section I of Myths and Legends. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Barons. Preface. The want of an interesting work on Greek and Roman mythology, suitable for the requirements of both boys and girls, has long been recognized by the principles of our advanced schools. The study of the classics themselves, even where the attainments of the pupil have rendered this feasible, has not been found altogether successful in giving to the student a clear and succinct idea of the religious beliefs of the ancients. And it has been suggested that a work which would so deal with the subject as to render it at once interesting and instructive would be hailed as a valuable introduction to the study of classic authors, and would be found to assist materially the labors of both master and pupil. In endeavouring to supply this want I have sought to place before the reader a life-like picture of the deities of classical times, as they were conceived and worshipped by the ancients themselves, and thereby to awaken in the minds of young students a desire to become more intimately acquainted with the noble productions of classical antiquity. It has been my aim to render the legends which formed the second portion of the work, a picture, as it were, of old Greek life, its customs, its superstitions, and its princely hospitalities, for which reason they are given at somewhat greater length than is usual in works of the kind. In a chapter devoted to the purpose some interesting particulars have been collected respecting the public worship of the ancient Greeks and Romans, more especially of the former, to which is subjoined in account of their principal festivals. I may add that no pains have been spared in order that, without passing over the details the omission of which would have marred the completeness of the work, not a single passage should be found which could possibly offend the most scrupulous delicacy, and also that I have purposefully treated the subject with that reverence which I consider due to every religious system, however erroneous. It is hardly necessary to dwell upon the importance of the study of mythology. Our poems, our novels, and even our daily journals team with classical illusions, nor can a visit to our art galleries and museums be fully enjoyed without something more than a mere superficial knowledge of a subject which has, in all ages, inspired painters, sculptors, and poets. It therefore only remains for me to express a hope that my little work may prove useful, not only to teachers and scholars, but also to a large class of general readers, who, in wiling away a leisure hour, may derive some pleasure and profit from its perusal. Before entering upon the many strange beliefs of the ancient Greeks and the extraordinary number of gods they worshipped, we must first consider what kind of beings these divinities were. In appearance the gods were supposed to resemble mortals, whom, however, they far surpassed in beauty, grandeur, and strength. They were also more commanding in stature, height being considered by the Greeks an attribute of beauty in man or woman. They resembled human beings in their feelings and habits, intermarrying and having children, and requiring daily nourishment to recruit their strength, and refreshing sleep to restore their energies. Their blood, a bright ethereal fluid called Ilkor, never engendered disease, and when shed had the power of producing new life. The Greeks believed that the mental qualifications of their gods were of a much higher order than those of men, but nevertheless, as we shall see, they were not considered to be exempt from human passions, and we frequently behold them actuated by revenge, deceit, and jealousy. They, however, always punish their evildoer, and visit with dire calamities any impious mortal who dares to neglect their worship or despise their rights. We often hear of them visiting mankind and partaking of their hospitality, and not unfrequently both gods and goddesses become attached to mortals with whom they unite themselves, the offspring of these unions being called heroes or demigods, who are usually renowned for their great strength and courage. But although there were so many points of resemblance between gods and men, there remained the one great characteristic distinction, viz, that the gods enjoyed immortality. Still they were not invulnerable, and we often hear of them being wounded and suffering in consequence such exquisite torture that they have earnestly prayed to be deprived of their privilege of immortality. The gods knew no limitation of time or space, being able to transport themselves to incredible distances with the speed of thought. They possessed the power of rendering themselves invisible at will, and could assume the forms of men or animals as it suited their convenience. They could also transform human beings into trees, stones, animals, etc., either as a punishment for their misdeeds, or as a means of protecting the individual, thus transformed from impending danger. Their robes were like those worn by mortals, but were perfect in form and much finer in texture. Their weapons also resembled those used by mankind, we hear of spears, shields, helmets, bows and arrows, etc., being employed by the gods. Each deity possessed a beautiful chariot, which, drawn by horses or other animals of celestial breed, conveyed them rapidly over land and sea according to their pleasure. Most of these divinities lived on the summit of Mount Olympus, each possessing his or her individual habitation, and all meeting together on festive occasions in the council chamber of the gods, where their banquets were enlivened by the sweet strains of Apollo's lyre, whilst the beautiful voices of the muses poured forth their rich melodies to his harmonious accompaniment. Magnificent temples were erected to their honor, where they were worshiped with the greatest solemnity. Rich gifts were presented to them, and animals, and indeed sometimes human beings, were sacrificed on their altars. In the study of Grecian mythology we meet with some curious and what may at first sight appear unaccountable notions. Thus we hear of terrible giants hurling rocks, upheaving mountains, and raising earthquakes which engulf whole armies. These ideas, however, may be accounted for by the awful convulsions of nature, which were in operation in prehistoric times. Again, the daily recurring phenomena, which to us, who know them to be the result of certain well-acertained laws of nature, are so familiar as to excite no remark, were to the early Greeks, matter of grave speculation, and not unfrequently have alarm. For instance, when they heard the awful roar of thunder, and saw livid flashes of lightning, accompanied by black clouds and torrents of rain, they believed that the great God of Heaven was angry, and they trembled at his wrath. If the calm and tranquil sea became suddenly agitated, and the crested billows rose mountains high, dashing furiously against the rocks, and threatening destruction to all within their reach, the sea-god was supposed to be in a furious rage. When they beheld the sky glowing with the hues of coming day, they thought that the goddess of the dawn, with rosy fingers, was drawing aside the dark veil of night, to allow her brother, the sun-god, to enter upon his brilliant career. Thus personifying all the powers of nature, this very imaginative and highly poetical nation beheld a divinity in every tree that grew, in every stream that flowed, in the bright beams of the glorious sun, and the clear cold rays of the silvery moon. For them the whole universe lived and breathed, peopled by a thousand forms of grace and beauty. The most important of these divinities may have been something more than mere creations of an active and poetical imagination. They were possibly human beings who had so distinguished themselves in life by their preeminence over their fellow mortals, that after death they were deified by the people among whom they lived, and the poets touched with their magic wand the details of lives, which in more prosaic times would simply have been recorded as illustrious. It is highly probable that the reputed actions of these deified beings were commemorated by bards, who traveling from one state to another celebrated their praise in song. It therefore becomes exceedingly difficult, nay almost impossible, to separate bare facts from the exaggerations which never fail to accompany oral traditions. In order to exemplify this, let us suppose that Orpheus, the son of Apollo, so renowned for his extraordinary musical powers, had existed at the present day. We should no doubt have ranked him among the greatest of our musicians and honoured him as such, but the Greeks, with their vivid imagination and poetic license, exaggerated his remarkable gifts, and attributed to his music supernatural influence over animate and inanimate nature. Thus we hear of wild beasts tamed, of mighty rivers arrested in their course, and of the mountains being moved by the sweet tones of his voice. The theory here advanced may possibly prove useful in the future in suggesting to the reader the probable basis of many of the extraordinary accounts we meet with in the study of classical mythology. And now a few words will be necessary concerning the religious beliefs of the Romans. When the Greeks first settled in Italy they found in the country they colonised a mythology belonging to the Celtic inhabitants, which, according to the Greek custom of paying reverence to all gods, known or unknown, they readily adopted, selecting and appropriating those divinities which had the greatest affinity to their own, and thus they formed a religious belief which naturally bore the impress of its ancient Greek source. As the primitive Celts, however, were less civilised people than the Greeks, their mythology was of a more barbarous character, and this circumstance, combined with the fact that the Romans were not gifted with the vivid imagination of their Greek neighbours, leaves its mark on the Roman mythology, which is far less fertile and fanciful conceits, and efficient in all those fairy-like stories and wonderful poetic ideas which so strongly characterised that of the Greeks. The ancient Greeks had several different theories with regard to the origin of the world, but the generally accepted notion was that, before this world came into existence, it was in its place a confused mass of shapeless elements called chaos. These elements, becoming at length consolidated by what means does not appear, resolved themselves into two widely different substances, the lighter portion of which, soaring on high, formed the sky or firmament, and consisted itself into a vast, overarching vault which protected the firm and solid mass beneath. Thus came into being the two first great primeval deities of the Greeks, Uranus and Gea or Gaia. Uranus, the more refined deity, represented the light and air of heaven, possessing the distinguishing qualities of light, heat, purity, and omnipresence, whilst Gaia, the firm, flat, life-sustaining earth, was worshipped as the great, all-nourishing mother. Her many titles refer to her more or less in this character, as she appears to have been universally revered among the Greeks, there being scarcely a city in Greece which did not contain a temple erected in her honour, indeed Gaia was held in such veneration that her name was always invoked whenever the gods took a solemn oath, made an emphatic declaration, or implored assistance. Uranus, the heaven, was believed to have united himself in marriage with Gaia, the earth, and a moment's reflection will show what a truly poetical, and also what a logical idea this was. For taken in a figurative sense, this union actually does exist. The smiles of heaven produced the flowers of earth, whereas his long-continued frowns exercised so depressing an influence upon his loving partner that she no longer decks herself in bright and festive robes, but responds with ready sympathy to his melancholy mood. The first-born child of Uranus and Gaia was Oceanus, the ocean's stream, that vast expanse of ever-flowing water which encircled the earth. Here we meet with another logical, though fanciful, conclusion which a very slight knowledge of the workings of nature proves to have been just and true. The ocean is formed from the rains which descend from heaven and the streams which flow from earth. By making Oceanus, therefore, the offspring of Uranus and Gaia, the ancients, if we take this notion in its literal sense, merely assert that the ocean is produced by the combined influence of heaven and earth, whilst at the same time their fervid and poetical imagination led them to see in all this, as in all manifestations of the powers of nature, an actual, tangible divinity. But Uranus, the heaven, the embodiment of light, heat, and the breath of life, produced offspring who were of a much less material nature than his son Oceanus. These other children of his were supposed to occupy the intermediate space which divided him from Gaia. Nearest to Uranus and just beneath him came Ether, a bright creation representing that highly rarefied atmosphere which immortals alone could breathe. Then followed Eir, which was in close proximity to Gaia and represented, as its name implies, the grosser atmosphere surrounding the earth, which mortals could freely breathe and without which they would perish. Ether and Eir were separated from each other by divinities called Nephilae. These were their restless and wandering sisters who existed in the form of clouds, ever floating between Ether and Eir. Gaia also produced the mountains and Pontus the sea. She united herself with the latter and their offspring were the sea deities Nereus, Thomas, Horses, Ceto, and Eurybia. Coexistent with Uranus and Gaia were two mighty powers who were also the offspring of chaos. These were Erebus, Darkness, and Nyx, Night, who formed a striking contrast to the cheerful light of heaven and the bright smiles of earth. Erebus reigned in that mysterious world below where no ray of sunshine, no gleam of daylight, nor vestige of health giving terrestrial life ever appeared. Nyx, the sister of Erebus, represented Night, and was worshiped by the ancients with the greatest solemnity. Uranus was also supposed to have been united to Nyx, but only in his capacity as God of Light, he being considered the source and fountain of fall light, and their children were Eus, Aurora, the Dawn, and Hmerra, the daylight. Nyx, again, on her side, was also doubly united, having been married at some indefinite period to Erebus. In addition to those children of heaven and earth already enumerated, Uranus and Gaia produced two distinctly different races of beings called giants and titans. The giants personified brute strength alone, but the titans united to their great physical power intellectual qualifications variously developed. There were three giants, Beraeus, Cotus, and Digius, who each possessed a hundred hands and fifty heads, and were known collectively by the name of Hecatun Cherus, which signified hundred-handed. These mighty giants could shake the universe and produce earthquakes. It is therefore evident that they represented those active subterranean forces to which illusion has been made in the opening chapter. The titans were twelve in number, their names were Oceanus, Pseos, Creus, Hyperion, Yapidus, Cronus, Thea, Rea, Themus, Menemocene, Phoebe, and Tethys. Now, Uranus, the chaste light of heaven, the essence of all that is bright and pleasing, held in emphorance his crude, rough, and turbulent offspring, the giants, and moreover feared that their great power might eventually prove hurtful to himself. He therefore hurled them into Tartaris, that portion of the lower world which served as the subterranean dungeon of the gods. In order to avenge the oppression of her children, the giants, Gaia instigated a conspiracy on the part of the titans against Uranus, which was carried to a successful issue by her son Cronus. He wounded his father, and from the blood of the wound which fell upon the earth sprang a race of monstrous beings also called giants. Assisted by his brother, Titans, Cronus succeeded in dethroning his father, who enraged at his defeat, cursed his rebellious son, and foretold to him a similar fate. Cronus now became invested with supreme power and assigned to his brother's offices of distinction, subordinate only to himself. Subsequently, however, when secure of his position he no longer needed their assistance, he basically repaid their former services with treachery, made war upon his brothers and faithful allies, and assisted by the giants, completely defeated them, ascending such as resisted to his all-conquering arm down to the lowest depths of Tartarus. End of Section 1. Section 2 of Myths and Legends. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Barons. Second Dynasty. Cronus, Saturn. Cronus was the god of time in its sense of eternal duration. He married Rhea, daughter of Yurnus, and Gaia, a very important divinity to whom a special chapter will be devoted hereafter. Their children were three sons, Aedes, Pluto, Poseidon, Neptune, Zeus, Jupiter, and three daughters, Hestia, Vesta, Demeter, Ceres, and Hera, Juno. Cronus, having an uneasy conscience, was afraid that his children might one day rise up against his authority and thus verify the prediction of his father, Yurnus. In order, therefore, to render the prophecy impossible of fulfillment, Cronus swallowed each child as soon as it was born, greatly to the sorrow and indignation of his wife, Rhea. When it came to Zeus, the sixth and last, Rhea resolved to try and save this one child at least, to love and cherish and appeal to her parents, Yurnus and Gaia, for counsel and assistance. By their advice, she wrapped a stone in baby clothes, and Cronus in eager haste swallowed it without noticing the deception. The child thus saved eventually, as we shall see, dethroned his father, Cronus, became supreme god in his stead, and was universally venerated as the great national god of the Greeks. Anxious to preserve the secret of his existence from Cronus, Rhea sent the infant Zeus secretly to Crete, where he was nourished, protected, and educated. A sacred goat called Amothea supplied the place of his mother by providing him with milk. Nymphs called Melissae fed him with honey, and eagles and doves brought him nectar and ambrosia. See footnote four. He was kept concealed in a cave in the heart of Mount Ida, and the curates, or priests of Rhea, by beating their shields together, kept up a constant noise at the entrance, which drowned the cries of the child, and frightened away all intruders. Under the watchful care of the nymphs, the infant Zeus drove rapidly, developing great physical powers, combined with extraordinary wisdom and intelligence. Grown to manhood, he determined to compel his father to restore his brothers and sisters to the light of day, and is said to have been assisted in this difficult task by the goddess Metis, who artfully persuaded Cronus to drink a potion which caused him to give back the children he had swallowed. The stone which had counterfeited Zeus was placed at Delphi, where it was long exhibited as a sacred relic. Cronus was so enraged at being circumvented that war between the father and son became inevitable. The rival forces ranged themselves on two separate high mountains in Thessaly. Zeus, with his brothers and sisters, took his stand on Mount Olympus, where he was joined by Oceanus and others of the Titans, who had forsaken Cronus on account of his oppressions. Cronus and his brother Titans took possession of Mount Othrus and prepared for battle. The struggle was long and fierce, and at length Zeus, finding that he was no nearer victory than before, bethought himself of the existence of the imprisoned giants, and knowing that they would be able to render him most powerful assistance, he hastened to liberate them. He also called to his aid the Cyclops, sons of Poseidon and Amphitrite, who had only one eye each in the middle of their foreheads, and were called Brontus, Sterops, Lightning, and Pyrochmon, Fire Anvil.  Aided by these new and powerful allies, Zeus now made a furious onslaught on his enemies, and so tremendous was the encounter that all nature is said to have throbbed in accord with this mighty effort of the celestial deities. The sea rose mountains high, and its angry billows hissed and foamed, the earth shook to its foundations, the heavens sent forth rolling thunder, and flash after flash of death bringing lightning, whilst a blinding mist enveloped Cronus and his allies. And now the fortunes of war began to turn, and victory smiled on Zeus. Cronus and his army were completely overthrown, his brothers dispatched to the gloomy depths of the lower world, and Cronus himself was banished from his kingdom and deprived forever of the supreme power, which now became vested in his son, Zeus. This war was called the Titanomachia, and is most graphically described by the old classic poets. With the defeat of Cronus and his banishment from his dominions, his career as a ruling Greek divinity entirely ceases. But being like all the gods, immortal, he was supposed to be still in existence, though possessing no longer either influence or authority, his place being filled to a certain extent by his descendant and successor, Zeus. Cronus is often represented as an old man leaning on a scythe with an hourglass in his hand. The hourglass symbolizes the fast- fleeting moments as they succeed each other unceasingly. The scythe is emblematical of time, which mows down all before it. Saturn. The Romans, according to their custom of identifying their deities, with those of the Greek gods whose attributes were similar to their own, declared Cronus to be identical with their old agricultural divinity, Saturn. They believed that after his defeat in the Titanomachia and his banishment from his dominions by Zeus, he took refuge with Janus, King of Italy, who received the exile deity with great kindness and even shared his throne with him. Their united reign became so thoroughly peaceful and happy, and was distinguished by such uninterrupted prosperity that it was called the Golden Age. Saturn is usually represented bearing a sickle in the one hand and a wheat sheaf in the other. A temple was erected to him at the foot of the capital-line hill in which were deposited the public treasury and the laws of the state. Rhea. Ops. Rhea, the wife of Cronus and mother of Zeus and the other great gods of Olympus, personified the earth and was regarded as the great mother and unceasing producer of all plant life. She was also believed to exercise unbounded sway over the animal creation, more especially over the lion, the noble king of beasts. Rhea's sonority represented wearing a crown of turrets or towers and seated on a throne with lions crouching at her feet. She is sometimes depicted sitting in a chariot drawn by lions. The principal seat of her worship, which was always of a very riotous character, was at Crete. At her festivals, which took place at night, the wildest music of flutes, cymbals, and drums resounded, whilst joyful shouts and cries accompanied by dancing and loud stamping of feet filled the air. This divinity was introduced into Crete by its first colonists from Phrygia, in Asia Minor, in which country she was worshipped under the name of Sibili. The people of Crete adored her as the great mother, more especially in her signification as the sustainer of the vegetable world. Seeing, however, that year by year, as winter appears, all her glory vanishes, her flowers fade and her trees become leafless, they poetically express this process of nature under the figure of a lost love. She was said to have been tenderly attached to a youth of remarkable beauty, named Aetis, who, to her grief and indignation, proved faithless to her. He was about to unite himself to a nymph called Sagaris, when, in the midst of the wedding feast, the rage of the incensed goddess suddenly burst forth upon all present. They panicked, seized the assembled guest, and Aetis, becoming afflicted with temporary madness, fled to the mountains and destroyed himself. Sibili, moved with sorrow and regret, instituted a yearly mourning for his loss, when her priests, the Corabantas, with their usual noisy accompaniments, marched into the mountains to seek the lost youth. Having discovered him, they gave full vent to their ecstatic delight by indulging in the most violent gesticulations, dancing, shouting, and, at the same time, wounding and gashing themselves in a frightful manner. See footnote 6. Ops. In Rome the Greek Rhea was identified with Ops, the goddess of Plenty, the wife of Saturn, who had a variety of appellations. She was called Magna Mater, Mater di Orum, Beresentia idea, and also Dindimene. This latter title she acquired from three high mountains in Phrygia, whence she was brought to Rome as Sibili during the Second Punic War, B.C. 205, in obedience to an injunction contained in the Sibilene books. She was represented as a matron crowned with towers seated in a chariot drawn by lions. Division of the world. We will now return to Zeus and his brothers, who have ingained a complete victory over their enemies, began to consider how the world which they had conquered should be divided between them. At last it was settled by Lot that Zeus should reign supreme in heaven, whilst the 80s governed the lower world, and Poseidon had full command over the sea, but the supremacy of Zeus was recognized in all three kingdoms, in heaven, on earth, in which of course the sea was included, and under the earth. Zeus held his court on the top of Mount Olympus, whose summit was beyond the clouds. The dominions of Aedus were the gloomy unknown regions below the earth, and Poseidon reigned over the sea. It will be seen that the realm of each of these gods was enveloped in mystery. Olympus was shrouded in mists, Hades was wrapped in gloomy darkness, and the sea was, and indeed still is, a source of wonder and deep interest. Hence we see that what two other nations were merely strange phenomena served as poetical and imaginative people as a foundation upon which to build the wonderful stories of their mythology. The division of the world being now satisfactorily arranged, it would seem that all things ought to have gone on smoothly, but such was not the case. Trouble arose in an unlooked-for quarter. The giants, those hideous monsters, some with legs formed of serpents, who had sprung from the earth and the blood of Uranus, declared war against the triumphant deities of Olympus, and a struggle ensued, which in consequence of Gaia having made these children of hers invincible, as long as they kept their feet on the ground, was wearisome and protracted. Their mother's precaution however, was rendered unavailing by pieces of rock being hurled upon them, which threw them down, and their feet being no longer placed firmly on their mother earth, they were overcome, and this tedious war, which was called the Gigantomachia, at last came to an end. Among the most daring of these earth-born giants were Enceladus, Rhetus, and the Valiant Mimas, who, with youthful fire and energy, hurled against heaven great masses of rock and burning oak trees, and defied the lightnings of Zeus. One of the most powerful monsters who opposed Zeus in this war was called Typhon, or Typhus. He was the youngest son of Tartarus and Gaia, and had a hundred heads with eyes which struck terror to the beholders, and awe-inspiring voices frightful to hear. This dreadful monster resolved to conquer both gods and men, but his plans were at length defeated by Zeus, who, after a violent encounter, succeeded in destroying him with a thunderbolt, but not before he had so terrified the gods that they had fled to refuge to Egypt, where they metamorphosed themselves into different animals and thus escaped. Theories as to the origin of man. Just as there were several theories concerning the origin of the world, so there were various accounts of the creation of man. The first natural belief of the Greek people was that man had sprung from the earth. They saw the tender plants and flowers force their way through the ground in the early spring of the year, after the frost of winter had disappeared, and so they naturally concluded that man must also have issued from the earth in a similar manner. Like the wild plants and flowers, he was supposed to have had no cultivation and resembled in his habits of the field, having no habitation except that which nature had provided in the holes of the rocks, and in the dense forest whose overarching boughs protected him from the inclemancy of the weather. In the course of time, these primitive human beings became tamed and civilized by the gods and heroes who taught them to work in metals to build houses and other useful arts of civilization. But the human race became in the course of time so degenerate that the gods resolved to destroy all mankind by means of a flood. Ducalion, son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrra, being on account of their peity, the only mortals saved. By the command of his father, Ducalion built a ship in which he and his wife took refuge during the Deluge, which lasted for nine days. When the waters abated, the ship rested on Mount Atheris in Thessaly, or according to some, on Mount Parnassus. Ducalion and his wife now consulted the oracle of Themis as to how the human race might be restored. The answer was that they were to cover their heads and throw the bones of their mother behind them. For some time they were perplexed as to the meaning of their oracular command, but at length both agreed that, by the bones of their mother, were meant the stones of the earth. They accordingly took up stones from the mountainside and cast them over their shoulders. From those thrown by Ducalion, they're praying up men, and from those thrown by Pyrrha, women. After the lapse of time, the theory of autokhthani, from autos, self, and khthan, earth, was laid aside. When this belief existed, there were no religious teachers, whatever. But in course of time, temples were raised in honor of the different gods, and priests appointed to offer sacrifices to them and conduct their worship. These priests were looked upon as authorities in all religious matters, and the doctrine they taught was that men had been created by the gods and that there had been several successive ages of men, which were called the golden, silver, brazen and iron ages. Life in the golden age was one unceasing round of ever recurring pleasures unmarred by sorrow or care. The favored mortals living at this happy time led pure and joyous lives thinking no evil and doing no wrong. The earth brought forth fruits and flowers without toil or labor in plentiful exurience, and war was unknown. This delightful and godlike existence lasted for hundreds of years, and when at length life on earth was ended, death laid his hand so gently upon them that they passed painlessly away in a happy dream, and continued their existence as ministering spirits in Hades, watching over and protecting those they had loved and left behind on earth. The silver age were a long time growing up and during their childhood which lasted a hundred years they suffered from ill health and extreme debility. Seafoot Note 7 When they at last became men they lived but a short time for they would not abstain from mutual injury nor pay the service due to the gods and were therefore banished to Hades. There, unlike the beings of the golden age they exercised no beneficent supervision over the dear ones left behind, but wandered about as restless spirits always sighing for the lost pleasures they had enjoyed in life. The men of the brazen age were quite a different race of beings, being as strong and powerful as those of the silver age were weak and innervated. Everything which surrounded them was of brass, their arms, their tools their dwellings, and all that they made. Their characters seem to have resembled the metal in which they delighted, their minds and hearts were in awe, obdurate, and cruel. They led a life of strife and contention, introduced into the world which had hitherto known nothing but peace and tranquility, the scourge of war, and were in fact only happy when fighting and quarreling with each other. Hitherto, Themis, the goddess of justice, had been living among mankind but, becoming disheartened at their evil doings, she abandoned the earth and winged her flight back to heaven. At last the gods became so tired of their evil deeds and continual dissensions that they removed them from the face of the earth and sent them down to Hades to share the fate of their predecessors. We now come to the men of the Iron Age. The earth no longer teeming with fruitfulness only yielded her increase after much toil and labour. The goddess of justice, having abandoned mankind no influence remained sufficiently powerful to preserve them from every kind of wickedness and sin. This condition grew worse as time went on until at last Zeus in his anger let loose the water courses from above and drowned every individual of this evil race except Ducalian and Pyrrha. The theory of Hesiod, the oldest of all Greek poets, was that the titan Prometheus, the son of Yeopetus, had formed man out of clay and that Athene had breathed the soul into him. See footnote 8. Full of love for the beings he had called into existence, Prometheus determined to elevate their minds and improve their condition in every way. He therefore taught them astronomy, mathematics, the alphabet, how to cure diseases and the art of divination. He created this race in such great numbers that the gods began to see the necessity of instituting certain fixed laws with regard to the sacrifices due to them and the worship to which they considered themselves entitled from mankind in return for the protection which they accorded them. An assembly was therefore convened at Nessone in order to settle these points. It was decided that Prometheus as the advocate of man should slay an ox which should be divided into two equal parts and that the gods should select one portion which should henceforth in all future sacrifices be set apart for them. Prometheus so divided the ox that one part consisted of the bones which formed of course the least valuable portion of the animal, artfully concealed by the white fat, whilst the other contained all the edible parts which he covered with the skin and on the top of it all he laid the stomach. Zeus pretending to be deceived chose the heap of bones but he saw through the stratagem and was so angry at the deception practiced on him by Prometheus that he avenged himself by refusing to mortals the gift of fire. Prometheus however resolved to brave the anger of the great ruler of Olympus and to obtain from heaven the vital spark so necessary for the further progress and comfort of the human race. He accordingly contrived to steal some sparks from the chariot of the sun which he conveyed to earth hidden in a hollow tube. Furious at being again outwitted Zeus determined to be revenged first on mankind and then on Prometheus. To punish the former he commanded Zeus, Vulcan, to mold a beautiful woman out of clay and determined that through her instrumentality trouble and misery should be brought into the world. The gods were so charmed with the graceful and artistic creation of Hephaistus that they all determined to endow her with some special gift. Hermes, Mercury bestowed on her a smooth persuasive tongue. Aphrodite gave her beauty and the art of pleasing. The graces made her fascinating and Athene, Minerva gifted her with the possession of feminine accomplishments. She was called Pandara which means all gifted having received every attribute necessary to make her charming and irresistible. Thus beautifully formed and endowed this exquisite creature attired by the graces and crowned with flowers by the seasons was conducted to the house of Epimetheus by Hermes the messenger of the gods. Seafoot note 9 Now Epimetheus had been warned by his brother not to accept any gift whatever from the gods but he was so fascinated by the beautiful being who suddenly appeared before him that he welcomed her to his home and made her his wife. It was not long, however, before he had caused to regret his weakness. He had in his possession a jar of rare workmanship containing all the blessings reserved by the gods for mankind which he had been expressly forbidden to open but woman's proverbial curiosity could not withstand so great a temptation and Pandara determined to solve the mystery at any cost. Watching her opportunity she raised the lid and immediately all the blessings which the gods had thus reserved for mankind took wing and flew away but all was not lost just as hope which lay at the bottom was about to escape Pandara hastily closed the lid of the jar and thus preserved to man that never failing solace which helps him to bear with courage the many ills which assail him See footnote 10 Having punished mankind Zeus determined to execute vengeance on Prometheus. He accordingly chained him to Iraq in Mount Caucasus and sent an eagle every day to gnaw away his liver which grew again every night ready for fresh torments. For thirty years Prometheus endured this fearful punishment but at length Zeus relented and permitted his son Heracles Hercules to kill the eagle and the sufferer was released Section 3 of Myths and Legends This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Lucy LeFarro New South Wales, Australia Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Barons Section 3 Third Dynasty Olympian Divinities Zeus Jupiter Zeus, the great presiding deity of the universe the ruler of heaven and earth was regarded by the Greeks first as the god of all aerial phenomena secondly as the personification of the laws of nature thirdly as lord of state life and fourthly as the father of gods and men as the god of aerial phenomena he could by shaking his aegis produce storms tempests and intense darkness at his command the mighty thunder rolls the lightning flashes and the clouds open and pour forth their refreshing streams to fructify the earth as the personification of the operations of nature he represents those grand laws of unchanging and harmonious order by which not only the physical but also the moral world is governed hence he is the god of regulated time as marked by the changing seasons and by the regular succession of day and night in contradistinction to his father Cronus he represents time absolutely for example eternity as the lord of state life he is the founder of kingly power the upholder of all institutions connected with the state and the special friend and patron of princes whom he guards and assists with his advice and counsel he protects the assembly of the people and in fact watches over the welfare of the whole community as the father of the gods Zeus sees that each deity performs his or her individual duty punishes their misdeeds settles their disputes and acts towards them on all occasions as their all-knowing counsellor and mighty friend as the father of men he takes a paternal interest in the actions and wellbeing of the mortals he watches over them with tender solicitude rewarding truth charity and uprightness but severely punishing perjury, cruelty and want of hospitality even the poorest and most forlorn wanderer finds in him a powerful advocate for he by a wise and merciful dispensation ordains that the mighty ones of the earth should succour their distressed and needy brethren the Greeks believed that the home of this their mighty and all-powerful deity was on the top of Mount Olympus that high and lofty mountain between Thessaly and Macedon whose summit wrapped in clouds and mist was hidden from mortal view it was supposed that this mysterious region even a bird could not reach extended beyond the clouds right into Aether the realm of the immortal gods the poets describe this ethereal atmosphere as bright glistening and refreshing exercising a peculiar gladdening influence over the minds and hearts of those privileged beings permitted to share its delights here youth never ages and the passing years would leave no traces on its favoured inhabitants on the cloud capped summit of Olympus was the palace of Zeus and Hera of burnished gold chased silver and gleaming ivory lower down were the homes of the other gods which though less commanding in position and size were yet similar to that of Zeus in design and workmanship all being the work and artist Hephaestus below these were other palaces of silver, ebony, ivory or burnished brass where their heroes or demigods resided as the worship of Zeus formed so important a feature in the religion of the Greeks his statues were necessarily both numerous and magnificent he is usually represented as a man of noble and imposing main his countenance expressing all the lofty majesty of the omnipotent ruler of the universe combined with the gracious yet serious benignity of the father and friend of mankind he may be recognised by his rich flowing beard and the thick masses of hair which rise straight from the high and intellectual forehead and fall to his shoulders in clustering locks the nose is large and finally formed and the slightly opened lips impart an air of sympathetic kindliness which invites confidence he is always accompanied by an eagle which either surmounts his scepter or sits at his feet he generally bears in his uplifted hand a sheaf of thunderbolts just ready to be hurled whilst in the other he holds the lightning the head is frequently encircled with a wreath of oak leaves the most celebrated statue of the Olympian Zeus was that by the famous Athenian sculptor Phidius which was 40 feet high and stood in the temple of Zeus at Olympia it was formed of ivory and gold and was a masterpiece of art that it was reckoned among the seven wonders of the world it represented the god seated on a throne holding in his right hand the goddess of victory and in his left a royal scepter surmounted by an eagle it is said that the great sculptor had concentrated all the marvellous powers of his genius on this sublime conception and earnestly entreat a Zeus to give him a decided proof that his labours were approved an answer to his prayer came through the open roof of the temple in the shape of a flash of lightning which Phidius interpreted as a sign that the god of heaven was pleased with his work Zeus was first worshipped at Dodona and Epirus where at the foot of Mount Tamaris on the woody shore of Lake Joannina was his famous oracle the most ancient in Greece he the voice of the eternal and invisible god was supposed to be heard in the rustling leaves of a giant oak announcing to mankind the will of heaven and the destiny of mortals these revelations being interpreted to the people by the priests of Zeus who were called celli recent excavations which have been made at this spot have brought to light the ruins of the ancient temple of Zeus and also among other interesting relics some plates of lead on which are engraved in quarries which were evidently made by certain individuals who consulted the oracle these little leadon plates speak to us as it were in a curiously homely manner of a bygone time in the buried past one person inquires what god he should apply to for health and fortune another asks for advice concerning his child and a third evidently a shepherd promises a gift to the oracle but a speculation in sheep turn out successfully had these little memorials been of gold instead of lead they would doubtless have shared the fate of the numerous treasures which adorned this and other temples in the universal pillage which took place when Greece fell into the hands of barbarians though Dodona was the most ancient of his shrines the great national seat of the worship of Zeus was at Olympia in Ellis where there was a magnificent temple dedicated to him containing the famous colossal statue of Phidias above described crowds of devout worshippers flocked to this world renowned fame from all parts of Greece not only to pay homage to their supreme deity but also to join in the celebrated games which were held there at intervals of four years the Olympic games were such a thoroughly national institution that even Greeks who had left their native country made a point of returning on these occasions if possible in order to contend with their fellow countrymen in their various athletic sports which took place at these festivals it will be seen on reflection that in a country like Greece which contained so many petty states often at variance with each other these national gatherings must have been most valuable as a means of uniting the Greeks in one great bond of brotherhood on these festive occasions the whole nation met together forgetting for the moment all past differences and uniting in the enjoyment of the same festivities it will doubtless have been remarked that in the representations of Zeus he is always accompanied by an eagle this royal bird was sacred to him probably from the fact of it's being the only creature capable of gazing at the sun without being dazzled which may have suggested the idea that it was able to contemplate the splendour of divine majesty unstrinkingly the oak tree and also the summits of mountains were sacred to Zeus his sacrifices consisted of white bulls cows and goats Zeus had seven immortal wives whose names were Metis, Themis Uranome Demeter, Nemesine Leto and Hera End of Section 3 Section 4 of Myths and Legends this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Lucy LeFarro New South Wales, Australia Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Behrens Section 4 Third Dynasty Olympian Divinities Hera Palace Athene Themis and Hestia Hera being the principal wife of Zeus and Queen of Heaven a detailed account will be given of her in a special chapter in the union of Zeus with most of his immortal wives which are found that an allegorical meaning is conveyed his marriage with Metis who is said to have surpassed both gods and men in knowledge represents supreme power a light to wisdom and prudence his union with Themis typifies the bond which exists between divine majesty and justice, law and order Uranum as the mother of the Charities or Graces supplied the refining and harmonising influences of grace and beauty whilst the marriage of Zeus with Nemesene typifies the union of genius with memory in addition to the seven immortal wives of Zeus he was also allied to a number of mortal maidens whom he visited under various disguises as it was supposed that if he revealed himself in his true form as King of Heaven the splendour of his glory would cause instant destruction to mortals the mortal consorts of Zeus have been such a favourite theme with poets, painters and sculptors that it is necessary to give some account of their individual history those best known are Antiope, Lida, Europa Callisto Alchemyne Simele Io and Denay Pallas Athene Minova Pallas Athene, goddess of wisdom and armed resistance was a purely Greek divinity that is to say no other nation possessed a corresponding conception she was supposed, as already related to have issued from the head of Zeus himself from head to foot the miraculous advent of this maiden goddess is beautifully described by Homer in one of his hymns Snow Captain Limpus shook to its foundation the glad earth re-echoed her marshal shout the billowy sea became agitated and hallowees the sun god arrested his fiery steeds in their headlong course to welcome this wonderful from the god head Athene was at once admitted into the assembly of the gods and henceforth took her place as the most faithful and sagacious of all her fathers counsellors this brave dauntless maiden so exactly the essence of all that is noble in the character of the father of gods and men remained throughout chaste in word and deed and kind at heart without exhibiting any of those failings which somewhat ma the nobler features in the character of Zeus this direct emanation from his own self justly his favourite child his better and purer counterpart received from him several important prerogatives she was permitted to hurl the thunderbolts to prolong the life of man and to bestow the gift of his prophecy in fact Athene was the only divinity whose authority was equal to that of Zeus himself and when he had ceased to visit the earth in person she was empowered by him to act as his deputy it was her special duty to protect the state and all peaceful associations of mankind which she possessed the power to encourage the maintenance of law and order and defended the right on all occasions for each reason in the Trojan war she espouses the cause of the Greeks and exerts all her influence on their behalf the Aeropagus a court of justice where religious causes and murders were tried was believed to have been instituted by her and when both sides happened to have an equal number of votes she gave the casting vote in favour of the accused she was the patroness of learning science and art more particularly where these contributed directly towards the welfare of nations she presided over all inventions connected with agriculture invented the plough and taught mankind how to use oxen for farming purposes she also instructed mankind the use of numbers trumpets, chariots and sea and presided over the building of the Argo thereby encouraging the useful art of navigation she also taught the Greeks how to build the wooden horse by means of which the destruction of Troy was affected the safety of cities depended on her care for which reason her temples were generally built on the citadels and she was supposed to watch over the defence of the walls fortification, harbours and sea a divinity who so faithfully guarded the best interests of the state but not only protecting it from the attacks of enemies but also by developing its chief resources of wealth and prosperity was worthily chosen as the presiding deity of the state was an essentially political goddess she was called Athene Palaeus the fact of Athene having been born clad in armour which merely signified that her virtue and purity were unassailable has given rise to the erroneous supposition that she was the presiding goddess of war but a deeper study of her character in all its bearing proves that in contradiction to her brother Aris, the god of war who loves strife for its own sake she only takes up arms to protect the innocent and deserving against her tyrannical oppression it is true that in the Iliad we frequently see her on the battlefield fighting valiantly and protecting her favourite heroes but this is always at the command of Zeus who even supplies her with arms for the purpose that she possessed none of her own a marked feature in the representations of this deity is the Aegis that wonderful shield given to her by her father as a further means of defence which when in danger she swung so swiftly round and round that it kept at a distance all antagonistic influences hence her name Pallas from Palo I swing in the centre of this shield which was covered with dragon scales bordered with serpents and which she sometimes wore as a breastplate was the awe-inspiring head of the Medusa which had the effect of turning to stone all beholders in addition to the many functions which she exercised in connection with the state Athene presided over the two chief departments of feminine industry spinning and weaving in the latter art she herself displayed unrivaled ability and exquisite taste she wove her own robe and that of Hera which last she is said to have embroidered very richly she also gave Jason a cloak wrought by herself when he set forth in the quest of the golden fleece being on one occasion challenged to a contest in this accomplishment by a mortal maiden named Arachne whom she had instructed in the art of weaving she accepted the challenge and was completely vanquished by her pupil angry at her defeat she struck the unfortunate maiden on the forehead with the shuttle which she held in her hand and Arachne being of a sensitive nature was so hurt by this indignity that she hung herself in despair and was changed by Athene into a spider this goddess is said to have invented the flute upon which she played with considerable talent until one day being laughed at by the assembled gods and goddesses for the contortions which her countenance assumed during these musical efforts she hastily ran to a fountain in order to convince herself whether she deserved their ridicule finding to her intense disgust that such was indeed the fact she threw the flute away and never raised it to her lips again Athene is usually represented fully draped she has a serious and thoughtful aspect as though replete with earnestness and wisdom the beautiful over contour of her countenance is adorned by the luxuriance of her wealth of hair which is drawn back from the temples and hangs down in careless grace she looks the embodiment of strength grandeur and majesty whilst her broad shoulders and small hips give her slightly masculine appearance when she represented as the war goddess she appears clad in armour with a helmet on her head from which waves a large plume she carries the agus on her arm and in her hand a golden staff which possesses the property of endowing her chosen favourites with youth and dignity Athene was universally worshipped throughout Greece but was regarded with special veneration by the Athenians she being the guardian deity of Athens her most celebrated temple was the Parthenon which stood on the Acropolis at Athens and contained her world-renowned statue by Phidias which ranks second only to that of Zeus by the same great artist this colossal statue was 39 feet high and was composed of ivory and gold its majestic beauty formed the chief attraction of the temple it represented her standing erect bearing her spear and shield in her hand she held an image of Nike and at her feet there lay a serpent the tree sacred to her was the olive which she herself produced in a contest with Poseidon the olive tree thus called into existence was preserved in the temple of Erechtheus on the Acropolis and is said to have possessed such marvellous vitality that when the Persians burned it after sacking the town it immediately burst forth into new shoots the principal festival held in honour of this divinity was the Panathenea the owl, cock and serpent were the animal sacred to her and her sacrifices were rams and cows Themis Themis who has already been alluded to as the wife of Zeus was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea and personified those divine laws of justice and order by means of which the well-being and morality of communities are regulated she presided over the assemblies of the people and the laws of hospitality to her was instructed the office of convoking of the gods and she was also mistress of ritual and ceremony on account of her great wisdom Zeus himself frequently sought her council and acted upon her advice Themis was a prophetic divinity and had an oracle near the river Cephasus in Boesha she is usually represented as being in the full maturity of womanhood of fair aspect and wearing a flowing garment of noble majestic form in her right hand she holds the sword of justice and in her left the scales which indicate the impartiality with which every cause is carefully weighed by her her eyes being bandaged so that the personality of the individual should carry no weight with respect to the verdict this divinity is sometimes identified with Taishi sometimes with an anki Themis like so many other god divinities takes the place of a more ancient deity of the same name who was a daughter of Uranus and Gaia this elder Themis inherited from her mother the gift of prophecy and when she became merged into her younger representative she transmitted to her this prophetic power Hestia Vesta Hestia was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea she was the goddess of fire in its first application to the wants of mankind hence she was essentially the presiding deity of domestic earth and the guardian spirit of man and it was her pure and benign influence which was supposed to protect the sanctity of domestic life now in these early ages the earth was regarded as the most important and most sacred portion of the dwelling probably because the protection of the fire was an important consideration for if once permitted it became extinct re-ignition was attended with extreme difficulty in fact the earth was held so sacred that it constituted the sanctum of the family for which reason it was always erected in the centre of the house it was a few feet in height and was built of stone the fire was placed on the top of it and served the double purpose of preparing the daily meals and consuming the family sacrifices round this domestic earth or altar were gathered the various members of the family the head of the house occupying the place of honour nearest the earth here prayers were said and the sacrifices offered and here also every kind and loving feeling was fostered which even extended to the hunted and guilty stranger who if he once succeeded in touching the sacred altar was safe from pursuit and punishment and was henceforth placed under the protection of the family any crime committed within the sacred precincts was invariably visited by death in Grecian cities there was a common hall called the Pritanium in which the members of the government had their meals at the expense of the state and here too was the Hestia or public earth with its fire by means of which those meals were prepared it was customary for immigrants to take with them a portion of this sacred fire was regarded and brought with them to their new home where it served as a connecting link between the young greek colony and the mother country Hestia is generally represented standing and in accordance with the dignity and sanctity of her character always appears fully draped her countenance is distinguished by a serene gravity of expression End of section 4 section 5 of myths and legends this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lucy LaFaro New South Wales, Australia myths and legends of ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Behrens section 5 Third Dynasty Olympian Divinities Demeter and Aphrodite Demeter Ceres Demeter from Jemita, Earth mother was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea she represented that portion of Gaia the whole solid Earth which we call the Earth's crust and which produces all vegetation as goddess of agriculture filled fruits, plenty and productiveness Gaia was the sustainer of material life and was therefore a divinity of great importance when ancient Gaia lost when Uranus, her position as a ruling divinity she abdicated her sway in favour of her daughter Rhea who henceforth inherited the powers which her mother had previously possessed receiving in her place the honour and worship of mankind in a very old poem Gaia is accordingly described as retiring to a cavern in the bough of the Earth where she sits in the lap of her daughter slumbering, moaning and nodding forever and ever It is necessary to keep clearly in view the distinctive difference between the three great Earth goddesses Gaia, Rhea and Demeter Gaia represents the Earth as a whole with its mighty subterranean forces Rhea is that productive power which causes vegetation to spring forth thus sustaining men and animals Demeter by presiding over agriculture directs and utilises Rhea's productive powers But in later times when Rhea like other ancient divinity loses her importance as a ruling deity Demeter assumes all her functions and attributes and then becomes the goddess of the life producing and life maintaining Earth crust We must bear in mind the fact that men in his primitive state do neither how to sow nor how to till the ground When therefore he had exhausted the pastures which surrounded him he was compelled to seek others which were as yet unreaped thus roaming constantly settled habitations and consequently civilising influences were possible Demeter however by introducing a knowledge of agriculture put an end at once and forever to that nomadic life which was now no longer necessary The favour of Demeter was believed to bring mankind rich harvests and fruitful crops whereas her displeasure caused blight, drought and famine The island of Sicily was supposed to be under her special protection and there she was regarded with particular veneration the Sicilians are naturally attributing the wonderful fertility of their country to the partiality of the goddess Demeter is usually represented as a woman of noble bearing and majesty appearance tall, matronly and dignified with beautiful golden hair which falls in rippling curls on her stately shoulders the yellow locks being emblematical of the ripened ears of corn sometimes she appears seated in a chariot drawn by winged dragons at others she stands erect her figure drawn up to its full height and always fully draped she bears a sheaf of white ears in one hand and a lighter torch in the other the wheat ears are not unfrequently replaced by a bunch of poppies in which her brows are also garlanded though sometimes she merely wears a simple riband in her hair Demeter as the wife of Zeus became the mother of Persephone Prosopine to whom she was so tenderly attached that her whole life was bound up in her and she knew no happiness except in her society however whilst Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow attended by the ocean nymphs she saw to her surprise a beautiful narcissist from the stem of which sprang forth a hundred blossoms drawing near to examine this lovely flower whose exquisite scent perfumed the air she stooped down to gather it suspecting no evil when a yawning abyss opened at her feet the grim ruler of the lower world appeared from its depths seated in his dazzling chariot drawn by four black horses regardless of her tears and the shrieks of her female attendants Aida seized the terrified maiden and brought her away to the gloomy realms over which she reigned in melancholy grandeur Helios the all-seeing sun god and Hecate a mysterious and very ancient divinity alone heard her cries for aid but were powerless to help her when Demeter became conscious of her loss her grief was intense and she refused to be comforted she knew not where to seek for her child but feeling that repose and inaction were impossible she set out on her weary search taking with her two torches which she lighted in the flames of Mount Etna to guide her on her way for nine long days and nights she wandered on inquiring of everyone she met for tidings of her child but all was in vain neither gods nor men could give her the comfort which her soul so hungered for at last on the tenth day the disconsolate mother met Hecate who informed her that she had heard her daughter's cries but knew not who it was that had borne her away by Hecate's advice Demeter consulted Helios who's all seeing eye nothing escapes and from him she learnt that it was Zeus himself who had permitted Aedes to seize Persephone and transport her to the lower world in order that she might become his wife indignant with Zeus for having given his sanction to the abduction of his daughter and filled with the bitter sorrow she abandoned her home in Olympus only food disguising herself as an old woman she descended upon earth and commenced a weary pilgrimage among mankind one evening she arrived at a place called Ellusis in Attica and sat down to rest herself near a well beneath the shade of an olive tree the youthful daughters of Celius the king of the country came with their pales of brass to draw water from this well seeing that the tired waferer appeared faint and dispirited they spoke kindly to her asking who she was and whence she came Demeter replied that she had made her escape from pirates who had captured her and added that she would feel grateful for a home with any worthy family whom she would be willing to serve in a menial capacity the princesses on hearing this begged Demeter to have a moment's patience while they returned home and consulted with their mother Matanera they soon brought the joyful intelligence that she was the desirous of securing her services as nurse to her infant son Demephune when Demeter arrived at the house a radiant light suddenly illuminated her which circumstance so overawed Matanera that she treated the unknown stranger with the greatest respect and hospitality offered her food and drink but Demeter still grief-worn and dejected refused her kindly offers and held herself apart from the social board at length however the maid servant EMB succeeded by means of playful jests and merriment in somewhat dispelling the grief of the sorrowing mother causing her at times to smile in spite of herself and even inducing her to partake of a mixture of barley meal mint and water which was prepared according to the directions of the goddess herself time passed on and the young child throwed amazingly under the care of his kind and judicious nurse who however gave him no food but anointed him daily with ambrosia and every night laid him secretly in the fire in order to render him immortal and exempt from old age but unfortunately this benevolent design on the part of Demeter was frustrated by Mettanyera herself whose curiosity one night impelled her to watch the proceedings of the mysterious being who nursed her child when to her horror she beheld her son placed in the flames she shrieked aloud Demeter incensed at this untimely interruption instantly withdrew the child and throwing him on the ground revealed herself in her true character the bent and aged form had vanished and in its place there stood a bright and beauteous being whose golden locks streamed over her shoulders in richest luxuriance her whole aspect bespeaking dignity and majesty she told the awestruck Mettanyera that she was the goddess Demeter and had intended to make her son immortal but that her fatal curiosity had rendered this impossible adding however that the child having slept in her arms and being nursed on her lap should ever command the respect and esteem of mankind she then desired that a temple and altar should be erected to her on a neighbouring hill by the people of Eleusis promising that she herself would direct them how to perform the sacred rites and ceremonies which should be observed in her honour with these words she took her departure never to return obedient to her commands Selyas called together a meeting of his people and built the temple on the spot which the goddess had indicated it was soon completed and Demeter took up her abode in it but was still sad for the loss of her daughter and the whole world felt the influence of her grief and ejection this was indeed a terrible year for mankind Demeter no longer smiled on the earth she was want to bless and though the husbandmen soared the grain and the groaning oxen plowed the fields no harvest rewarded their labour all was barren dreary desolation the world was threatened with famine and the gods with the loss of their accustomed honours and sacrifices it became evident therefore to Zeus himself that some measures must be adopted to appease the anger of the goddess he accordingly dispatched Iris and many of the other gods and goddesses to implore Demeter to return to Olympus but all their prayers were fruitless the incensed goddess swore that until her daughter was restored to her she would not allow the grain to spring forth from the earth at length Zeus sent Hermes his faithful messenger to the lower world with a petition to Aedes urgently entreating him to restore Persephone to the arms of her disconsolate mother when he arrived in the gloomy realms of Aedes Hermes found him seated on a throne with the beautiful Persephone of him sorrowfully bewailing her unhappy fate unlearning his errand Aedes consented to resign Persephone who joyfully prepared to follow the messenger of the gods to the abode of life and light before taking leave of her husband he presented to her a few seeds of pomegranate which in her excitement she thoughtlessly swallowed and this simple act as the sequel will show materially affected her whole future life the meeting between mother and child was one of unmixed rapture and for the moment all the past was forgotten the loving mother's happiness would now have been complete had not Aedes asserted his rights these were that if any mortal had tasted food in his realms they were bound to remain there forever of course the ruler of the lower world had to prove this assertion this however he found no difficulty in doing as a Scalophus the son of Acheron and Orphani was his witness to the fact Zeus pitting the disappointment of Demeter at finding her hopes thus blighted succeeded in affecting a compromise by inducing his brother Aedes to allow Persephone six months of the year with the gods above whilst during the other six she was to be the joyless companion of her grim lord below accompanied by her daughter the beautiful Persephone Demeter now resumed her long abandoned dwelling in Olympus the sympathetic earth responded galley to her bright smiles the corn at once sprang forth from the ground in fall as plenty the trees which late were said and bare now donned their brightest emerald robes and the flowers so long imprisoned in the hard dry soil filled the whole air with their fragrant perfume thus ends this charming story which was a favourite theme with all the classic authors it is very possible that the poets who first created this graceful myth merely intended it as an allegory to illustrate the change of seasons in the course of time however a literal meaning became attached to this and similar poetical fancies and thus the people of grace came to regard as an article of religious belief what in the first instance was nothing more than a poetic simile in the temple erected to Demeter at Eleusis the famous Eleusinian mysteries were instituted by the goddess herself it is exceedingly difficult as in the case of all secret societies to discover anything with certainty concerning these sacred rites the most plausible supposition is that the doctrines taught by the priests to the favoured few whom they initiated were religious truths which were deemed unfit for the uninstructed mind of the multitude for instance it is supposed that the birth of Demeter and Persephone was explained by the teachers of the mysteries to signify the temporary loss which Mother Earth sustains every year when the icy breath of winter robs her of her flowers and fruits and grain it is believed that in later times a still deeper meaning was conveyed by this beautiful myth vis the doctrine of the immortality of the soul the grain which it were remains dead for a time in the dark earth only to rise one day dressed in a newer and lovelier garb was supposed to symbolise the soul which after death frees itself from corruption to live again under a better and purer form when Demeter instituted the Eleusinian mysteries Solius and his family were the first to be initiated Solius himself being appointed High Priest his son, Cryptolimus and his daughters who acted as priestesses assisted him in the duties of his sacred office the mysteries were celebrated by the Athenians every 5 years and were for a long time their exclusive privilege they took place by torchlight and were conducted with the greatest solemnity in order to spread abroad the blessings which agriculture confers Demeter presented Cryptolimus with her chariot drawn by winged dragons and giving him some grains of corn desired him to journey through the world teaching mankind the arts of agriculture and husbandry Demeter exercised great severity towards those who incurred her displeasure we find examples of this in the stories of Stelio and Eresycthon Stelio was a youth who ridiculed the goddess for the eagerness with which she was eating a bowl of porridge when weary and faint in the vain search for her daughter resolved that he should never again have an opportunity of thus offending she angrily threw into his face the remainder of the food and changed him into a spotted lizard Eresycthon son of Triapus had drawn upon himself the anger of Demeter by cutting down her sacred groves for which she punished him with a constant and insatiable hunger he sold all his possessions in order to satisfy his cravings and was forced at last to devour his own limbs his daughter Metra who was devotedly attached to him possessed the power of transforming herself into a variety of different animals by this means she contrived to support her father who sold her again and again each time she assumed a different form and thus he dragged on a pitiful existence Ceres the Roman Ceres is actually the Greek Demeter under another name her attributes, worship festivals etc being precisely identical the Romans were indebted to Sicily for this divinity her worship having been introduced by the Greek colonists who settled there the Cerelia or festivals in honour of Ceres commenced on the 12th of April and lasted several days Aphrodite Venus Aphrodite from Aphros Seafoam and Diety issued the daughter of Zeus and Acenymph called Dione was the goddess of love and beauty Dione being Acenymph gave birth to her daughter beneath the waves but the child of the heaven inhabiting Zeus was forced to ascend from the ocean depths and mount to the snow-capped summits of Olympus in order to breathe that ethereal and most refined atmosphere which pertains to the celestial gods Aphrodite was the mother of Eros Cupid the god of love also of Anais the great Trojan hero and the head of that Greek colony which settled in Italy and from which arose the city of Rome as a mother Aphrodite claims our sympathy for the tenderness she exhibits towards her children Homer tells us in his Iliad how when Anais was wounded in battle she came to his assistance regardless of personal danger and was herself severely wounded in attempting to save his life Aphrodite was tenderly attached to a lovely youth called Adonis whose exquisite beauty has become proverbial he was a motherless babe and Aphrodite taking pity on him placed him in a chest and entrusted him to Persephone who became so fond of the beautiful youth that she refused to part with him Zeus being appealed to by the rival foster mothers decided that Adonis should spend four months of every year with Persephone four with Aphrodite whilst during the remaining four months he should be left to his own devices he became however so attached to Aphrodite that he voluntarily devoted to her the time at his own disposal Adonis was killed during the chase by a wild boar to the great grief of Aphrodite who bemoaned his loss so persistently that Ades moved with pity permitted him to pass six months of every year with her whilst the remaining half of the year was spent by him in the lower world Aphrodite possessed a magic girdle the famous Cestus which she frequently lent to unhappy maidens suffering from the pangs of unrequited love as it was endowed with the power of inspiring affection for the wearer who made invested with every attribute of grace beauty and fascination her usual attendants are the charities or graces Euphrosony Aglaya and Thalia who are represented undraped and intertwined in a loving embrace In Hesiod's theogony she is supposed to belong to the more ancient divinities and whilst those of later date are represented as having descended one from another and all more or less from Zeus Aphrodite has a variously accounted for yet independent origin the most poetical version of her birth is that when Uranus was wounded by his son Cronus his blood mingled with the foam of the sea whereupon the bubbling waters at once assumed a rosy tint and from their depths arose in all the surpassing glory of her loveliness Aphrodite goddess of love and beauty shaking her long fair tresses the water drops rolled down into the beautiful seashell and became transformed into pure glistening pearls wafted by the soft and barmy breezes she floated on to Scythera and was then transported to the island of Cyprus lightly she stepped on shore and under the gentle pressure of her delicate foot the dry and rigid sand became transformed into a verdant meadow where every varied shade of colour and every sweet odour charmed the senses the whole island of Cyprus became clothed in verdure and greeted this fairest of all created beings with a glad smile of friendly welcome here she was received by the seasons who decked her with garments of immortal fabric encircling her fair brow with a wreath of purest gold whilst from her ears depended cost sleeve rings and a glittering chain embraced her swan-like throat and now, arrayed in awe her pinnacle of her irresistible charms the nymphs escort her to the dazzling halls of Olympus where she is received with ecstatic enthusiasm by the admiring gods and goddesses the gods all vied with each other owing to the honour of her hand but her fastness became the envied possessor of this lovely being who however proved as faithless as she was beautiful and caused her husband much unhappiness owing to the preference she showed at various times for some of the other gods and also for mortal men the celebrated venus of Milo now in the Louvre is an exquisite statue of this divinity the head is beautifully formed the rich waves of hair descend on her rather low but broad forehead and are caught up gracefully in a small knot at the back of the head the expression of the face is most bewitching and bespeaks the perfect joyousness of a happy nature combined with the dignity of a goddess she falls in careless folds from the waist downwards and her whole attitude is the embodiment of all that is graceful and lovely in womanhood she is of medium height and the form is perfect in its symmetry and faultless proportions Aphrodite is also frequently represented in the act of confining her dripping locks in a knot whilst her attendant nymphs envelop her in a gauzy veil the animals sacred to her were the dove swan, swallow and sparrow her favourite plants were the myrtle apple tree, rose and poppy the worship of Aphrodite is supposed to have been introduced into Greece from Central Asia there is no doubt that she was originally identical with the famous Astarte the ashtoreth of the bible against whose idolatrous worship and infamous rites the prophets of old hurled forth their sublime and powerful anathemas end of section 5 section 6 of myths and legends this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lucy LaFaro New South Wales, Australia myths and legends of ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Behrens section 6 third dynasty Olympian divinities Phoebus Apollo Phoebus Apollo the god of light prophecy, music, poetry and the arts and sciences is by far the noblest conception within the whole range of Greek mythology and his worship which not only extended to all the states of Greece but also to Asia Minor and to every Greek colony throughout the world stands out among the most ancient and strongly marked features of greekian history and exerted a more decided influence over the greek nation than that of any other deity not accepting Zeus himself Apollo was the son of Zeus and Leto and was born beneath the shade of a palm tree which grew at the foot of Mount Synthes but on the barren and rocky island of Delos the poet tells us that the earth smiled when the young god first beheld the light of day and that Delos became so proud and exultant at the honour thus conferred upon her that she covered herself with golden flowers swans surrounded the island and the delian nymphs celebrated his birth with songs of joy the unhappy Leto driven to Delos by the relentless persecutions of Hera was not long permitted to enjoy her haven of refuge being still tormented by her enemy the young mother was once more obliged to fly she therefore resigned the charge of her newborn babe to the goddess Themis who carefully wrapped the helpless infant in swaddling clothes and fed him with nectar and ambrosia but he had no sooner partaken of the heavenly food than to the amazement of the goddess he burst asunder the bands which confined his infant limbs and springing to his feet appeared before her as a full grown youth of divine strength and beauty he now demanded a liar and a bow declaring that henceforth he would announce to mankind the will of his father Zeus the golden liar said he shall be my friend the bent bow my delight and in oracles I will foretell the dark future with these words he ascended to Olympus where he was received with joyful acclamations into the assembly of the celestial gods who acknowledged him as the most beautiful and glorious of all the sons of Zeus Phoebus Apollo was the god of light in a twofold signification first as representing the great orb of day which illumines the world and secondly as the heavenly light which animates the soul of man he inherited his function as sun god from Helios with whom in later times he was so completely identified that the personality of the one became gradually merged in that of the other we accordingly find Helios frequently confounded with Apollo myths belonging to the former attributed to the latter the tribes the ionic for instance so complete is this identification that Apollo is called by them Helios Apollo as the divinity whose power is developed in the broad light of day he brings joy and delight to nature and health and prosperity to man by the influence of his warm and gentle rays he disperses the noxious vapours of light assists the grain to ripen and the flowers to bloom but although as god of the sun he is a life giving and life preserving power who by his genial influence dispels the cold of winter he is at the same time the god who by means of his fiercely darting rays could spread disease and send sudden death to men and animals is to this phase of his character that we must look for the explanation of his being considered in conjunction with his twin sister Artemis as moon goddess a divinity of death the brother and sister share this function between them he taking man and she woman as her aim and those especially who died in the bloom of youth or at an advanced age were believed to have been cured by their gentle arrows but Apollo did not always send an easy death we see in the Iliad how when angry with the Greeks the god of the silver bow strode down from Olympus with his quiver full of death bringing darks and sent a raging pestilence into their camp for nine days he let fly his fatal arrows first on animals and then on men to the air became darkened with the smoke from the funeral pyres in his character as god of light Phoebus Apollo is the protecting deity of shepherds because it is he who warms the fields and meadows and gives rich pastures to the flocks thereby gladdening the heart of the herdsmen as the temperate heat of the sun exercises so invigorating an effect on man and animals and promotes the growth of those medicinal herbs and vegetable productions necessary for the cure of diseases Phoebus Apollo was supposed to possess the power of restoring life and health hence he was regarded as the god of healing but this feature in his character we shall find more particularly developed in his son Asclepius the god of the healing art pursuing our analysis of the various phases in the character of Phoebus Apollo we find that with the first beams of his genial light all nature awakens to renewed life and the woods re-echo with the jubilant sound of the untaught laze warbled by thousands of feathered choristers hence by a natural inference he is the god of music and as according to the belief of the ancients the inspirations of genius were inseparately connected with the glorious light of heaven he is also the god of poetry and acts as the special patron of the arts and sciences Apollo is himself the heavenly musician among the Olympic gods whose banquets are gladdened by the wondrous strains which he produces from his favorite instrument the seven-stringed lyre in the cultists of Apollo music formed a distinguishing feature all sacred dances and even the sacrifices in his honour were performed to the sound of musical instruments and it is in a great measure owing to the influence which the music in his worship exercised on the greek nation that Apollo came to be regarded as the leader of the nine muses the legitimate divinities of poetry and song in this character he is called Musa Geetis and is always represented robed in a long flowing garment his lyre to the tones of which he appears to be singing is suspended by a band across the chest his head is encircled by a wreath of laurel and his long hair streaming down over his shoulders gives him a somewhat effeminate appearance and now we must view the glorious God of Light under another and as far as regards his influence over the Greek nation a much more important aspect for in historical times all the other functions and attributes of Apollo sink into comparative insignificance before the great power exercised as God of prophecy it is true that all greek gods were endowed to a certain extent with the faculty of foretelling future events but Apollo as sun god was the concentration of all prophetic power as it was supposed that nothing escaped his all seeing eye which penetrated the most hidden recesses and laid bare the secrets which lay concealed behind the dark veil of the future we have seen that when Apollo assumed his godlike form he took his place among the immortals but he had not long enjoyed the rapturous delights of Olympus before he felt within him an ardent desire to fulfil his great mission of interpreting to mankind the will of his mighty father and accordingly descended to earth and travelled through many countries seeking a fitting sight upon which to establish an oracle at length he reached the southern side of the rocky heights of Parnassus beneath which lay the harbour of Crissa here under the overhanging cliff he found a secluded spot where from the most ancient times there had existed an oracle in which Gaia herself had revealed the future to man and which in Ducalian's time she had resigned to Themis it was guarded by the huge serpent Python the scourge of the surrounding neighbourhood and the terror alike of men and cattle the young god full of confidence in his unerring aim attacked and slew the monster with his arrows thus freeing land and people from their mighty enemy the grateful inhabitants anxious to do honour to their deliverer flocked around Apollo proceeded to mark out a plan for a temple and with the assistance of numbers of eager volunteers a suitable edifice was soon erected it now became necessary to choose ministers who would offer up sacrifices interpret his prophecies to the people and take charge of the temple looking round he saw in the far distance a vessel bound from Crete to the Peloponnesus and determined to avow himself of her crew for his service assuming the shape of an enormous dolphin he agitated the waters to such a degree that the ship was tossed violently to and fro to the great alarm of the mariners at the same time he raised a mighty wind which drove the ship into the harbour of Crissa where she ran aground the terrified sailors dead fought on shore but Apollo under the form of a vigorous youth stepped down to the vessel revealed himself in his true character and informed them that it was he who had driven them to Crissa in order that they might become his priests to serve him in his temple arrived at the sacred feign he instructed them how to perform the services in his honour and desired them to worship him under the name of Apollo Delphinius because he had first appeared to them under the form of a dolphin thus was established the far famed oracle of Delphi the only institution of the kind which was not exclusively national for it was consulted by Lydians Phrygians Etruscans, Romans etc and in fact was held in the highest repute all over the world in obedience to its decrees the laws of Lycurgus were introduced and the earliest Greek colonies founded no cities were built without first consulting the Delphic Oracle for it was believed that Apollo took special delight in the founding of cities the first stone of which he laid the person nor was any enterprise ever undertaken without inquiring at this sacred fame as to its probable success but that which brought Apollo more closely home to the hearts of the people and raised the whole moral tone of the Greek nation was the belief gradually developed with the intelligence of the people that he was the god who accepted repentance as an atonement for sin who pardoned the contrite sinner and who acted as the special protector of those who like arrestees had committed a crime which required long years of expiation Apollo is represented by the poets as being eternally young his countenance glowing with joyous life is the embodiment of immortal beauty his eyes are of a deep blue his forehead low but broad and intellectual his hair which falls over his shoulders in long waving locks is of a golden or warm chestnut hue he is crowned with laurel and wears a purple robe in his hand he bears his silver bow which is unbent when he smiles but ready for use when he menaces evil doers but Apollo the eternally beautiful youth the perfection of all that is graceful and refined to have been happy in his love either his advances met with a repulse or his union with the object of his affection was attended with fatal consequences his first love was Daphne daughter of Peneas the river god who was so averse to marriage that she entreated her father to allow her to lead a life of celibacy and devote herself to the chase which she loved to the exclusion of all other pursuits but one day soon after his victory over the python Apollo happened to see Eros bending his bow and proud of his own superior strength and skill he laughed at the efforts of the little archer saying that such a weapon was more suited to the one who had just killed the terrible serpent Eros angrily replied that his arrow should pierce the heart of the mocha himself and flying off to the summit of Mount Parnasus he drew from his quiver two darts of different workmanship one of gold which had the effect of inspiring love the other of lead which created aversion taking aim at Apollo he pierced his breast with the golden shaft whilst the lead on one he discharged into the bosom of the beautiful Daphne the son of Leto instantly felt the most ardent affection for the nymph who on her part events the greatest dislike towards her divine lover and at his approach fled from him like a hunted deer he called upon her in the most endearing accents to stay but she still sped on until at length becoming faint with fatigue and fearing that she was about to succumb she called upon the gods hardly had she uttered her prayer before a heavy torpor seized her limbs and just as Apollo threw out his arms to embrace her she became transformed into a laurel bush he sorrowfully crowned his head with its leaves and declared that in memory of his love it should henceforth remain evergreen and beheld sacred to him he next sought the love of my Pessa the daughter of Evernus but though her father approved his suit, the maiden preferred a youth named Idus who contrived to carry her off in a winged chariot which she had procured from Poseidon Apollo pursued the fugitives whom he quickly overtook and forcibly seizing the bride refused to resign her Zeus then interfered and declared that my Pessa herself must decide which of her lovers should claim her as his wife after due reflection she accepted Idus as her husband judiciously concluding that although the attractions of the divine Apollo were superior to those of her lover it would be wiser to unite herself to a mortal who growing old with herself would be less likely to forsake her when advancing years should rob her of her charms Cassandra, daughter of Priam King of Troy was another object of the love of Apollo she feigned to return his affection and promised to marry him provided he would confer upon her the gift of prophecy but having received the boon she desired the treacherous maiden refused to comply with the conditions upon which it had been granted in sense at her breach of faith Apollo unable to recall the gift he had bestowed rendered it useless by causing her predictions to fail in obtaining credence Cassandra became famous in history for her prophetic powers but her prophecies were never believed for instance she warned her brother Paris that if he brought back a wife from Greece he would cause the destruction of his father's house and kingdom she also warned the Trojans not to admit the wooden horse within the walls of the city and foretold to Agamemnon the disasters which afterwards befell him Apollo afterwards married Coronas a nymph of Larissa and thought himself happy in the possession of her faithful love but once more he was doomed to disappointment for one day his favourite bird the crow flew to him with the intelligence that his wife had transferred her affections to a youth of hermonia Apollo burning with rage destroyed her with one of his death bringing darts too late he repented of his rashness for she had been tenderly beloved by him and he would feign have recalled her to life but although he exerted all his healing powers his efforts were in vain he punished the crow for its garulity by changing the colour of its plumage from pure white to intense black and forbade it to fly any longer among the other birds Coronas left an infant son named Asclepius who afterwards became God of Medicine his powers were so extraordinary that he could not only cure the sick but could even restore the dead to life at last Aedes complained to Zeus that the number of shades conducted to his dominions was daily increasing and the great ruler of Olympus fearing that mankind thus protected against sickness and death would be able to defy the gods themselves cured Asclepius with one of his thunderbolts the loss of his highly gifted son so exasperated Apollo that being unable to vent his anger on Zeus he destroyed the cyclops who had forged the fatal thunderbolts for this offence Apollo would have been banished by Zeus but at the earnest intercession of Leto he partially relented and contended himself with depriving him of all power and dignity and imposing on him a temporary servitude in the house of Admitus King of Thessaly Apollo faithfully served his royal master for nine years in the humble capacity of a shepherd and was treated by him with every kindness and consideration during the period of his service the king sought the hand of Alcestus the beautiful daughter of Pelius son of Poseidon but her father declared that he would only resign her to the suitor who should succeed in yoking a lion and a wild boar to his chariot by the aid of his divine herdsmen Admitus accomplished this difficult task and gained his bride nor was this the only favour which the king received from the exiled god for Apollo obtained from the faith the gift of immortality for his benefactor on condition that when his last hour approached some member of his own family should be willing to die in his stead when the fatal hour arrived and Admitus felt that he was at the point of death he implored his aged parents to yield to him their few remaining days but life is sweet even to old age and they both refused to make the sacrifice demanded of them Alcestus however who had secretly devoted herself to death for her husband was seized with a mortal sickness which kept pace with his rapid recovery the devoted wife breathed her last in the arms of Admitus and he had just consigned her to the tomb when Heracles' chance to come to the palace Admitus held the rights of hospitality so sacred that he at first kept silence with regard to his great bereavement but as soon as his friend heard what had occurred he bravely descended into the tomb and when death came to claim his prey he exerted his marvellous strength and held him in his arms until he promised to restore the beautiful and heroic queen to the bosom of her family whilst pursuing the peaceful life of a shepherd Apollo formed a strong friendship with two youths named Hyacinthus and Soparisus but the great favour shown to them by the god did not suffice to shield them from misfortune the former was one day throwing a basket with Apollo when running too eagerly to take up the one thrown by the god he was struck on the head with it and killed on the spot Apollo was overcome with grief at the sad end of his young favourite but being unable to restore him to life he changed him into the flower called after him the Hyacinth Soparisus had the misfortune to kill by accident one of Apollo's favourite hyacinths which so prayed on his mind that he gradually pined away and died of a broken heart he was transformed by the god into a cypress tree which owes its name to this story after these sad occurrences Apollo quitted Thessaly and repaired to Phrygia in Asia Minor where he met Poseidon who like himself was in exile and condemned to a temporary servitude on earth and now entered the service of Leo Meaden King of Troy Apollo undertaking to tend his flocks and Poseidon to build the walls of the city but Apollo also contributed his assistance in the erection of those wonderful walls and by the aid of his marvellous musical powers the labours of his fellow worker Poseidon were rendered so light and easy that his otherwise arduous task advanced with astonishing celerity for as the master hand of the god of music grasped the cords of his lyre the huge blocks of stone moved of their own accord adjusting themselves with the utmost nicety into the places designed for them but though Apollo was so renowned in the art of music there were two individuals who had the effron tree considered themselves equal to him in disrespect and accordingly each challenged him to compete with them in a musical contest these were Marcius and Pan Marcius was a satire who having picked up the flute which Athena had thrown away in disgust discovered to his great delight and astonishment that in consequence of its having touched the lips of a goddess it played of itself in a most charming manner Marcius who was a great lover of music and much beloved on this account by all the elf-like denizens of the woods and glens was so intoxicated with joy at this discovery that he foolishly challenged Apollo to compete with him in a musical contest the challenge being accepted and umpires and it was decided that the unsuccessful candidate should suffer the punishment of being flayed alive for a long time the merits of both claimants remained so equally balanced that it was impossible to award the palm of victory to either seeing which Apollo resolved to conquer added the sweet tones of his melodious voice to the strains of his liar and this at once turned the scale in his favour the unhappy Marcius being defeated had to undergo the terrible penalty and his untimely fate was universally lamented indeed the satires and dryads his companions wept so incessantly at his fate that their tears uniting together formed a river in Phrygia which is still known by the name of Marcius the result of the contest with Pan was by no means of so serious a character the guard of shepherds having affirmed that he could play more skillfully on his flute of seven reeds the sirens or panzers pipe then Apollo on his world-renowned liar a contest ensued in which Apollo was pronounced the victor by all the judges appointed to decide between the rival candidates Midas King of Phrygia alone demurred at this decision having the bad taste to prefer the uncouth tones of the panzers pipe to the refined melodies of Apollo's liar incensed at the obstinacy and stupidity of the Phrygian king Apollo punished him by giving him the ears of an ass Midas horrified at being thus disfigured determined to hide his disgrace from his subjects by means of a cap his barber however could not be kept in ignorance of the fact and was therefore bribed with rich gifts never to reveal it finding however that he could not keep the secret any longer he dug a hole in the ground into which he whispered it then closing up the aperture he returned home feeling greatly relieved eased his mind of its burden but after all this very humiliating secret was revealed to the world for some reeds which sprung up from the spot murmured incessantly as they waved to and fro in the wind King Midas has the ears of an ass in the sad and beautiful story of Naobie daughter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion King of Thebes in the absence of the severe punishments meted out by Apollo to those who in any way incurred his displeasure Naobie was the proud mother of seven sons and seven daughters and exulting in the number of her children she upon one occasion ridiculed the worship of Leto because she had but one son and daughter and desired the Thebans for the future to give to her daughters and sacrifices which they had here thereto offered to the mother of Apollo and Artemis the sacrilegious words has scarcely passed her lips before Apollo called upon his sister Artemis to assist him in avenging the insult offered to their mother and soon their invisible arrows sped through the air Apollo slew all the sons and Artemis having already slain all the daughters save one the youngest and best beloved whom Naobie clasped in her arms when the agonised mother implored the enraged deities to leave her at least one out of all her beautiful children but even as she prayed the deadly arrow reached the heart of this child also meanwhile the unhappy father unable to bear the loss of his children had destroyed himself and his dead body lay beside the lifeless corpse of his favourite son widowed and childless the heartbroken mother sat among her dead and the gods in pity for her unutterable woe turned her into a stone which they transferred to syphilis her native frigid mountain where it still continues to shed tears the punishment of Naobie forms the project of a magnificent marble group which was found at Rome in the year 1553 and is now in the gallery of Uffizi at Florence the renowned singer Orpheus was the son of Apollo and Calliope the muse of epic poetry and as might be expected with parents so highly gifted was endowed with most distinguished intellectual qualifications he was a poet a teacher of the religious doctrines known as the Orphic Mysteries and a great musician having inherited from his father an extraordinary genius for music when he sang to the sweet tones of his lyre he charmed all nature and summoned around him the wild beasts of the forests who under the influence of his music became tame and gentle as lambs the madly rushing torrents stopped their rapid course and the very mountains and trees moved from their places at the sound of his entrancing melodies Orpheus became united with to a lovely nymph named Eurydice the daughter of the sea god Narius whom he fondly loved she was no less attached to him and their married life was full of joy and happiness but it was only short lived for Orpheus the half brother of Orpheus having fallen in love with the beautiful Eurydice forcibly endeavored to take her from her husband and as she fled across some fields to elude his pursuit she was bitten on the foot by a venomous snake which lay concealed in the long grass Eurydice died of the wound and her sorrowing husband filled the groves and valleys with his piteous and unceasing lamentations his longing to behold her once more became at last so unconquerable that he determined to brave the horrors of the lower world in order to entreat Aedes to restore to him his beloved wife armed only with his golden lyre the gift of Apollo he descended into the gloomy depths of Aedes where his heavenly music arrested for a while the torments of the unhappy sufferers the stone of Sisyphus remained motionless Tantalus forgot his perpetual thirst the wheel of Ixion ceased to revolve and even the fury shed tears and withheld for a time their persecutions undismayed at the scenes of horror and suffering which met his view on every side he pursued his way until he arrived at the palace of Aedes presenting himself before the throne on which sat the stony hearted king and his consort Persephone Orpheus recounted his woes to the sound of his lyre now moved to pity by his sweet strains they listened to his melancholy story and consented to release Eurydice on condition that he should not look upon her until they reached the upper world Orpheus gladly promised to comply with this injunction and followed by Eurydice ascended the steep and gloomy path which led to the realms of life and light all went well until he was just about to pass the extreme limits of Aedes when forgetting for the moment the hard condition he turned to convince himself that his beloved wife was really behind him the glance was fatal and destroyed all his hopes of happiness for as he yearningly stretched out his arms to embrace her she was caught back and vanished from his sight forever the grief of Orpheus at this second loss was even more intense than before and he now avoided all human society invading the nymphs his once chosen companions endeavoured to win him back to his accustomed haunts their power to charm was gone and music was now his soul consolation he wandered forth alone choosing the wildest and most secluded paths and the hills and veils resounded with his pathetic melodies at last he happened to cross the path of some Thracian women who were performing the wild rites of Dionysus Bacchus and in their mad fury at his refusing to join them they furiously attacked him and tore him in pieces in pity for his unhappy fate the muses collected his remains which they buried at the foot of Mount Olympus and the nightingale war would a funeral dirge over his grave his head was thrown into the river Hebrus and as it floated down the stream the lips still continued to murmur the beloved name of Eurydice the chief seat of the worship of Apollo was at Delphi and here was the most magnificent of all his temples the station of which reaches far beyond all historical knowledge and which contained immense riches the offerings of kings and private persons who had received favourable replies from the oracle the Greeks believed Delphi to be the central point of the earth because two eagles sent forth by Zeus one from the east the other from the west we said to have arrived here for a moment the python games celebrated in honour of the victory of Apollo over the python took place at Delphi every four years at the first celebration of these games gods, goddesses and heroes contended for the prizes which were at first of gold or silver but consisted in later times of simple laurel wreaths on account of its being the place of his birth the whole island of Delos was consecrated to Apollo where he was worshipped with great solemnity the greatest care was taken to preserve the sanctity of the spot for which reason no one was suffered to be buried there at the foot of Mount Synthesis was a splendid temple of Apollo which possessed an oracle and was enriched with magnificent offerings from all parts of Greece even foreign nations held this island sacred for when the Persians passed it on their way to attack Greece they not only sailed by leaving it uninjured but sent rich presents to the temple games called Delia instituted by theses were celebrated at Delos every four years a festival termed the gymnopedia was held at Sparta in honour of Apollo in which boys sang the praises of the gods and of the 300 lacedemonians who fell at the battle of the Moppoli wolves and hawks were sacrificed to Apollo and the birds sacred to him were the hawk, raven and swan end of section 6 section 7 of Myths and Legends this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lucy LaFaro New South Wales, Australia Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Behrens section 7 3rd Dynasty Olympian Divinities Hecate and Selene Hecate Hecate would appear to have been originally a moon goddess worshipped by the Thracians she became confounded and eventually identified with Selene and Persephone and is one of those Divinities of whom the ancients had various conflicting accounts Hecate was the daughter of Perses and gold-wraithed Estria the starry night and her sway extended over earth, heaven and hell for each reason she is represented in works of art as a triple Divinity having three female bodies all young and beautiful and united together in later times when this Divinity becomes identified with Persephone she is supposed to inhabit the lower world as a malignant deity and henceforward it is the gloomy or inspiring side of her character which alone develops itself she now presides over all practices connected with witchcraft and enchantments haunts, sepulchres and the point where two roads cross and lonely spots where murders have been committed she was supposed to be connected with the appearance of ghosts and spectres with unlimited influence over the powers of the lower world and to be able to lay to rest unearthly apparitions by her magic spells and enchantments Hecate appears as a gigantic woman bearing a torch and a sword her feet and hair are formed of snakes and her passage is accompanied by voices of thunder weird shrieks and yells and howling of dogs her favour was propitiated by offerings and sacrifices principally consisting of black lambs her festivals were celebrated at night by torchlight when these animals were offered to her accompanied by many peculiar ceremonies these ceremonies were carried out with the minutest attention to details as it was believed that the emission of the slightest particular would afford to her ministers the evil spirits of the lower world who hovered round the worshippers an opportunity for entering among them and exerting their baneful influence at the end of every month food was placed wherever two roads met in readiness for her and other malignant divinities in studying the peculiar characteristics which Hecate assumes the place of Persephone the rightful mistress of the lower world we are reminded of the various superstitions with regard to spectres witchcraft etc which have even down to our own times exerted so powerful an influence over the minds of the ignorant and which would appear to owe their origin to a remote pagan source Selene, Luna just as Helios personified the sun so his sister Selene represented the moon and was supposed to drive her chariot across the sky whilst her brother was reposing after the toils of the day when the shades of evening began to unfold the earth the two milk white steeds of Selene rose out of the mysterious depths of Oceanus seated in a silvery chariot accompanied by her daughter Hirst the goddess of the Jew appeared the mild and gentle queen of the night with a crescent on her fair brow a gauzy veil flowing behind and a lighted torch in her hand Selene greatly admired a beautiful young shepherd named Endymion to whom Zeus had accorded the privilege of eternal youth combined with the faculty of sleeping whenever he desired and as long as he wished seeing this lovely youth fast asleep on Mount Latmos Selene was so struck with his beauty that she came down every night from heaven to watch over and protect him End of section 7 Recording by Lucy Lofaro New South Wales, Australia Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Barons Section 8 Third Dynasty Olympian Divinities Artemis Artemis Diana Artemis was worshiped by the Greeks under various appellations to each of which belonged special characteristics thus she is known as the Akkadian Ephesian and Breronian Artemis and also as Selene Artemis and in order fully to comprehend the worship of this Divinity we must consider her under each aspect Akkadian Artemis The Akkadian Artemis the real Artemis of the Greeks was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister of Apollo she was the goddess of hunting and chastity and having obtained from her father permission to lead a life of celibacy she ever remained a maiden Divinity Artemis is the feminine counterpart of her brother the glorious god of light and like him though she deals out destruction and sudden death to men and animals she is also able to alleviate suffering and cure diseases like Apollo also she is skilled in the use of the bow but in a far more eminent degree for in the character of Artemis who devoted herself to the chase and passionate Adol this becomes an all distinguishing feature armed with her bow and quiver and attended by her train of huntresses who were nymphs of the woods and springs she roamed over the mountains in pursuit of her favourite exercise destroying in her course the wild animals of the forest when the chase was ended Artemis and her maidens loved to assemble in a shady grove or on the banks of a favourite stream where they joined in the merry song or graceful dance and made the heels resound with their joyous shouts as the type of purity and chastity Artemis was especially venerated by young maidens who before marrying sacrificed their hair to her she was also the patroness of those vowed to celibacy and punished severely any infringement of their obligation the huntress goddess is represented as being a head taller than her attendant nymphs and always appears as a youthful and slender maiden her features are beautiful but wanting in gentleness of expression her hair is gathered negligently into a knot at the back of her well shaped head and her figure though somewhat masculine is most graceful in its attitude and proportions the short robe she wears leaves her limbs free for the exercise of her chase her devotion to which is indicated by the quiver which is slung over her shoulder and the bow which she bears in her hand there are many famous statues of this divinity but the most celebrated is that known as the Diana of Versailles in the Louvre which forms a not unworthy companion to the Apollo Belvedere of the Vatican in this statue the goddess appears in the act of rescuing a hunted deer from its pursuers on whom she is turning with angry mane one hand is laid protectingly on the head of the stag lost with the other she draws an arrow from the quiver which hangs over her shoulder her attributes are the bow quiver and spear the animal sacred to her are the hind, dog bear and wild boar Artemis promptly resented any disregard or neglect of her worship a remarkable instance of this is shown in the story of the Caledonian boar hunt which is as follows Enius king of Caledonian Aetalia had incurred the displeasure of Artemis by neglecting to include her in a general sacrifice to the gods which she had offered up out of gratitude for a bounty full harvest the goddess enraged at this neglect sent a wild boar of extraordinary size and prodigious strength which destroyed the sprouting grain laid waste the fields and threatened the inhabitants with famine and death at this juncture Meliagia the brave son of Enius returned from the Argonautic expedition and finding his country ravaged by this dreadful scourge entreated the assistance of all the celebrated heroes of the age to join him in hunting the ferocious monster among the most famous of those who responded to his call were Jason Castor Pollux Idus Pelius Telamon Perithus Joseph Althea wife of Enius joined the hunters and Meliagia also enlisted into his service the Fleetfooted Huntress Atlanta the father of this maiden was Skeenas an Akkadian who disappointed at the birth of a daughter when he had particularly desired a son had exposed her on the Parthenian hill where he left her to perish here she was nursed by a she-bear and at last found by some hunters who reared her and gave her the name of Atlanta as the maiden grew up she became an arded lover of the chase and was alike distinguished for her beauty and courage though often wooed she led a life of strict celibacy an oracle having predicted that inevitable misfortune awaited her should she give herself in marriage to any of her numerous suitors many of the heroes objected to hunt in company with a maiden but Meliagia who loved Atlanta overcame their opposition and the valiant band set out on their expedition Atlanta was the first to wound the ball with her spear but not before two of the heroes had met their death from his fierce tusks after a long and desperate encounter Meliagia succeeded in killing the monster and presented the head and hide to Atlanta as trophies of the victory the uncles of Meliagia however forcibly took the hide from the maiden claiming their right to the spoil as next of kin if Meliagia resigned it Artemis whose anger was still unappeased caused a violent quarrel to arise between uncles and nephew and in the struggle which ensued Meliagia killed his mother's brothers and then restored the hide to Atlanta when Althea beheld the dead bodies of the slain heroes her grief and anger knew no bounds she swore to revenge the death of her brothers and her own son and unfortunately for him the instrument of vengeance lay ready to her hand at the birth of Meliagia the Moiri all fates entered the house of Enius and pointed into a piece of wood then burning on the half declared that as soon as it was consumed the babe would surely die on hearing this Althea seized a brand laid it up carefully in a chest and henceforth preserved it as her most precious possession but now love for her son giving place to the resentment she felt against the murder of her brothers and took the brand into the devouring flames as it consumed the vigor of Meliagia wasted away and when it was reduced to ashes he expired repenting too late the terrible effects of her rash deed Althea in remorse and despair took away her own life the news of the courage and the intrepidity displayed by Atlanta in the famous bore hunt of her father caused him to acknowledge his long lost child urged by him to choose one of her numerous suitors she consented to do so but made it a condition that he alone who could outstrip her in a race should become her husband whilst those she defeated should be put to death by her with the lance which she bore in her hand thus many suitors had perished for the maiden was unequalled for swiftness of foot but at last a beautiful youth named Hippomanes who had vainly endeavoured to win her love by his assiduous attentions in the chase ventured to enter the fatal lists knowing that only by stratagem could he hope to be successful he obtained by the help of Aphrodite three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides which he threw down at intervals during his course Atlanta secure a victory stooped to pick up the tempting fruit and in the meantime Hippomanes arrived at the goal he became the husband of the lovely Atlanta but forgot in his newly found happiness the gratitude which he owed to Aphrodite and the goddess withdrew her favour from the pair not long after the prediction the couple told misfortune to Atlanta in the event of her marriage was verified for she and her husband having strayed unsanctioned into a sacred grove of Zeus were both transformed into lions the trophies of the ever memorable boar hunt had been carried by Atlanta into Arcadia and for many centuries the identical hide and enormous tusks of the Caledonian boar of Athena at Tagaea the tusks were afterwards conveyed to Rome and shown there among other curiosities a forcible instance of the manner in which Artemis resented any intrusion on her retirement is seen in the fate which befell the famous hunter Action who happening one day to see Artemis and her attendants bathing imprudently ventured to approach the spot the goddess incensed at his audacity sprinkled him with water and transformed him into a stag whereupon he was torn in pieces and devoured by his own dogs Ephesian Artemis the Ephesian Artemis known to us as Diana of the Ephesians was a very ancient Asiatic divinity of Persian origin called Metra whose worship the Greek colonists found already established when they first settled in Asia Minor and whom they identified with their own Greek Artemis though she really possessed but one single attribute in common with their home deity Metra was a two fold divinity and represented in one phase of her character all pervading love in the other she was the light of heaven in her character as Celine was the only Greek female divinity who represented celestial light the Greek settlers according to their customer fusing foreign deities into their own seized at once upon this point of resemblance and decided that Metra should henceforth be regarded as identical with Artemis in her character as the love which pervades all nature and penetrates everywhere but her also to be present in the mysterious realm of shades where she exercised her benign sway replacing to a certain extent that ancient divinity Hecate and partly usurping also the place of Persephone as mistress of the lower world thus they believed that it was she who permitted the spirits of the departed to revisit the earth in order to communicate those they loved and to give them timely warning of coming evil in fact this great mighty and omnipresent power of love as embodied in the Ephesian Artemis was believed by the great thinkers of old to be the ruling spirit of the universe and it was to her influence that all the mysterious and beneficent workings of nature were ascribed by the magnificent temple erected to this divinity at Ephesus a city of Asia Minor which was ranked among the seven wonders of the world and was unequalled in beauty and grandeur the interior of this edifice was adorned with statues and paintings and contained 127 columns 60 feet in height each column having been placed there including the wealth deposited in this temple was enormous and the goddess was he worshipped with particular awe and solemnity in the interior of the edifice stood a statue of her formed of ebony with lines on her arms and turrets on her head whilst a number of breasts indicated the fruitfulness of the earth and of nature one was the principal architect of this world-renowned structure which however was not entirely completed till 220 years after the foundation stone was laid but the labour of centuries was destroyed in a single night for a man called Herostratus seized with the insane desire of making his name famous to all succeeding generations set fire to it completely destroyed it so great was the indignation and sorrow of the Ephesians at this calamity that they enacted a law forbidding the incendiary's name to be mentioned thereby however defeating their own object for thus the name of Herostratus has been handed down to posterity and will live as long as the memory of the famous temple Ephesus Broronian Artemis in ancient times the country which we now call the Crimea was known by the name of the Torica Cusinesis it was colonised by Greek settlers who finding that the Scythian inhabitants had a native divinity somewhat resembling their own Artemis identified her with the huntress goddess of the mother country the worship of this Torian Artemis was attended with the most barbarous practices for in accordance with the law which she had enacted all strangers whether male or female landing or shipwrecked on her shores were sacrificed upon her alters it is supposed that this decree was issued by the Torian goddess of Chastity to protect the purity of her followers by keeping them apart from foreign influences the interesting story of Ephegenia a priestess in the temple of Artemis at Taurus forms the subject of one of Shilla's most beautiful plays the circumstances occurred at the commencement of the Trojan War and Aris follows the fleet, collected by the Greeks for the siege of Troy had assembled at Aulis in Boatia and was about to set sail when Agamemnon the commander in chief had the misfortune to kill accidentally a stag which was grazing in a grove sacred to Artemis the offended goddess sent continuous calms that delayed the departure of the fleet and Kalkas the soothsayer who had accompanied the expedition declared that nothing less than the sacrifice of Agamemnon's favourite daughter Ephegenia would appease the wrath of the goddess at these words the heroic heart of the brave leader to work within him and he declared that rather than consent to so fearful an alternative he would give up his share of the expedition and return to Argos in this dilemma Odysseus and other great generals called a council to discuss the matter and after much deliberation it was decided that private feeling must yield to the welfare of the state for a long time the unhappy Agamemnon turned a deaf ear to their arguments but at last they succeeded in persuading him that it was his duty to make the sacrifice he accordingly dispatched a messenger to his wife Clitimnestra begging her to send Ephegenia to him alleging as a pretext that the great hero Achilles desired to make her his wife rejoicing at the brilliant destiny which awaited her beautiful daughter the fond mother at once obeyed the command and sent her to Aulis when the maiden arrived at her destination and discovered to her horror the dreadful fate which awaited her she threw herself in an agony of grief at her father's feet and with sobs and tears entreated him to have mercy on her and to spare her young life but alas her doom was sealed and her now repentant heartbroken father was powerless to avert it the unfortunate victim was bound to the altar and already the fatal knife was raised to deal the death blow when suddenly Ephegenia disappeared from view and in her place on the altar lay a beautiful deer ready to be sacrificed it was Artemis herself who pitying the youth and beauty of her victim caused her to be conveyed to Torica where she became one of her priestesses and entrusted with the charge of her temple a dignity however which necessitated the offering of those human sacrifices presented to Artemis many years passed away during which time the long and wearisome siege of Troy had come to an end and the brave Argumemnon had returned home to meet death Aegisthus but his daughter Ephegenia was still in exile from her native country and continued to perform the terrible duties which her office involved she had long given up all hopes have ever been restor