelungen Lied and the Nibelungen Ring, and the way in which

Wagner used his ancient material, are referred to Professor W. C.

Sawyer's book on "Teutonic Legends in the Nibelungen Lied and the

Nibelungen Ring," where the matter is treated in full detail. For

a very thorough and clear analysis of the Ring as Wagner gives it,

with a study of the musical motifs, probably nothing is better for

general readers than the volume "The Epic of Sounds," by Freda

Winworth. The more scholarly work of Professor Lavignac is

indispensable for the student of Wagner's dramas. There is much

illuminating comment on the sources and materials in "Legends of

the Wagner Drama" by J. L. Weston.

CHAPTER XLI

THE DRUIDS--IONA

DRUIDS

The Druids were the priests or ministers of religion among the

ancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain, and Germany. Our

information respecting them is borrowed from notices in the Greek

and Roman writers, compared with the remains of Welsh and Gaelic

poetry still extant.

The Druids combined the functions of the priest, the magistrate,

the scholar, and the physician. They stood to the people of the

Celtic tribes in a relation closely analogous to that in which the

Brahmans of India, the Magi of Persia, and the priests of the

Egyptians stood to the people respectively by whom they were

revered.

The Druids taught the existence of one god, to whom they gave a

name "Be' al," which Celtic antiquaries tell us means "the life of

everything," or "the source of all beings," and which seems to

have affinity with the Phoenician Baal. What renders this affinity

more striking is that the Druids as well as the Phoenicians

identified this, their supreme deity, with the Sun. Fire was

regarded as a symbol of the divinity. The Latin writers assert

that the Druids also worshipped numerous inferior gods.

They used no images to represent the object of their worship, nor

did they meet in temples or buildings of any kind for the

performance of their sacred rites. A circle of stones (each stone

generally of vast size), enclosing an area of from twenty feet to

thirty yards in diameter, constituted their sacred place. The most

celebrated of these now remaining is Stonehenge, on Salisbury

Plain, England.

These sacred circles were generally situated near some stream, or

under the shadow of a grove or wide-spreading oak. In the centre

of the circle stood the Cromlech or altar, which was a large

stone, placed in the manner of a table upon other stones set up on

end. The Druids had also their high places, which were large

stones or piles of stones on the summits of hills. These were

called Cairns, and were used in the worship of the deity under the

symbol of the sun.

That the Druids offered sacrifices to their deity there can be no

doubt. But there is some uncertainty as to what they offered, and

of the ceremonies connected with their religious services we know

almost nothing. The classical (Roman) writers affirm that they

offered on great occasions human sacrifices; as for success in war

or for relief from dangerous diseases. Caesar has given a detailed

account of the manner in which this was done. "They have images of

immense size, the limbs of which are framed with twisted twigs and

filled with living persons. These being set on fire, those within

are encompassed by the flames." Many attempts have been made by

Celtic writers to shake the testimony of the Roman historians to

this fact, but without success.

The Druids observed two festivals in each year. The former took

place in the beginning of May, and was called Beltane or "fire of

God." On this occasion a large fire was kindled on some elevated

spot, in honor of the sun, whose returning beneficence they thus

welcomed after the gloom and desolation of winter. Of this custom

a trace remains in the name given to Whitsunday in parts of

Scotland to this day. Sir Walter Scott uses the word in the "Boat

Song" in the "Lady of the Lake":

"Ours is no sapling, chance sown by the fountain, Blooming at

Beltane in winter to fade;" etc.

The other great festival of the Druids was called "Samh'in," or

"fire of peace," and was held on Halloweve (first of November),

which still retains this designation in the Highlands of Scotland.

On this occasion the Druids assembled in solemn conclave, in the

most central part of the district, to discharge the judicial

functions of their order. All questions, whether public or

private, all crimes against person or property, were at this time

brought before them for adjudication. With these judicial acts

were combined certain superstitious usages, especially the

kindling of the sacred fire, from which all the fires in the

district, which had been beforehand scrupulously extinguished,

might be relighted. This usage of kindling fires on Hallow-eve

lingered in the British islands long after the establishment of

Christianity.

Besides these two great annual festivals, the Druids were in the

habit of observing the full moon, and especially the sixth day of

the moon. On the latter they sought the Mistletoe, which grew on

their favorite oaks, and to which, as well as to the oak itself,

they ascribed a peculiar virtue and sacredness. The discovery of

it was an occasion of rejoicing and solemn worship. "They call

it," says Pliny, "by a word in their language, which means 'heal-

all,' and having made solemn preparation for feasting and

sacrifice under the tree, they drive thither two milk-white bulls,

whose horns are then for the first time bound. The priest then,

robed in white, ascends the tree, and cuts off the mistletoe with

a golden sickle. It is caught in a white mantle, after which they

proceed to slay the victims, at the same time praying that God

would render his gift prosperous to those to whom he had given

it." They drink the water in which it has been infused, and think

it a remedy for all diseases. The mistletoe is a parasitic plant,

and is not always nor often found on the oak, so that when it is

found it is the more precious.

The Druids were the teachers of morality as well as of religion.

Of their ethical teaching a valuable specimen is preserved in the

Triads of the Welsh Bards, and from this we may gather that their

views of moral rectitude were on the whole just, and that they

held and inculcated many very noble and valuable principles of

conduct. They were also the men of science and learning of their

age and people. Whether they were acquainted with letters or not

has been disputed, though the probability is strong that they

were, to some extent. But it is certain that they committed

nothing of their doctrine, their history, or their poetry to

writing. Their teaching was oral, and their literature (if such a

word may be used in such a case) was preserved solely by

tradition. But the Roman writers admit that "they paid much

attention to the order and laws of nature, and investigated and

taught to the youth under their charge many things concerning the

stars and their motions, the size of the world and the lands, and

concerning the might and power of the immortal gods."

Their history consisted in traditional tales, in which the heroic

deeds of their forefathers were celebrated. These were apparently

in verse, and thus constituted part of the poetry as well as the

history of the Druids. In the poems of Ossian we have, if not the

actual productions of Druidical times, what may be considered

faithful representations of the songs of the Bards.

The Bards were an essential part of the Druidical hierarchy. One

author, Pennant, says, "The Bards were supposed to be endowed with

powers equal to inspiration. They were the oral historians of all

past transactions, public and private. They were also accomplished

genealogists," etc.

Pennant gives a minute account of the Eisteddfods or sessions of

the Bards and minstrels, which were held in Wales for many

centuries, long after the Druidical priesthood in its other

departments became extinct. At these meetings none but Bards of

merit were suffered to rehearse their pieces, and minstrels of

skill to perform. Judges were appointed to decide on their

respective abilities, and suitable degrees were conferred. In the

earlier period the judges were appointed by the Welsh princes, and

after the conquest of Wales, by commission from the kings of

England. Yet the tradition is that Edward I., in revenge for the

influence of the Bards in animating the resistance of the people

to his sway, persecuted them with great cruelty. This tradition

has furnished the poet Gray with the subject of his celebrated

ode, the "Bard."

There are still occasional meetings of the lovers of Welsh poetry

and music, held under the ancient name. Among Mrs. Hemans' poems

is one written for an Eisteddfod, or meeting of Welsh Bards, held

in London, May 22, 1822. It begins with a description of the

ancient meeting, of which the following lines are a part:

"... midst the eternal cliffs, whose strength defied

The crested Roman in his hour of pride;

And where the Druid's ancient cromlech frowned,

And the oaks breathed mysterious murmurs round,

There thronged the inspired of yore! on plain or height,

In the sun's face, beneath the eye of light,

And baring unto heaven each noble head,

Stood in the circle, where none else might tread."

The Druidical system was at its height at the time of the Roman

invasion under Julius Caesar. Against the Druids, as their chief

enemies, these conquerors of the world directed their unsparing

fury. The Druids, harassed at all points on the mainland,

retreated to Anglesey and Iona, where for a season they found

shelter and continued their now dishonored rites.

The Druids retained their predominance in Iona and over the

adjacent islands and mainland until they were supplanted and their

superstitions overturned by the arrival of St. Columba, the

apostle of the Highlands, by whom the inhabitants of that district

were first led to profess Christianity.

IONA

One of the smallest of the British Isles, situated near a rugged

and barren coast, surrounded by dangerous seas, and possessing no

sources of internal wealth, Iona has obtained an imperishable

place in history as the seat of civilization and religion at a

time when the darkness of heathenism hung over almost the whole of

Northern Europe. lona or Icolmkill is situated at the extremity of

the island of Mull, from which it is separated by a strait of half

a mile in breadth, its distance from the mainland of Scotland

being thirty-six miles.

Columba was a native of Ireland, and connected by birth with the

princes of the land. Ireland was at that time a land of gospel

light, while the western and northern parts of Scotland were still

immersed in the darkness of heathenism. Columba with twelve

friends landed on the island of lona in the year of our Lord 563,

having made the passage in a wicker boat covered with hides. The

Druids who occupied the island endeavored to prevent his settling

there, and the savage nations on the adjoining shores incommoded

him with their hostility, and on several occasions endangered his

life by their attacks. Yet by his perseverance and zeal he

surmounted all opposition, procured from the king a gift of the

island, and established there a monastery of which he was the

abbot. He was unwearied in his labors to disseminate a knowledge

of the Scriptures throughout the Highlands and islands of

Scotland, and such was the reverence paid him that though not a

bishop, but merely a presbyter and monk, the entire province with

its bishops was subject to him and his successors. The Pictish

monarch was so impressed with a sense of his wisdom and worth that

he held him in the highest honor, and the neighboring chiefs and

princes sought his counsel and availed themselves of his judgment

in settling their disputes.

When Columba landed on lona he was attended by twelve followers

whom he had formed into a religious body of which he was the head.

To these, as occasion required, others were from time to time

added, so that the original number was always kept up. Their

institution was called a monastery and the superior an abbot, but

the system had little in common with the monastic institutions of

later times. The name by which those who submitted to the rule

were known was that of Culdees, probably from the Latin "cultores

Dei"--worshippers of God. They were a body of religious persons

associated together for the purpose of aiding each other in the

common work of preaching the gospel and teaching youth, as well as

maintaining in themselves the fervor of devotion by united

exercises of worship. On entering the order certain vows were

taken by the members, but they were not those which were usually

imposed by monastic orders, for of these, which are three,--

celibacy, poverty, and obedience.--the Culdees were bound to none

except the third. To poverty they did not bind themselves; on the

contrary they seem to have labored diligently to procure for

themselves and those dependent on them the comforts of life.

Marriage also was allowed them, and most of them seem to have

entered into that state. True, their wives were not permitted to

reside with them at the institution, but they had a residence

assigned to them in an adjacent locality. Near lona there is an

island which still bears the name of "Eilen nam ban," women's

island, where their husbands seem to have resided with them,

except when duty required their presence in the school or the

sanctuary.

Campbell, in his poem of "Reullura," alludes to the married monks

of Iona:

"... The pure Culdees

Were Albyn's earliest priests of God,

Ere yet an island of her seas

By foot of Saxon monk was trod,

Long ere her churchmen by bigotry

Were barred from holy wedlock's tie.

'Twas then that Aodh, famed afar,

In lona preached the word with power,

And Reullura, beauty's star,

Was the partner of his bower."

In one of his "Irish Melodies," Moore gives the legend of St.

Senanus and the lady who sought shelter on the island, but was

repulsed:

"O, haste and leave this sacred isle,

Unholy bark, ere morning smile;

For on thy deck, though dark it be,

A female form I see;

And I have sworn this sainted sod

Shall ne'er by woman's foot be trod."

In these respects and in others the Culdees departed from the

established rules of the Romish church, and consequently were

deemed heretical. The consequence was that as the power of the

latter advanced that of the Culdees was enfeebled. It was not,

however, till the thirteenth centurv that the communities of the

Culdees were suppressed and the members dispersed. They still

continued to labor as individuals, and resisted the inroads of

Papal usurpation as they best might till the light of the

Reformation dawned on the world.

Iona, from its position in the western seas, was exposed to the

assaults of the Norwegian and Danish rovers by whom those seas

were infested, and by them it was repeatedly pillaged, its

dwellings burned, and its peaceful inhabitants put to the sword.

These unfavorable circumstances led to its gradual decline, which

was expedited by the subversion of the Culdees throughout

Scotland. Under the reign of Popery the island became the seat of

a nunnery, the ruins of which are still seen. At the Reformation,

the nuns were allowed to remain, living in community, when the

abbey was dismantled.

Iona is now chiefly resorted to by travellers on account of the

numerous ecclesiastical and sepulchral remains which are found

upon it. The principal of these are the Cathedral or Abbey Church

and the Chapel of the Nunnery. Besides these remains of

ecclesiastical antiquity, there are some of an earlier date, and

pointing to the existence on the island of forms of worship and

belief different from those of Christianity. These are the

circular Cairns which are found in various parts, and which seem

to have been of Druidical origin. It is in reference to all these

remains of ancient religion that Johnson exclaims, "That man is

little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the

plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer amid the

ruins of lona."

In the "Lord of the Isles" Scott beautifully contrasts the church

on lona with the cave of Staffa, opposite:

"Nature herself, it seemed, would raise

A minister to her Maker's praise!

Not for a meaner use ascend

Her columns, or her arches bend;

Nor of a theme less solemn tells

That mighty surge that ebbs and swells,

And still between each awful pause,

From the high vault an answer draws,

In varied tone, prolonged and high,

That mocks the organ's melody;

Nor doth its entrance front in vain

To old Iona's holy fane,

That Nature's voice might seem to say,

Well hast thou done, frail child of clay!

Thy humble powers that stately shrine

Tasked high and hard--but witness mine!"

GLOSSARY

Abdalrahman, founder of the independent Ommiad (Saracenic) power

in Spain, conquered at Tours by Charles Martel

Aberfraw, scene of nuptials of Branwen and Matholch

Absyrtus, younger brother of Medea

Abydos, a town on the Hellespont, nearly opposite to Sestos

Abyla, Mount, or Columna, a mountain in Morocco, near Ceuta, now

called Jebel Musa or Ape's Hill, forming the Northwestern

extremity of the African coast opposite Gibraltar (See Pillars of

Hercules)

Acestes, son of a Trojan woman who was sent by her father to

Sicily, that she might not be devoured by the monsters which

infested the territory of Troy

Acetes, Bacchanal captured by Pentheus

Achates, faithful friend and companion of Aeneas

Achelous, river-god of the largest river in Greece--his Horn of

Plenty

Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus and of the Nereid

Thetis, slain by Paris

Acis, youth loved by Galatea and slain by Polyphemus

Acontius, a beautiful youth, who fell in love with Cydippe, the

daughter of a noble Athenian.

Acrisius, son of Abas, king of Argos, grandson of Lynceus, the

great-grandson of Danaus.

Actaeon, a celebrated huntsman, son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, who,

having seen Diana bathing, was changed by her to a stag and killed

by his own dogs.

Admeta, daughter of Eurystheus, covets Hippolyta's girdle.

Admetus, king of Thessaly, saved from death by Alcestis

Adonis, a youth beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), and Proserpine;

killed by a boar.

Adrastus, a king of Argos.

Aeacus, son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Aegina, renowned in all Greece

for his justice and piety.

Aeaea, Circe's island, visited by Ulysses.

Aeetes, or Aeeta, son of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, and father

of Medea and Absyrtus.

Aegeus, king of Athens.

Aegina, a rocky island in the middle of the Saronic gulf.

Aegis, shield or breastplate of Jupiter and Minerva.

Aegisthus, murderer of Agamemnon, slain by Orestes.

Aeneas, Trojan hero, son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus), and

born on Mount Ida, reputed first settler of Rome,

Aeneid, poem by Virgil, relating the wanderings of Aeneas from

Troy to Italy,

Ae'olus, son of Hellen and the nymph Orseis, represented in Homer

as the happy ruler of the Aeolian Islands, to whom Zeus had given

dominion over the winds,

Aesculapius, god of the medical art,

Aeson, father of Jason, made young again by Medea,

Aethiopians, inhabitants of the country south of Egypt,

Aethra, mother of Theseus by Aegeus,

Aetna, volcano in Sicily,

Agamedes, brother of Trophonius, distinguished as an architect,

Agamemnon, son of Plisthenis and grandson of Atreus, king of

Mycenae, although the chief commander of the Greeks, is not the

hero of the Iliad, and in chivalrous spirit altogether inferior to

Achilles,

Agave, daughter of Cadmus, wife of Echion, and mother of Pentheus,

Agenor, father of Europa, Cadmus, Cilix, and Phoenix,

Aglaia, one of the Graces,

Agni, Hindu god of fire,

Agramant, a king in Africa,

Agrican, fabled king of Tartary, pursuing Angelica, finally killed

by Orlando,

Agrivain, one of Arthur's knights,

Ahriman, the Evil Spirit in the dual system of Zoroaster, See

Ormuzd

Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Aeacus,

represented in the Iliad as second only to Achilles in bravery,

Alba, the river where King Arthur fought the Romans,

Alba Longa, city in Italy founded by son of Aeneas,

Alberich, dwarf guardian of Rhine gold treasure of the Nibelungs

Albracca, siege of,

Alcestis, wife of Admetus, offered hersell as sacrifice to spare

her husband, but rescued by Hercules,

Alcides (Hercules),

Alcina, enchantress,

Alcinous, Phaeacian king,

Alcippe, daughter of Mars, carried off by Halirrhothrus,

Alcmena, wife of Jupiter, and mother of Hercules,

Alcuin, English prelate and scholar,

Aldrovandus, dwarf guardian of treasure,

Alecto, one of the Furies,

Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conqueror of Greece,

Egypt, Persia, Babylonia, and India,

Alfadur, a name for Odin,

Alfheim, abode of the elves of light,

Alice, mother of Huon and Girard, sons of Duke Sevinus,

Alphenor, son of Niobe,

Alpheus, river god pursuing Arethusa, who escaped by being changed

to a fountain,

Althaea, mother of Meleager, whom she slew because he had in a

quarrel killed her brothers, thus disgracing "the house of

Thestius," her father,

Amalthea, nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete,

Amata, wife of Latinus, driven mad by Alecto,

Amaury of Hauteville, false hearted Knight of Charlemagne,

Amazons, mythical race of warlike women,

Ambrosia, celestial food used by the gods,

Ammon, Egyptian god of life identified by Romans with phases of

Jupiter, the father of gods,

Amphiaraus, a great prophet and hero at Argos,

Amphion, a musician, son of Jupiter and Antiope (See Dirce),

Amphitrite, wife of Neptune,

Amphyrsos, a small river in Thessaly,

Ampyx, assailant of Perseus, turned to stone by seeing Gorgon's

head,

Amrita, nectar giving immortality,

Amun, See Ammon

Amymone, one of the fifty daughters of Danaus, and mother by

Poseidon (Neptune) of Nauplius, the father of Palamedes,

Anaxarete, a maiden of Cyprus, who treated her lover Iphis with

such haughtiness that he hanged himself at her door,

Anbessa, Saracenic governor of Spain (725 AD),

Anceus, one of the Argonauts,

Anchises, beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), by whom he became the

father of Aeneas,

Andraemon, husband of Dryope, saw her changed into a tree,

Andret, a cowardly knight, spy upon Tristram,

Andromache, wife of Hector

Andromeda, daughter of King Cephas, delivered from monster by

Perseus

Aneurin, Welsh bard

Angelica, Princess of Cathay

Anemone, short lived wind flower, created by Venus from the blood

of the slain Adonis

Angerbode, giant prophetess, mother of Fenris, Hela and the

Midgard Serpent

Anglesey, a Northern British island, refuge of Druids fleeing from

Romans

Antaeus, giant wrestler of Libya, killed by Hercules, who, finding

him stronger when thrown to the earth, lifted him into the air and

strangled him

Antea, wife of jealous Proetus

Antenor, descendants of, in Italy

Anteros, deity avenging unrequited love, brother of Eros (Cupid)

Anthor, a Greek

Antigone, daughter of Aedipus, Greek ideal of filial and sisterly

fidelity

Antilochus, son of Nestor

Antiope, Amazonian queen. See Dirce

Anubis, Egyptian god, conductor of the dead to judgment

Apennines

Aphrodite See Venus, Dione, etc.

Apis, Egyptian bull god of Memphis

Apollo, god of music and song

Apollo Belvedere, famous antique statue in Vatican at Rome

Apples of the Hesperides, wedding gifts to Juno, guarded by

daughters of Atlas and Hesperis, stolen by Atlas for Hercules,

Aquilo, or Boreas, the North Wind,

Aquitaine, ancient province of Southwestern France,

Arachne, a maiden skilled in weaving, changed to a spider by

Minerva for daring to compete with her,

Arcadia, a country in the middle of Peloponnesus, surrounded on

all sides by mountains,

Arcady, star of, the Pole star,

Arcas, son of Jupiter and Callisto,

Archer, constellation of the,

Areopagus, court of the, at Athens,

Ares, called Mars by the Romans, the Greek god of war, and one of

the great Olympian gods,

Arethusa, nymph of Diana, changed to a fountain,

Argius king of Ireland, father of Isoude the Fair,

Argo, builder of the vessel of Jason for the Argonautic

expedition,

Argolis, city of the Nemean games,

Argonauts, Jason's crew seeking the Golden Fleece,

Argos, a kingdom in Greece,

Argus, of the hundred eyes, guardian of Io,

Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who helped Theseus slay the

Minotaur,

Arimanes SEE Ahriman.

Arimaspians, one-eyed people of Syria,

Arion, famous musician, whom sailors cast into the sea to rob him,

but whose lyric song charmed the dolphins, one of which bore him

safely to land,

Aristaeus, the bee keeper, in love with Eurydice,

Armorica, another name for Britain,

Arridano, a magical ruffian, slain by Orlando,

Artemis SEE Diana

Arthgallo, brother of Elidure, British king,

Arthur, king in Britain about the 6th century,

Aruns, an Etruscan who killed Camilla,

Asgard, home of the Northern gods,

Ashtaroth, a cruel spirit, called by enchantment to bring Rinaldo

to death,

Aske, the first man, made from an ash tree,

Astolpho of England, one of Charlemagne's knights,

Astraea, goddess of justice, daughter of Astraeus and Eos,

Astyages, an assailant of Perseus,

Astyanax, son of Hector of Troy, established kingdom of Messina in

Italy,

Asuias, opponents of the Braminical gods,

Atalanta, beautiful daughter of King of Icaria, loved and won in a

foot race by Hippomenes,

Ate, the goddess of infatuation, mischief and guilt,

Athamas, son of Aeolus and Enarete, and king of Orchomenus, in

Boeotia, SEE Ino

Athene, tutelary goddess of Athens, the same as Minerva,

Athens, the capital of Attica, about four miles from the sea,

between the small rivers Cephissus and Ilissus,

Athor, Egyptian deity, progenitor of Isis and Osiris,

Athos, the mountainous peninsula, also called Acte, which projects

from Chalcidice in Macedonia,

Atlantes, foster father of Rogero, a powerful magician,

Atlantis, according to an ancient tradition, a great island west

of the Pillars of Hercules, in the ocean, opposite Mount Atlas,

Atlas, a Titan, who bore the heavens on his shoulders, as

punishment for opposing the gods, one of the sons of Iapetus,

Atlas, Mount, general name for range in northern Africa,

Atropos, one of the Fates

Attica, a state in ancient Greece,

Audhumbla, the cow from which the giant Ymir was nursed. Her milk

was frost melted into raindrops,

Augean stables, cleansed by Hercules,

Augeas, king of Elis,

Augustan age, reign of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, famed for

many great authors,

Augustus, the first imperial Caesar, who ruled the Roman Empire 31

BC--14 AD,

Aulis, port in Boeotia, meeting place of Greek expedition against

Troy,

Aurora, identical with Eos, goddess of the dawn,

Aurora Borealis, splendid nocturnal luminosity in northern sky,

called Northern Lights, probably electrical,

Autumn, attendant of Phoebus, the Sun,

Avalon, land of the Blessed, an earthly paradise in the Western

Seas, burial place of King Arthur,

Avatar, name for any of the earthly incarnations of Vishnu, the

Preserver (Hindu god),

Aventine, Mount, one of the Seven Hills of Rome,

Avernus, a miasmatic lake close to the promontory between Cumae

and Puteoli, filling the crater of an extinct volcano, by the

ancients thought to be the entrance to the infernal regions,

Avicenna, celebrated Arabian physician and philosopher,

Aya, mother of Rinaldo,

Aymon, Duke, father of Rinaldo and Bradamante,

B

Baal, king of Tyre,

Babylonian River, dried up when Phaeton drove the sun chariot,

Bacchanali a, a feast to Bacchus that was permitted to occur but

once in three years, attended by most shameless orgies,

Bacchanals, devotees and festal dancers of Bacchus,

Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine and revelry,

Badon, battle of, Arthur's final victory over the Saxons,

Bagdemagus, King, a knight of Arthur's time,

Baldur, son of Odin, and representing in Norse mythology the sun

god,

Balisardo, Orlando's sword,

Ban, King of Brittany, ally of Arthur, father of Launcelot,

Bards, minstrels of Welsh Druids,

Basilisk SEE Cockatrice

Baucis, wife of Philemon, visited by Jupiter and Mercury,

Bayard, wild horse subdued by Rinaldo,

Beal, Druids' god of life,

Bedivere, Arthur's knight,

Bedver, King Arthur's butler, made governor of Normandy,

Bedwyr, knightly comrade of Geraint,

Belisarda, Rogero's sword,

Bellerophon, demigod, conqueror of the Chimaera,

Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, represented as the sister or

wife of Mars,

Beltane, Druidical fire festival,

Belus, son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Libya or Eurynome, twin

brother of Agenor,

Bendigeid Vran, King of Britain,

Beowulf, hero and king of the Swedish Geats,

Beroe, nurse of Semele,

Bertha, mother of Orlando,

Bifrost, rainbow bridge between the earth and Asgard

Bladud, inventor, builder of the city of Bath,

Blamor, a knight of Arthur,

Bleoberis, a knight of Arthur,

Boeotia, state in ancient Greece, capital city Thebes,

Bohort, King, a knight of Arthur,

Bona Dea, a Roman divinity of fertility,

Bootes, also called Areas, son of Jupiter and Calisto, changed to

constellation of Ursa Major,

Boreas, North wind, son of Aeolus and Aurora,

Bosporus (Bosphorus), the Cow-ford, named for Io, when as a heifer

she crossed that strait,

Bradamante, sister to Rinaldo, a female warrior,

Brademagus, King, father of Sir Maleagans,