 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 LaFarro 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 Grecian 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 Sinthus 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 honor 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 and with some 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 the night 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 sent sudden death to men and animals and it 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 killed 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 darts 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 as Skelipius the veritable 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 lays 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 seventh-strength liar in the cultists of Apollo music formed a distinguishing feature all sacred dances and even the sacrifices in his honor 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 exercise 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 liar 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 guide 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 which he 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 fulfill his great mission of interpreting to mankind the will of his mighty father and accordingly descended to earth and traveled 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 Krissa he 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 Dukalian's time she had resigned to Themis it was guarded by the huge serpent python the scourge of the surrounding neighborhood 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 honor to their deliverer flocked around Apollo who 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 avail 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 harbor of Krissa where she ran aground the terrified sailors did not set foot 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 Krissa 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 honor 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 lady person nor was any enterprise ever undertaken without inquiring at this sacred feign 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 rarely seems 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 mocker himself and flying off to the summit of Mount Parnassus 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 a version taking aim at Apollo he pierced his breast with the golden shaft whilst the little one he discharged into the bosom of the beautiful Daphne the son of let her instantly felt the most ardent affection for the nymph who on her part evidence 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 to come to her aid hardly had she uttered her prayer before a heavy torpor seized her limbs and just as Apollo throughout 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 be held sacred to him he next sought the love of my pessa the daughter of everness but though her father approved his suit the maiden preferred a youth named Idis who contrived to carry her off in a winged chariot which he 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 Idis 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 immortal her 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 all 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 favorite bird the crow flew to him with the intelligence that his wife had transferred her affections to a youth of harmonia Apollo burning with rage instantly 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 gerulity by changing the color 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 was so extraordinary that he could not only cure the sick but could even restore the dead to life at last it is 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 killed 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 offense Apollo would have been banished by Zeus to Tartarus 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 Pellius 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 favor which the king received from the exiled god for Apollo obtained from the fates 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 rites 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 pray 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 the discus 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 stags 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 the two gods now entered the service of Leo Meadon 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 the Apollo was so renowned in the art of music there were two individuals who had the effrontery to consider themselves equal to him in this respect 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 Athene 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 the muses were chosen 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 remain 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 favor 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 frigia 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 god of shepherds having affirmed that he could play more skillfully on his flute of seven reeds the syrinx or panzers pipe than 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 frigia alone demuted 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 friging 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 at having thus eased his mind of its burden but after all this very humiliating secret was revealed to the world for some reads 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 we have another instance 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 the honors and sacrifices which they had here thereto offered to the mother of Apollo and Artemis the sacrilegious words had 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 classed in her arms when the agonized mother implored the enraged dieties 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 favorite 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 subject of a magnificent marble group which was found at Rome in the year 1553 and is now in the gallery of Euphizie 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 Euphizie 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 Euphizie 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. Euphizie 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 Hades 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 furies 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. 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 Hades 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. In vain did 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 sole 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 foundation 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, were said to have arrived here at the same moment. The Pythian 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 Synthes 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 presence to the temple. Games called Delia, instituted by Thesias 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 Lassidemonians who fell at the battle of Thermopylae. Wolves and hawks were sacrificed to Apollo and the birds sacred to him were the hawk, raven and swan. End of section six. Section seven 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. Barons. Section seven. Third 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 Persees and gold-wraithed Astria, the starry night, and her sway extended over earth, heaven and hell for which 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 hence forward 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 to possess unlimited influence over the powers of the lower world and to be able to lay to rest unearthly apparitions by her magic spells and incantations. 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 a deep baying 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 bane for 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 when she usurps 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 and 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 seven section eight 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. Barons section eight third dynasty Olympian divinities Artemis Artemis Diana Artemis was worshipped 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 Lito 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 idol 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 favorite 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 favorite stream where they joined in the merry song or graceful dance and made the hills 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 now 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 main one hand is laid protectingly on the head of the stag whilst 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 ball Artemis promptly resented any disregard or neglect of her worship a remarkable instance of this is shown in the story of the caledonian bull hunt which is as follows Enius king of caledon in Aetalia had incurred the displeasure of Artemis by neglecting to include her in a general sacrifice to the gods which he had offered up out of gratitude for a bound to 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, Linsus, Pellius, Telemon, Edmetus, Perithus and Thesius. The brothers of Althea wife of Enius joined the hunters and Meliagia also enlisted into his service the fleet-footed huntress Atlanta. The father of this maiden was Skenus 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 ardent 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 bore 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 or fates entered the house of Enius and pointing to a piece of wood then burning on the hearth declared that as soon as it was consumed the babe would surely die. On hearing this Althea seized a brand laded 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 murderer of her brothers she threw the fatal 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 Bull Hunt being carried to the ears 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 unequaled for swiftness of foot. But at last a beautiful youth named Hipomenes 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 Hipomenes 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 which foretold 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 hung in the temple of Athene 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 where upon 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 twofold divinity and represented in one phase of her character all pervading love in the other she was the light of heaven and as Artemis in her character as Selene was the only Greek female divinity who represented celestial light. The Greek settlers according to their custom of 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 they believed 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 with 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. There was a 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 unequaled 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 by a different king the wealth deposited in this temple was enormous and the goddess was here 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. Tessiphon 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 and 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 of Ephesus. Broronian Artemis. In ancient times the country which we now call the Crimea was known by the name of the Torica Cursinesis. It was colonised by Greg 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 before in accordance with the law which she had enacted all strangers where the male or female landing or shipwrecked on her shores were sacrificed upon her altars. 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 Ephegena 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 Arras follows. The fleet collected by the Greeks for the siege of Troy had assembled at Orlis in Boesha 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 Calcas the soothsayer who had accompanied the expedition declared that nothing less than the sacrifice of Agamemnon's favorite daughter Ephegena would appease the wrath of the goddess. At these words the heroic heart of the brave leader sank 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 Clitim Nestra begging her to send Ephegena 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 Aulus. 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. Elmyssobs 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 and 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 Ephegena 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 in a cloud 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 weirisome siege of Troy had come to an end and the brave Agamemnon had returned home to meet death at the hands of his wife and egos this but his daughter Ephegena was still an exile from her native country and continued to perform the terrible duties which her office involved. Shedlong given up all hopes have ever been restored to her friends when one day two Greek strangers landed on Torica's inhospitable shores. These were Orestes and Pelades whose romantic attachment to each other has made their names synonymous for devoted self-sacrificing friendship. Orestes was Ephegena's brother and Pelades her cousin and their object in undertaking an expedition fraught with so much peril was to obtain the statue of the Torian Artemis. Orestes having incurred the anger of the Furies for avenging the murder of his father Agamemnon was pursued by them wherever he went until at last he was informed by the oracle of Delphi that in order to pacify them he must convey the image of the Torian Artemis from Taurus to Attica. This yet once resolved to do and accompanied by his faithful friend Pelades who insisted on sharing the dangers of the undertaking he set out for Torica but the unfortunate youths had hardly stepped on shore before they were seized by the natives who as usual conveyed them for sacrifice to the temple of Artemis. Ephegena discovering that they were Greeks though unaware of their near relationship to herself thought the opportunity a favourable one for sending tidings of her existence to her native country and accordingly requested one of the strangers to be the bearer of a letter from her to her family. A magnanimous dispute now arose between the friends and each be sought the other to accept the precious privilege of life and freedom. Pelades at length overcome by the urgent entreaties of Orestes agreed to be the bearer of the missive but on looking more closely at the superscription he observed to his intense surprise that it was addressed to Orestes. Hereupon an explanation followed the brother and sister recognised each other amid joyful tears and loving embraces and assisted by her friends and kinsmen. Ephegena escaped with them from a country where she had spent so many unhappy days and witnessed so many scenes of horror and anguish. The fugitives having contrived to obtain the image of the Taurean Artemis carried it with them to Brauron in Attica. This divinity was hence forth known as the Brauronian Artemis and the rites which had rendered her worship so infamous in Taureka were now introduced into Greece and human victims bled freely under the sacrificial knife both in Athens and Sparta. The revolting practice of offering human sacrifices to her was continued until the time of Lycurgus the great Spartan lawgiver who put an end to it by substituting in its place one which was hardly less barbarous namely the scourging of youths who were whipped on the altars of the Brauronian Artemis in the most cruel manner. Sometimes indeed they expired under the lash in which case their mothers far from lamenting their fate are said to have rejoiced considering this an honourable death for their sons. Selene Artemis. Here there too we have seen Artemis only in the various phases of her terrestrial character but just as her brother Apollo drew into himself by degrees the attributes of that more ancient divinity Helios the sun god so in like manner she came to be identified in later times with Selene the moon goddess in which character she's always represented as wearing on her forehead a glittering crescent whilst a flowing veil bespangled with stars reaches to her feet and a long robe completely envelops her end of section eight section nine 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 nine third dynasty Olympian divinities Hephaestus and Poseidon Hephaestus Vulcan Hephaestus the son of Zeus and Hera was the god of fire in its beneficial aspect and the presiding deity over all workmanship accomplished by means of this useful element he was universally honoured not only as the god of all mechanical arts but also as a house and hearth divinity who exercised a beneficial influence on civilized society in general unlike the other Greek divinities he was ugly and deformed being awkward in his movements and limping in his gate this latter defect originated as we have already seen in the wrath of his father Zeus who hurled him down from heaven in consequence of his taking the part of Hera in one of the domestic disagreements which so frequently arose between this royal pair Hephaestus was a whole day falling from Olympus to the earth where he at length alighted on the island of Lemnos the inhabitants of the country seeing him descending through the air received him in their arms but in spite of their care his leg was broken by the fall and he remained ever afterwards lame in one foot grateful for the kindness of the Lemnians he hence forth took up his abode on their island and there built for himself a superb palace and forges for the pursuit of his avocation he instructed the people how to work in metals and also taught them other valuable and useful arts it is said that the first work of Hephaestus was a most ingenious throne of gold with secret springs which he presented to Hera it was arranged in such a manner that once seated she found herself unable to move and though all the gods endeavoured to extricate her the efforts were unavailing Hephaestus thus revenged himself on his mother for the cruelty she had always displayed towards him on account of his want of comeliness and grace Dionysus the wine god contrived however to intoxicate Hephaestus and then induced him to return to Olympus where after having released the queen of heaven from her very undignified position he became reconciled to his parents he now built for himself a glorious palace on Olympus of shining gold and made for the other deities those magnificent edifices which they inhabited he was assisted in his various and exquisitely skillful works of art by two female statues of pure gold formed by his own hand which possessed the power of motion and always accompanied him wherever he went with the assistance of the Cyclops he forged for Zeus his wonderful thunderbolts thus investing his mighty father with a new power of terrible import Zeus testified his appreciation of this precious gift by bestowing upon Hephaestus the beautiful Aphrodite in marriage but this was a questionable boon for the lovely Aphrodite who was the personification of all grace and beauty felt no affection for her ungainly and unattractive spouse and amused herself by ridiculing his awkward movements and unsightly person on one occasion especially when Hephaestus good-naturedly took upon himself the office of cupbearer to the gods his hobbling gait and extreme awkwardness created the greatest mirth among the celestials in which his disloyal partner was the first to join with unconcealed merriment Aphrodite greatly preferred Ares to her husband and this preference naturally gave rise to much jealousy on the part of Hephaestus and caused them great unhappiness Hephaestus appears to have been an indispensable member of the Olympic Assembly where he plays the part of Smith, Armourer, chariot-builder, etc. As already mentioned he constructed the palaces where the gods resided fashioned the golden shoes with which they trod the air or water built for them their wonderful chariots and shod with brass the horses of celestial breed which conveyed these glittering equipages over land and sea he also made the tripods which moved of themselves in and out of the celestial halls formed for Zeus the far-famed Aegis and erected the magnificent palace of the sun he also created the bronze footed bulls of 80s which breathed flames from their nostrils sent forth clouds of smoke and filled the air with their roaring among his most renowned works of art for the use of mortals were the armour of Achilles and Enius the beautiful necklace of Harmonia and the crown of Ariadne but his masterpiece was Pandora of whom a detailed account has already been given there was a temple on Mount Etna erected in his honour which none but the pure and virtuous were permitted to enter the entrance to this temple was guarded by dogs which possessed the extraordinary faculty of being able to discriminate between the righteous and the unrighteous fawning upon and caressing the good whilst they rushed upon all evil doers and drove them away Hephaestus is usually represented as a powerful brawny and very muscular man of middle height and mature age his strong uplifted arm is raised in the act of striking the anvil with a hammer which he holds in one hand whilst with the other he is turning a thunderbolt which an eagle beside him is waiting to carry to Zeus the principal seat of his worship was the island of Lemnos where he was regarded with peculiar veneration Poseidon Neptune Poseidon was the son of Cronos and Rhea and the brother of Zeus he was god of the sea more particularly of the Mediterranean and like the element over which he presided was of a variable disposition now violently agitated and now calm and placid for which reason he sometimes represented by the poets as quiet and composed and at others as disturbed and angry in the earliest ages of Greek mythology he merely symbolized the watery element but in later times as navigation and intercourse with other nations engendered greater traffic by sea Poseidon gained in importance and came to be regarded as a distinct divinity hold an indisputable dominion over the sea and over all divinities who acknowledged him as their sovereign ruler he possessed the power of causing it will mighty and destructive tempests in which the billows rise mountains high and the wind becomes a hurricane land and sea being enveloped in thick mists whilst destruction assails the unfortunate mariners exposed to their fury on the other hand his alone was the power of stealing the angry waves of soothing the troubled waters and granting safe voyage to mariners for this reason Poseidon was always invoked and propitiated by a libation before a voyage was undertaken and sacrifices and thanksgivings were gratefully offered to him after a safe and prosperous journey by sea the symbol of his power was the fishermen's fork or trident by means of which he produced earthquakes raised up islands from the bottom of the sea and caused wells to spring forth out of the earth Poseidon was essentially a presiding deity over fishermen and was on that account more particularly worshipped and revered in countries bordering on the sea coast where fish naturally formed a stable commodity of trade he was supposed to vent his displeasure by sending disastrous inundations which completely destroyed whole countries and were usually accompanied by terrible marine monsters who swallowed up and devoured those whom the floods had spared it is probable that these sea monsters are the poetical figures which represent the demons of hunger and famine necessarily accompanying a general inundation Poseidon is generally represented as resembling his brother Zeus in features height and general aspect but we miss in the countenance of the seagod the kindness and benignity which so pleasingly distinguish his mighty brother the eyes are bright and piercing and the contour of the face somewhat sharper in its outline than that of Zeus thus corresponding as it were with his more angry and violent nature his hair waves in dark disorderly masses over his shoulders his chest is broad and his frame powerful and stalwart he wears a short curling beard and a band around his head he usually appears standing erect in a graceful shell chariot drawn by hippocamps or seahorses with golden mains and brazen hoofs who bound over the dancing waves with such wonderful swiftness that the chariot scarcely touches the water the monsters of the deep acknowledging their mighty lord gamble playfully around him whilst the sea joyfully smooths a path for the passage of its all-powerful ruler he inhabited a beautiful palace at the bottom of the sea at Aegea in Yubia and also possessed a royal residence on Mount Olympus which however he only visited when his presence was required at the council of the gods his wonderful palace beneath the waters was of vast extent in its lofty and capacious halls thousands of his followers could assemble the exterior of the building was of bright gold which the continual wash of the waters preserved untarnished in the interior lofty and graceful columns supported the gleaming dome everywhere fountains of glistening silvery water played everywhere groves and arbours of feathery leaved sea plants appeared whilst rocks of pure crystal listened with all the varied colors of the rainbow some of the paths were strewn with white sparkling sand interspersed with jewels pearls and amber this delightful abode was surrounded on all sides by wide fields where there were whole groves of dark purple coralline and tufts of beautiful scarlet-leaved plants and sea anemones of every tint here grew bright pink seaweeds mosses of all hues and shades and tall grasses which growing upwards formed emerald caves and grottoes such as the Nereides love whilst fish of various kinds playfully darted in and out in the full enjoyment of their native element nor was illumination wanting in this fairy-like region which at night was lit up by the glow worms of the deep but although Poseidon ruled with absolute power over the ocean and its inhabitants he nevertheless bowed submissively to the will of the great ruler of Olympus and appeared at all times desirous of conciliating him we find him coming to his aid when emergency demanded and frequently rendering him valuable assistance against his opponents at the time when Zeus was harassed by the attacks of the giants he proved himself a most powerful ally engaging in single combat with a hideous giant named Polybotes whom he followed over the sea and at last succeeded in destroying by hurling upon him the island of Kos these amicable relations between the brothers were however sometimes interrupted thus for instance upon one occasion Poseidon joined Hera and Athene in a secret conspiracy to seize upon the ruler of heaven place him in fetters and deprive him of the sovereign power the conspiracy being discovered Hera as the chief instigator of this sacrilegious attempt on the divine person of Zeus was severely chastised and even beaten by her enraged spouse as a punishment for her rebellion and treachery whilst Poseidon was condemned for the space of a whole year to forego his dominion over the sea and it was at this time that in conjunction with Apollo he built for Leomedon the walls of Troy Poseidon married a sea nymph named Amphitrite whom he wooed under the form of a dolphin she afterwards became jealous of a beautiful maiden called Scylla who was beloved by Poseidon and in order to revenge herself she threw some herbs into a well where Scylla was bathing which had the effect of metamorphosing her into a monster of terrible aspect having 12 feet six heads and six long necks and a voice which resembled the bark of a dog this awful monster is said to have inhabited a cave at a very great height in the famous rock which still bears her name and was supposed to swoop down from her rocky eminence upon every ship that passed and with each of her six heads to secure a victim Amphitrite is often represented assisting Poseidon in attaching the seahorses to his chariot the Cyclops who have been already alluded to in the history of Cronus where the sons of Poseidon and Amphitrite they were a wild race of gigantic growth similar in their nature to the earth-born giants and had only one eye each in the middle of their foreheads they led a lawless life possessing neither social manners nor fear of the gods and were the workmen of Hephaestus whose workshop was supposed to be in the heart of the volcanic mountain Etna here we have another striking instance of the manner in which the Greeks personified the powers of nature which they saw in active operation around them they beheld with awe mingled with astonishment the fire stones and ashes which poured forth from the summit of this and other volcanic mountains and with their vivacity of imagination found a solution of the mystery in the supposition that the god of fire must be busy at work with his men in the depths of the earth and that the mighty flames which they beheld issued in this manner from his subterranean forge the chief representative of the Cyclops was the man-eating monster Polyphemus described by Homer as having been blinded and outwitted at last by Odysseus this monster fell in love with a beautiful nymph called Galataea but as may be supposed his addresses were not acceptable to the fair maiden who rejected them in favor of a youth named Assas upon which Polyphemus with his usual barbarity destroyed the life of his rival by throwing upon him a gigantic rock the blood of the murdered Assas gushing out of the rock formed a stream which still bears his name Triton, Rhoda, and Bentecissime were also children of Poseidon and Amphitrite the seagod was the father of two giant sons called Otis and Ephialtes when only nine years old they were said to be 27 cubits in height and nine in breadth these youthful giants were as rebellious as they were powerful even presuming to threaten the gods themselves with hostilities during the war of the Gigantum Machia they endeavored to scale heaven by piling mighty mountains one upon another already they had succeeded in placing Mount Ossar on Olympus and Pelion on Ossar when this impious project was frustrated by Apollo who destroyed them with his arrows it was supposed that had not their lives been thus cut off before reaching maturity their sacrilegious designs would have been carried into effect Pelius and Nellis were also sons of Poseidon their mother Tyro was attached to the river god Anepius whose form Poseidon assumed and thus won her love Pelius became afterwards famous in the story of the Argonauts and Nellius was the father of Nestor who was distinguished in the Trojan war the Greeks believe that it was to Poseidon they were indebted for the existence of the horse which he is said to have produced in the following manner Athene and Poseidon both claiming the right to name Sacropia the ancient name of Athens a violent dispute arose which was finally settled by an assembly of the Olympian gods who decided that whichever of the contending parties presented mankind with the most useful gift should obtain the privilege of naming the city upon this Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and the horse sprang forth in all its untamed strength and graceful beauty from the spot which Athene touched with her wand issued the olive tree where upon the gods unanimously awarded to her the victory declaring her gift to be the emblem of peace and plenty whilst that of Poseidon was thought to be the symbol of war and bloodshed Athene accordingly called the city Athens after herself and it has ever since retained this name Poseidon tamed the horse for the use of mankind and was believed to have taught men the art of managing horses by the bridle the Isthmian games so named because they were held on the isthmus of Corinth in which horse and chariot races were a distinguishing feature were instituted in honor of Poseidon he was more especially worshipped in the Peloponnesus though universally revered throughout Greece and in the south of Italy his sacrifices were generally black and white bulls also wild boars and rams his usual attributes are the trident horse and dolphin in some parts of Greece this divinity was identified with the seagod Nereus for which reason the Nerides or daughters of Nereus are represented as accompanying him end of section nine section 10 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 Lizzie Driver myths and legends of ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Behrens C. Divinities Oceanus Oceanus was the son of Uranus and Jea he was a personification of the ever-flowing stream which according to the primitive notions of the early Greeks encircled the world and from which sprang all the rivers and streams that watered the earth he was married to Tethys one of the Titans and was the father of a numerous progeny called the oceanides who are said to have been three thousand in number he alone of all the Titans refrained from taking past against Zeus and the Titan Machia and was on that account the only one of the primeval divinities permitted to retain his dominion under the new dynasty Nereus Nereus appears to be in the personification of the sea in its calm and placid moods and was after Poseidon the most important of the sea deities he is represented as a kind of benevolent old man possessing the gift of prophecy and presiding more particularly over the Aegean sea of which he was considered to be the protecting spirit there he dwelt with his wife Doris and their 50 blooming daughters the Nereids beneath the waves in a beautiful grotto palace and was ever ready to assist distressed mariners in the hour of danger Proteus Proteus more formally known as the old man of the sea was a son of Poseidon and gifted with prophetic power but he had an invincible objection to being consulted in his capacity as seer and those who wished him to foretell events watched for the hour of noon when he was in the habit of coming up to the island of Pharos with Poseidon's flock of seals which he tended at the bottom of the sea surrounded by these creatures of the deep he used to slumber beneath the grateful shade of the rocks this was the favorable moment to seize the prophet who in order to avoid opportunities would change himself into an infinite variety of forms but patients gained the day for if he were only held long enough he became worried at last and resuming his true form gave the information desired after which he dived down again to the bottom of the sea accompanied by the animals he tended Triton and the Tritons Triton was the only son of Poseidon and Amphyrity but he possessed little influence being altogether a minor divinity he is usually represented as preceding his father and acting as his trumpeteer using a conch shell for this purpose he lived with his parents in their beautiful golden palace beneath the seer to Gia and his favorite pastime was to ride over the billows on horses or sea monsters Triton is always represented as half man half fish the body below the waist terminating in the tail of a dolphin we frequently find mention of Tritons who were either the offspring or kindred of Triton Glaucos Glaucos is said to have become a sea divinity in the following manner while angling one day he observed that the fishy caught and threw on the bank at once nibbled at the grass and then leaped back into the water his curiosity was naturally excited and he proceeded to gratified by taking up a few blades and testing them no sooner was this done obeying an irresistible impulse he precipitated himself into the deep and became a sea god like most sea divinities he was gifted with prophetic power and each year visited all the islands and coasts with a train of marine monsters for telling all kinds of evil hence fishermen dreaded his approach and endeavored by prayer and fasting to avert the misfortunes which he prophesied he is often represented floating on the billows his body covered with mussels seaweed and shells wearing a full beard and long flowing hair and bitterly bewailing his immortality Thetis the silver-footed fair-haired Thetis who plays an important part in the mythology of Greece was the daughter of Nereus or a Somerset of Poseidon her grace and beauty was so remarkable that Zeus and Poseidon both sought an alliance with her but as it had been foretold that a son of hers would gain supremacy over his father they relinquished their intentions and she became the wife of Pelius son of Aeacus like Proteus Thetis possessed the power of transforming herself into a variety of different shapes and when wooed by Pelius she exerted this power in order to elude him but knowing that persistence would eventually succeed he held her fast until she assumed her true form their nuptials were celebrated with the utmost pomp and magnificence and were rolanded by the presence of all the gods and goddesses with the exception of Ares how the goddess of discord presented her exclusion from the marriage festivities has already been shown Thetis ever retained great influence over the mighty lord of heaven which as we shall see her after she used in favour of a renowned son Achilles in the Trojan War when Helcone plunged into the sea in despair after the shipwreck and death of her husband King Sykes Thetis transformed both husband and wife into the birds called Kingfisher's Halson's which with the tender affection which characterised the unfortunate couple always fly in pairs the idea of the ancients was that these birds brought forth their young in nests which float on the surface of the sea in calm weather before and after the shortest day when Thetis was said to keep the water smooth and tranquil for their special benefit hence the term Halcyon days which signifies a period of rest and untroubled felicity. Thomas, Forkis and Ceto the early Greeks with their extraordinary power of personifying all and every attribute of nature gave a distinct personality to those mighty wonders of the deep which in all ages have afforded matter of speculation to educated and uneducated alike. Among these personifications we find Thomas, Forkis and their sister Ceto who are the offspring of Pontus. Thomas whose name signifies wonder typifies that peculiar translucent condition of the surface of the sea when it reflects mirror like various images and appears to hold in its transparent embrace the flaming stars in illuminated cities which are so frequently reflected on its glassy bosom. Thomas married the lovely Electra whose name signifies a sparkling light produced by electricity daughter of Oceanus. Her amber coloured hair was of such rare beauty that none of her fair-haired sisters could compare with her and when she wept her tears, being too precious to be lost formed drops of shining amber. Forkis and Ceto personified more especially the hidden perils and terrors of the ocean. They were parents of the Gorgons the Greer and the Dragon which guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. Lyocethie Lyocethie was originally a mortal named Ino daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes. She married Athamas, king of Orcmenus, who, incensed at her unnatural conduct to his step-children, persuaded her and her son to the seashore when, seeing no hope of escape, she flung herself with the child into the deep. They were kindly received by the Nerides and became sea divinities under the name of Lyocethie and Palamon, the Sirens. The Sirens would appear to have been personifications of those numerous rocks and unseen dangers which abound on the southwest coast of Italy. They were sea-nymphs with the upper part of the body that of a maiden and the lower that of a sea-bird, having wings attached to their shoulders and were endowed with such wonderful voices that their sweet songs are said to have lured mariners to destruction. Ares, Mars. Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, was the god of war, who gloried in strife for its own sake. He loved the tumult and havoc of the battlefield and delighted in slaughter and extermination. In fact, he presents no benevolent aspect which could possibly react favourably upon human life. Epic poets in particular represent the gods of battles as a wild ungovernable warrior who passes through the armies like a whirlwind, hurling to the ground the brave and cowardly alike, destroying chariots and helmets and triumphing over the terrible desolation which he produces. In all the myths concerning Ares, his sister Athena ever appears in opposition to him, endeavouring by every means in her power to defeat his bloodthirsty designs. Thus she assists the divine hero Diomedes at the siege of Troy to overcome Ares in battle, and so well does he profit by a timely aid that he succeeds in wounding the Sangiro ward god, who makes his exit from the field, roving like ten thousand bulls. Ares appears to have been an object of aversion to all the gods of Olympus, Aphrodite alone accepted. As a son of Hera, he had inherited from his mother the strongest feelings of independence and contradiction, and as he took delight in upsetting that peaceful course of state life, which was pre-eminently the care of Zeus to establish, he was naturally disliked and even hated by him. When wounded by Diomedes, as above related, he complains to his father, but receives no sympathy from the otherwise kindly and beneficent ruler of Olympus, who thus angrily addresses him. Do not trouble me with thy complaints, thou who art of all the gods of Olympus most hateful to me, for thou delightest in naught save war and strife. The very spirit of thy mother lives in thee, and word thou not my own son, long ago wouldst thou have lain deeper down in the bowels of the earth than the son of Uranus. Ares, upon one occasion, incurred the anger of Poseidon, by slaying his son Halle Rheopheus, who had insulted Likopi, the daughter of the war-god. For this deed Poseidon summoned Ares to appear before the tribunal of the Olympic gods, which was held upon a hill in Athens. Ares was acquitted, and this event is supposed to have given rise to the name Erophogus, or Hill of Ares. Which afterwards became so famous as a court of justice. In the Gigantomachia, Ares was defeated by the Alodi. The two giant sons of Poseidon, who put him in chains and kept him in prison for thirteen months, Ares is represented as a man of youthful appearance. His tall muscular form combines great strength with wonderful agility. In his right hand he bears a sword or a mighty lance, one on the left arm he carries his round shield. His demonical surroundings are terror and fear. Ennio, the goddess of the war cry, Caodemus, the demon of the noise battles, and Ares, contention, his twin sister and companion, who always precedes Chariot when he rushes to the fight. The latter being evidently a smile of the poets, to express the fact that war follows contention. Ares is represented as a woman of floored complexion, with dishevelled hair, and her whole appearance angry and menacing. In one hand she Braddish is a poignard and a hissing adder, whilst in the other she carries a burning torch. Her dress is torn and disorderly, and her hair entwined with venomous snakes. This divinity was never invoked by mortals, except when they desired her assistance for the accomplishment of evil purposes. Mars The Roman divinity most closely resembling the Greek Ares, and identified with him, was called Mars, Marmers, and Mars-spitter, or Father Mars. The earliest Italian tribes, who were mostly engaged in the pursuit of husbandry, regarded this deity more especially as the goddess Spring, who vanquished the powers of winter, and encouraged the peaceful arts of agriculture. But with the Romans, who were in essentially war-like nation, Mars gradually lost his peaceful character, and, as God of War, attains after Jupiter the highest position among the Olympic gods. The Romans looked upon him as a special protector, and declared him to have been the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of their city. But although he was especially worshipped in Rome as God of War, he still continued to preside over agriculture, and was also the protecting deity who watched over the welfare of the state. As the god who strode with war-like step to the battlefield, he was called Gradivus, from Gradus a step. It, being popularly believed by the Romans, the tea himself marched before them to battle, and acted as their invisible protector. As a presiding deity over agriculture, he was stalled Sylvanus, whilst in his character as guardian of the state, he bore the name of Quirinus. The priests of Mars were twelve in number, and were called Salai, or the dancers, from the fact that sacred dances and full armour formed an important item in their peculiar ceremonial. This religious order, the members of which were always chosen from the noblest families in Rome, was first instituted, by Numer Pompulus, who entrusted to their special charge the Ancelai or sacred shields. It is said that one morning, when Numer was imploring the protection of Jupiter for the newly founded city of Rome, the god of heaven, as though in answer to his prayer, sent down an oblong brazen shield, and, as it fell at the feet of the king, a voice was heard announcing that on its preservation depended the future safety and prosperity of Rome. In order, therefore, to lessen the chances of this sacred treasure being abstracted, Numer caused eleven more to be made exactly like it, which were then given into the care of the Salai. The assistance and protection of the god of war was always solemnly invoked before the departure of a Roman army for the field of battle, and any reverses of fortune were invariably ascribed to his anger, which was accordingly perpetrated by means of extraordinary sin offerings and prayers. In Rome, a field, called the Campus Martius, was dedicated to Mars. It was a large open space, in which armies were collected and reviewed, general assemblies of the people held, and the young nobility trained to martial exercises. The most celebrated and magnificent of the numerous temples built by the Romans, in honour of this deity, was the one erected by Augustus in the Forum, to commemorate the overthrow of the murderers of Caesar. Of all the existing statues of Mars, the most renowned is that, in the Villa Ludovosi at Rome, in which he is represented as a powerful muscular man in the full vigour of youth. The attitude is that of thoughtful repose, but the short curly hair, dilated nostrils, and strongly marked features leave no doubt as the force and turbulence of his character. At his feet, the sculptor has placed the little god of love, who looks up all undaunted at the mighty war god, as though mischievously conscious, that this unusually quiet mood is attributed to his influence. Religious festivals in honour of Mars were generally held in the month of March, but he had also a festival on the Ides of October, when chariot races took place, after which the right-hand horse of the team which had drawn the victorious chariot was sacrificed to him. In ancient times, human sacrifices, more especially prisoners of war, were offered to him, but, at a later period, this cruel practice was discontinued. The attributes of this divinity are the helmet, shield, and spear. The animals consecrated to him were the wolf, horse, vulture, and woodpecker. Intimately associated with Mars in his character as God of War was a goddess called Bologna, who was evidently the female divinity of battle with one or other of the primitive nations of Italy, most probably the Sabines, and is usually seen accompanying Mars, whose war chariot she guides. Bologna appears on the battlefield, inspired with mad rage, cruelty, and the love of extermination. She is in full armour, her hair is dishevelled, and she bears a scourge in one hand and a lance in the other. A temple was erected to her on the campus Martius, before the entrance to the Zedaphist stood a pillar, over which a spear was thrown when war was publicly declared. Nike, Victoria Nike, the goddess of victory, was the daughter of the Titans' palace and of Styx, the presiding nymph of the river of that name in the lower world. In her status, Nike somewhat resembles Athena, but may easily be recognized by her large, graceful wings and flowing drapery, which is negligently fastened on a right shoulder, and only partially conceals her lovely form. In her left hand she holds aloft a crown of laurel, and in the right of palm branch. In ancient sculpture, Nike is usually represented in connection with colossal statues of Zeus or Pellis Athena, in which case she is life-sized, and stands on a ball, held in the open palm of the deities she accompanies. Sometimes she is represented engaged in inscribing the victory of a conqueror on his shield, her right foot being slightly raised and placed on a ball. A celebrated temple was erected to this divinity on the Acropolis at Athens, which is still to be seen, and is in excellent preservation. Victoria Under the name of Victoria, Knight was highly honoured by the Romans, with whom the love of conquest was an all-absorbent characteristic. There were several sanctuaries in Rome dedicated to her, the principle of which was on the capital, where it was the custom of generals, after success had attended their arms, to erect statues to the goddess in commemoration of their victories. The most magnificent of these statues was that raised by Augustus, after the Battle of Actium. A festival was celebrated in honour of Nike on the 12th of April. End of Section 10