The Circle of Knowledge: A Classified, Simplified, Visualized Book of Answers

by Unknown

GODS, HEROES AND MYTHICAL WONDER TALES

A myth is a story told about gods or heroes. Mythology is a term applied to the collected myths of a nation or people, sometimes to the scientific study of myths. The first to busy itself in a large sense with mythology was the Greeks, whose myths had the most luxuriant and fanciful development. When the Romans received the arts and sciences from the Greeks, they adopted also their gods and their entire religious system. Thus it was that the Greek and Roman mythologies were to a great extent the same.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MYTHOLOGY IN
EDUCATION

On account of their great beauty and universal interest, myths were made the themes of poets, priests, artists and commentators alike. Not only were the myths the inspiration of classical literature, art and religion, but they kept their place in later civilizations, and mythological allusions are so frequent in our own literature that an acquaintance with classic fable is a necessary part of modern education.

HOW THE MYTHS
ORIGINATED

A large proportion of these myths are due to men’s observations of Nature, and her various active and creative forces, which appeared to their lively Southern fancy as manifestations of single supernatural beings. These were regarded now as friendly, now as hostile, to man; and men therefore strove as eagerly to gain their favor as to appease their wrath. Of the appearance of the deities who thus manifested themselves in the workings of nature, men necessarily formed at first very crude and fantastic ideas. But later, when men emerged from the simple conditions of the early patriarchal epoch, and began to dwell in regular political communities, they gradually ceased to regard the gods as mere personifications of natural forces. They began to regard them as beings acting in accordance with unchangeable moral laws, and endowed with forms similar to those of men. They brought the gods into connection with each other by means of genealogies in a great measure artificial, and built up a vast political system, which has its center in Zeus, or Jupiter, the “father of gods and men.” (See [Chart] on following pages.)

HOW THE GODS RESEMBLE
MORTALS

The ancient Greeks believed their gods to be of the same shape and form as themselves, but of far greater beauty, strength, and dignity. They also regarded them as being of much larger size than men; for in those times great size was esteemed a perfection, supposed to be an attribute of divinities, to whom they ascribed all perfections. A fluid named ichor supplied the place of blood in the veins of the gods. They were immortal, but they might be wounded or otherwise injured. They could make themselves [821] visible or invisible to men, and assume the forms of men or of animals. Like men they stood in daily need of food and sleep. The meat of the gods was called ambrosia, their drink nectar. The gods, when they came among men, often partook of their food and hospitality.

Glimpse into the interior of the Pantheon at Rome showing statues of the gods and the marvelous effects of lighting.

Like mankind, the gods were divided into two sexes; namely, gods and goddesses. They married and had children. Often a god became enamored of a mortal woman, or a goddess was smitten with the charms of a handsome youth, and these love tales form a large portion of Grecian mythology.

To make the resemblance between gods and men more complete, the Greeks ascribed to their deities all human passions, both good and evil. They were capable of love, friendship, gratitude, and all affections; on the other hand, they were frequently envious, jealous, and revengeful. They were particularly careful to exact all due respect and attention from mankind, whom they required to honor them with temples, prayers, costly sacrifices, splendid processions, and rich gifts; and they severely punished insult or neglect.

HOW AND WHERE THE
GODS LIVED

If we look to the employment of the gods, we find that it consists chiefly in pleasant idleness; though they endeavor, like the rich among mankind, to make time fly by indulging in their favorite pastimes. They take their meals in common, and assemble for this purpose in the palace of Zeus, on the windy heights of Olympus. There they refresh themselves, while Hebe ministers to their wants, listening to the strains of Apollo’s lute, and to the songs of the sweet-voiced Muses, and entertaining themselves with pleasant conversation. Not always, indeed, is the company so peaceful and pleasant. At times these great gods quarrel finely; nay, even small conspiracies arise to interrupt the uniformity of their existence, such as that of Hera, Poseidon, and Athene against Zeus during the Trojan war, which is related in the fifteenth book of the “Iliad.”

RELATIONSHIP AND DOMINION
OF THE GODS

Lastly, that no point in their resemblance to mankind may be omitted, all the different deities are united in one great family, of which Zeus, or Jupiter, the father of men and the ruler of the gods, is the head and center. Zeus has, however, a special dominion over the celestial deities only, those of the sea and waters being subjected to Neptune or Poseidon, and those of the lower world to Hades, or Pluto.

A PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY OF MYTHOLOGY

KEY TO PRONUNCIATION

The long (marked) vowels are pronounced as in the following words; fāte, fāre, far; mē; mīne; mōte; mūte. The short vowels, which include all not marked as above, are pronounced as in the following words: pat; pet; pit; pot; put. The accented syllable in each word is indicated by a mark placed immediately after it. (q.v.), quod vide (L)—which see.

A

Abaris (ab´a-ris).—A mythical personage who is said to have taken no earthly food, and to have ridden on an arrow—the gift of Apollo, whose priest he was—through the air.

Absyrtus (ab-sir´tus).—A son of Æetes, king of Colchis, sister of Medea. (See “[Medea].”)

Acamas (ak´a-mās).—(i) Son of Theseus and Phædra; went with Diomedes to Troy to recover Helen.

Acantha (ak-an´tha).—A nymph beloved by Apollo and changed into the acanthus.

Acca Laurentia (ak´ka law-ren´shi-a).—The nurse of Romulus and Remus, after they had been taken from the she-wolf. (See “[Romulus].”)

Achates (a-kā´tēz).—A friend of Æneas—“fidus Achates” famous for his fidelity.

Acheloiades (a-ke-lō´i-a-dẽz).—The Sirens, so called because they were the daughters of Achelous.

Achelous (ak-el´ō-us).—The river-god was the son of Oceanus and Tethys, and the eldest of three thousand brothers. He and Hercules both loved Deianira, and fought for the possession of her. Hercules conquered him, when he took the form of a bull, but was defeated again and deprived by Hercules of one of his horns. Achelous, who was looked upon as the representative of all fresh water, was considered a great divinity throughout Greece.

Acheron (ak´er-ōn).—Generally signifies the whole of the lower world. Properly, it is the river of the lower world, around which the shades of the departed hover, and into which the Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon flow. There are other rivers also named Acheron.

Achilles (a-kill´ẽz).—The great hero of the Iliad. He was the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidones, and the Nereid Thetis. His mother, wishing to make him immortal, plunged him, when an infant, into the river Styx, and succeeded with the exception of the ankles, by which she held him. He was educated by Phoenix and Chiron, the centaur—the former teaching him [822] eloquence and the arts of war, the latter the healing art. When he was but nine years old, Calchas declared that Troy could not be taken without his aid. His mother, knowing that this war would be fatal to him, disguised him as a girl and sent him to dwell with the daughters of Lycomedes, at whose court he was called Pyrrha (pir´ra), i.e., red or tawny, on account of his auburn hair. Seeing, however, that Troy could not be taken without his aid, the crafty Ulysses, disguised as a merchant, sought him out, offering for sale jewels and articles of feminine attire, among which he had placed some arms. The ruse succeeded, as Achilles, by eagerly seizing the arms, at once betrayed his sex, and accompanied Ulysses to the Greek army before Troy. While at Lycomedes’ court he became by Deidamia the father of Pyrrhus, or Neoptolemus. Before Troy he performed great feats of valor. After killing numbers of Trojans, he at length met Hector, whom he chased thrice round the walls of the city, and, having slain him, tied his body to his chariot and dragged it to the ships of the Greeks. He had an invulnerable suit of armor made, at his mother’s request, by Vulcan. Finally, he was slain by Paris, son of Priam, who shot him in the heel, his only vulnerable part. He is the principal hero of the Iliad, and is represented as the handsomest and bravest of all the Greeks. After his death Achilles became one of the judges in the lower world, and dwelt in the islands of the blessed, where he was united to Medea, or Iphigenia.

Acis (ā´sis).—A Sicilian shepherd, beloved by the nymph Galatea. He was crushed, through jealousy, under a huge rock by Polyphemus, the Cyclop, and his blood gushing forth from under was changed by the nymph into the river Acis, at the foot of Mount Etna.

Actæon (ak-tē´ōn).—A mighty huntsman, son of Aristæus and Autonoë. One day while hunting he saw Diana and her nymphs bathing, and was immediately changed by the goddess into a stag, in which form he was torn to pieces by his fifty dogs.

Admetus (ad-mē´tus).—King of Pheræ, in Thessaly. On the death of his first wife he sued for the hand of Alcestis, whom he obtained, by Apollo’s aid, only on coming in a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild boar. The god (Apollo) tended the flocks of Admetus for nine years, when he was compelled to serve a mortal for having slain the Cyclops. Apollo prevailed on the Fates to grant that Admetus should never die if another would lay down his life for him. This Alcestis did, but was brought back from the lower world by Hercules.

Adonis (a-dō´nis).—A beautiful youth beloved by Venus. While hunting he was killed by a wild boar, and was changed by Venus into the anemone. The grief of Venus was so great that the gods of the nether regions allowed him to spend six months of every year with Venus upon the earth. (This myth seems to refer to the apparent death of nature in winter and its revival in spring; hence Adonis spends six months in the lower and a like period in the upper world.)

Æacus (ē´ak-us).—Son of Jupiter and Ægina. It is related that at his birth in the island of Ægina, which was named after his mother, there were no inhabitants on the island, and that Jupiter changed the ants there into men; hence the latter were called Myrmidones (Gr. ants), and Æacus ruled over them. Æacus was renowned throughout Greece for his justice and piety, and after his death became one of the three judges in Hades (the other two being Rhadamanthus and Minos).

Aedon (a-ē´dōn).—Daughter of Pandareus and wife of Zethus, king of Thebes. Jealous of Niobe, her brother Amphion’s wife, having six sons and six daughters, while she had but one son, she determined to kill the eldest of Niobe’s sons, but by mistake slew her own son Itylus. Jupiter changed her into a nightingale, whose melancholy notes are represented as Ædon’s lamentations for her son.

Æetes (ē-ē´tēz) or Æeta, (ē-ē´ta).—Son of Helios (the sun) and Persëis, and king of Colchis at the time Phrixus had fled to his court on a ram with golden fleece, the gift of Mercury. (See “[Phrixus].”) After having sacrificed to Jupiter the ram that had carried him, Phrixus gave its golden fleece to Æetes, who suspended it to an oak tree in the grove of Mars, where it was guarded day and night by an ever-watchful dragon. It was, however, greatly coveted, and an expedition was fitted out, consisting of all the great heroes of the age, with the special object, which proved successful, of obtaining it. (See “[Argonautæ].”)

Ægæon (ē-jē´ōn).—Son of Uranus (heaven) and Gæa (earth). Ægæon and his brothers, Gyas and Cottus, were huge monsters with a hundred arms and fifty heads. Ægæon and his brothers, who are often called the Uranids, conquered the Titans when they made war upon the gods, and secured the victory to Jupiter, who thrust the Titans into Tartarus, and placed Ægæon and his brothers to guard them. Ægæon is often referred to under the name Briareus.

Æneas (ē-nē´as), the hero of Virgil’s great epic poem the Æneid (ē-ne´id), was the son of Anchises and Venus, and was born on Mount Ida. Having been attacked on Mount Ida by Achilles, who also drove away his flocks, he led the Dardanians against the Greeks, and at once took part in the Trojan war. Æneas and Hector were the great Trojan heroes, and the former, being beloved by gods and men, was on more than one occasion saved in battle by the gods. Venus saved him from Diomedes, and Neptune from Achilles, when the latter was on the point of killing him. From the flames of Troy he carried on his back his father, Anchises, and the household gods, and led Ascanius, his son, leaving his wife, Creusa, daughter of Priam, to follow. Æneas then set out on those wanderings that form the subject of the Æneid. After visiting Epirus and Sicily he was driven by a storm on the coast of Africa, where he met with Dido, queen of Carthage, who hospitably entertained him and became enamored of him. Æneas, however, left suddenly, and [Dido] (q.v.) killed herself. He then sailed to Latium, where he married Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus, and founded the town of Lavinium, so named in honor of his wife. Turnus, to whom Lavinia had been betrothed, made war against Latinus and Æneas, but was slain by the latter, who now became ruler of the Aborigines and Trojans. Soon afterwards, however, he was slain in battle by the Rutulians.

Æolus (ē´o-lus).—The happy ruler of the Æolian Islands. He had been given, by Jupiter, dominion over the winds, which he kept enclosed in a mountain. When Ulysses was on his journey from Troy to Ithaca, Æolus gave him all the adverse winds in bags, but his companions, from curiosity, opened them.

Æsculapius (ēs-kū-lā´pi-us).—The god of healing. He was the son of Apollo and Coronis, and was brought up by Chiron, the centaur, who instructed him in the art of healing and in hunting. When he was grown up, he not only healed the sick, but recalled the dead to life. He was killed by a thunderbolt by Jupiter, who feared lest men should, by his aid, escape death altogether. Serpents were sacred to him, and the cock was sacrificed to him.

Agamemnon (ag-a-mem´nōn).—King of Mycenæ, and brother of Menelaus. He married Clytemnestra, who bore him Iphigenia, Chrysothemis, Laodice (Electra) and Orestes. He was the most powerful prince in Greece. When [Helen] (q.v.) was carried off by Paris, and the Greek chiefs sought to regain her, Agamemnon was chosen commander-in-chief of the expedition. He is not, however, the hero of the Iliad, as he is the inferior of Achilles in true nobility of character. At the capture of Troy he received Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, as his prize. On his return home he was murdered by Ægisthus, who, during his absence at Troy, had been living with Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra. His son Orestes avenged his father’s death by slaying both Ægisthus and Clytemnestra.

Aganippe (ag-a-nip´pē).—A fountain at the foot of Mount Helicon, in Bœotia, sacred to the Muses, who were hence called Aganippides (ag-a-nip´pi-dēz).

Ajax (ā´jaks).—There are two heroes having this name, Ajax the Great, or Ajax Telamonius, and The Lesser Ajax, or Ajax Oïleus. (i) Ajax the Great was son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Æacus. He took a very prominent part in the Trojan war, and was placed second to Achilles alone in bravery. He was conquered by Ulysses in struggle for the armor of Achilles, and this, according to Homer, was the cause of his death. (ii) The Lesser Ajax, or Ajax, son of Oïleus, also took part in the Trojan war. He was, next to Achilles, the most swift-footed among the Greeks.

Alcathous (al-kath´o-us).—Son of Pelops and Hippodamia. Obtained his wife by slaying the Cithæronian lion, which had killed the king’s son, and succeeded his father-in-law as king of Megara, the walls of which he restored.

Alcestis or Alceste (al-ses´tē).—Wife of [Admetus] (q.v.).

Alcmene (alk-mē´nē).—Wife of Amphitryon. Jupiter, who appeared disguised as her husband, became by her the father of Hercules.

Alcyone (al´si-on-ē) or Halcyone.—Daughter of Æolus and wife of Ceyx. Her husband having perished in a shipwreck, Alcyone’s grief became so intense that she threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion the gods changed the two into birds, and while these birds (halcyons) were breeding the sea always remained calm.

Alecto (a-lek´tô).—One of the [Furies] (q.v.).

Aloeus (al-lō´-ūs).—Son of Neptune and Canace. His wife had, by Neptune, two sons, Otus and Ephialtes, the Aloidæ (a-lō´i-dē), who were of extraordinary size [823] and strength. At the age of nine years they attempted to scale heaven by piling Mount Ossa upon Olympus and Pelion upon Ossa. To prevent them accomplishing this when they grew older Apollo destroyed them before their beards began to appear.

Althæa (al-the´a).—Wife of Æneus and mother of [Meleager] (q.v.).

Amalthea (am-al-thē´a).—Nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete, whom she fed with goat’s milk. Jupiter broke off one of the horns of the goat and gave it the power of becoming filled with whatever the possessor might wish; hence it was called the cornucopia—i.e., horn of plenty.

Amazones (a-māz´on-ēz).—The Amazones, a mythical race of warlike women living near the river Thermodon. The female children had their right breasts cut off that they might use the bow with greater ease; hence their name Amazon, which means, “without breast.” One of the twelve labors of Hercules was to obtain the girdle of Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons. They came, under their queen, Penthesilea, to the assistance of Priam in the Trojan war; but she was killed by Achilles.

Amphion (am-fi´ōn).—Son of Jupiter and Antiope, and twin-brother of Zethus. They were born on Mount Cithæron, and were brought up by a shepherd. Amphion received a lyre from Mercury, on which he learned to play with marvelous skill. Amphion married [Niobe] (q.v.).

Amphitrite (am-fi-trī´tē).—Wife of Neptune and goddess of the sea. She was the mother of Triton.

Ancæus (an-sē´us).—One of the Argonauts. Having left a cup of wine untasted to pursue a wild boar, he was killed by it, which gave rise to the proverb. “There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.”

Anchises (an-kī´sēz).—Son of Capys and Themis, the daughter of Ilus, king of Dardanus, on Mount Ida. He was so handsome that he was beloved by Venus, who became by him the mother of Æneas. On the capture of Troy by the Greeks, he was carried off on his son’s shoulders from the burning city. He set forth with Æneas for Italy, but died and was buried in Sicily.

Androgeos (an-droj´e-ōs).—Son of Minos and Pasiphaë. Slain at the instigation of King Ægus, after having overcome all his opponents in the Panathenæa, at Athens. To avenge his death Minos made war on the Athenians, and compelled them to send every year to Crete seven youths and seven maidens to be devoured by the [Minotaur] (q.v.). Theseus, however, slew the monster, and so delivered them from the terrible tribute.

Andromache (an-drom´a-kē); literal meaning, “fighting with men.”—Daughter of King Eëtion and wife of Hector, by whom she had a son, Scamandrius, or Astyanax. On the taking of Troy she fell to the lot of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus), the son of Achilles, who took her to Epirus, and treated her as his wife. She afterwards married Hector’s brother Helenus.

Andromeda (an-drom´e-da).—Daughter of Cepheus, king of Æthiopia, and Cassiopea. Her beauty was so great that her mother boasted that she surpassed in that respect the Nereids, the marine nymphs of the Mediterranean. Consequently, Neptune sent a sea-monster to lay waste the country. The oracle of Ammon promised deliverance, on condition that Andromeda was chained to a rock and left to the fury of the monster. This was done, but she was saved by [Perseus] (q.v.), who slew the monster and obtained Andromeda for his wife. Having been previously promised to her uncle Phineus, however, the latter appeared at the wedding, and a great fight ensued in which Phineus and all associated with him were slain. After her death Andromeda was placed among the stars.

Antaeus (an-tē´us).—A giant of Libya (i.e. Africa), son of Neptune and Earth, who remained invincible so long as he touched his mother Earth. Hercules, having discovered this, held him up in the air and squeezed him to death.

Antenor (ant-ē´nor).—One of the wisest of the elders of Troy. When Menelaus and Ulysses came to Troy as ambassadors he received them, and advised the Trojans to give up Helen to Menelaus, which, however, they refused to do. When the city was captured by the Greeks Antenor’s life was spared.

Aphrodite (af-ro-di´tē)—i.e. sea-foam.—The goddess of love and beauty, called Aphrodite by the Greeks, because she was supposed to have been born from the sea-foam. She was called Venus by the Romans. See “[Venus].”

Apollo (a-poll´ō).—The sun-god. He was the son of Jupiter and Latona, and twin-brother of Diana. Apollo was the god of music and the fine arts, of prophecy, and the god who protects flocks and cattle. He is also represented as taking great interest in the foundation and government of cities, and was looked upon as the god who punishes; hence carrying a bow and arrows. He had a celebrated oracle at Delphi. The invention of the flute and lyre was ascribed to Apollo. He was challenged to musical contests by Marsyas and Pan (see “[Marsyas]” and “Midas”). Apollo, as sun-god, is frequently called Phœbus—i.e. the bright one. There are several statues of Apollo, the most beautiful being the Apollo Belvedere at Rome.

Arachne (ar-ak´nē).—A Lydian maiden who so greatly excelled in the art of weaving that she challenged Minerva to a trial of skill. Being defeated, she hanged herself, and was changed by the goddess into a spider. This fable indicates that man learned the art of weaving from the spider, and that it was first pursued in Lydia. Arachne is the Greek word for spider.

Ares (ā´rēz).—The Greek god of war. See “[Mars].”

Arethusa (a-re-thū´sa).—One of the Nereids or marine nymphs of the Mediterranean. She was the nymph of the celebrated fountain of Arethusa in the island of Ortygia, near Syracuse. Arethusa was being pursued by the river-god Alpheus, when she was changed by Diana into the fountain of the same name.

Argonautæ (ar-go-naw´tē).—The Argonauts, or sailors of the Argo, were the heroes who went with Jason on the celebrated expedition to Colchis to recover the golden fleece. The origin of the expedition was as follows: Jason’s father had been deprived of his kingdom by his half-brother Pelias, who also, to make himself more secure, attempted to take the life of Jason, then an infant. The latter, was, however, saved, and given over to the care of the centaur Chiron. When he grew up Pelias promised to surrender the kingdom to him on what he considered to be an impossible condition—namely that he brought him the golden fleece. This golden fleece (for the history of which see “[Phrixus]”) was suspended to an oak in the grove of Mars, in Colchis, and was guarded day and night by a dragon. Jason at once undertook the enterprise, and instructed Argus, son of Phrixus, to build a ship with fifty oars, which he called the Argo, from the name of the builder. Minerva herself superintended the building of the ship. In the expedition Jason was accompanied by all the great heroes of the age—Hercules, Laertes, Theseus, Ajax, etc.—to the number of fifty. After an adventurous voyage they at length arrived at their destination. [Æëtes] (q.v.), king of Colchis, on learning the object of their visit, promised to give up the golden fleece if Jason would perform the following feats: first, tame two bulls, which had brazen feet and vomited fire, and yoke them to a plow; second, sow the unused teeth of the dragon slain by [Cadmus] (q.v.), from which armed men would spring, and slay them with his own hand; third kill the dragon who guarded the fleece. Medea, daughter of Æëtes, who was well skilled in magic, enabled Jason, with whom she had fallen in love, to do all these things; and, after taking the treasure, he and his Argonauts and Medea embarked by night and sailed away. After another eventful journey they finally reached Colchis again.

Argus (ar´gus).—A being with a hundred eyes; hence called “Panoptes” (pan-op´tēz).—i.e. the all-seeing. Juno appointed him to watch over the cow into which Io had been changed; but Mercury, at the command of Jupiter, lulled him to sleep by playing on his flute, and then cut off his head. Juno transplanted his eyes to the tail of the peacock, her favorite bird.

Ariadne (ar-i-ad´nē).—Daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë. When Theseus was sent as part of the yearly tribute of seven youths and seven maidens to be devoured in the labyrinth by the Minotaur, Ariadne fell in love with him, and gave him the clue of thread, by means of which he escaped from the labyrinth. Theseus promised to marry her, and they left Crete together; but he deserted her in Naxos, where she was found by Bacchus, who made her his wife. At their marriage he gave her a crown of seven stars, which after her death was made a constellation.

Aricia (a-ri´si-a).—A town of Latium, sixteen miles from Rome, near which was a celebrated grove and temple of Diana.

Arion (a-rī´on).—A celebrated lyric poet and cithara player of Methymna, in Lesbos, about B. C. 625. Once, when returning from a successful musical contest in Sicily, the sailors, in order to possess themselves of his presents, were about to murder him, but, on his urgent entreaty, allowed him to play once more on his cithara. He then invoked the gods, and threw himself into the sea. He was not drowned, however, for one of a number of dolphins that had been attracted round the vessel by his sweet strains took him on his back and bore him safely to land.

Aristæus (ar-is-tē´us).—Son of Apollo and Cyrene, who is said to have taught men the management of bees, and to have first planted olive trees. He was, after his death, worshiped as a god, and regarded as the protector of flocks and shepherds, of vine and olive plantations.

Artemis (ar´tem-is).—The Greek name of [Diana] (q. v.).

Ascanius (as-kā´ni-us).—Son of Æneas and Creusa, afterwards called Iulus. He founded Alba Longa, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Silvius.

Asgard.—In Scandinavian mythology Asgard represents the city of the gods, situated at the center of the universe, and accessible only by the bridge Bifrost i. e., the rainbow.

Asir.—In northern mythology the most powerful, though not the oldest, of the deities; usually reckoned as twelve gods and twelve goddesses. The gods are Odin, Thor, Baldur, Niörd, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Vidar, Vali, Ullur, and Forseti; the best-known of the goddesses, Frigga, Freyja, Iduna, and Saga.

Assaracus (as-sar´a-cus).—King of Troy, son of Tros, father of Capys, the father of Anchises.

Astarte (as-tar´tē).—A powerful goddess of Syria, corresponding to the Roman Venus.

Astræa (as-trē´a).—Goddess of justice, daughter of Jupiter and Themis; lived during the golden age among men.

Astræus (as-trē´us).—A Titan, husband of Aurora (the goddess of the dawn), and father of the winds and the stars.

Astyanax (as-tī´an-ax)—i. e. lord of the city.—A name given by the people of Troy to Scamandrius (or Scamander), son of Hector and Andromache, because his father was the protector of Troy. His mother saved him from the flames at the fall of Troy, but the Greeks hurled him down from the walls.

Atalanta (at-a-lan´ta).—A maiden of great beauty and exceedingly swift of foot, who determined to live in celibacy. She was the daughter of Iasus and Clymene, and was exposed by her father in her infancy. She was, however, suckled by a she-bear, the symbol of Diana. She took part in the celebrated Calydonian boar hunt, and received the boar’s hide from Meleager, who slew the animal. She was subsequently recognized by her father, who desired her to marry. She agreed to do so on condition that every suitor should run a race with her, and that the first that outran her should be her husband, but all those whom she beat in the race should be put to death. In this way many suitors perished; but at last came Milanion (mī-lan´i-on), who, with the aid of Venus, reached the goal first, and was rewarded with her hand. The goddess gave him three golden apples, which he dropped during the race, one after the other. Attracted by their beauty, Atalanta stopped to pick them up, thus enabling Milanion to reach the goal first. “Atalanta’s race” has formed the subject of several magnificent pictures.

Athamas (ath´am-as).—King of Orchomenus, in Bœotia. He married Nephele, who bore him Helle and Phrixus. He fell in love, however, with Ino, daughter of Cadmus, whom he married, and became by her the father of Melicertes and Learchus. As he had married Nephele at the command of Juno, he thus incurred the wrath of both Juno and Nephele, and was seized with madness. In this state he slew his son Learchus. Ino and Melicertes then leaped into the sea and became changed into marine deities, Leucothea and Palæmon respectively.

Athena (a-thē´na).—The great divinity of the Greeks, corresponding to the Roman [Minerva] (q. v.).

Athenæum (a-thē-nē´um).—A school founded by the emperor Hadrian at Rome, about A. D. 133, for the advancement of literature and philosophy. The name Athenæum means a place sacred to Minerva, who was the goddess of wisdom.

Atlas (at´las).—A Titan, son of Japetus and Clymene, and brother of Prometheus and Epimetheus. It is related that Perseus, after his conquest of the Gorgons, asked Atlas to shelter him, which Atlas declined to do. Whereupon Perseus, by exposing Medusa’s head, changed him into the mountain Atlas (in the northwest of Africa), on which rested heaven and all the stars. Atlas married Pleione (plē´i-ō-nē), daughter of Oceanus, and became by her the father of the Pleiades (plē´i-a-dēz).

Atreus (ā´trūs).—Son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and brother of Thyestes. By his first wife, Cleola, he was the father of Plisthenes, and by his second—Aërope, widow of his son Plisthenes—the father of the heroes Agamemnon and Menelaus, and a daughter, Anaxibia. Atreus became king of Mycenæ. His brother, Thyestes, having seduced his wife Aërope, Atreus banished him. Thyestes then sent, from his place of exile, Atreus’s son Plisthenes to slay his own father, but the converse actually took place, Atreus unwittingly killing his son. Atreus took terrible revenge on Thyestes for this. He recalled him to Mycenæ, and in a banquet placed before him the flesh of Thyestes’ two sons, whom he had slain, and Thyestes unknowingly partook of the horrible repast. After the feast, Atreus produced the heads of Thyestes’ sons, and convinced him of what had been done. Thyestes fled with horror, and the gods cursed Atreus and his house. The country was now visited by famine, and Atreus, following the advice of the oracle, went in search of Thyestes. In the course of his wanderings he married, as his third wife, Thyestes’ daughter Pelopia, thinking she was the daughter of Thesprotus. Pelopia became, by her own father, the mother of Ægisthus, who afterwards slew his uncle, Atreus, because the latter had commanded him to kill his father, Thyestes. This tragic story forms the foundation of several Greek plays.

Atropos (at´rop-os).—One of the Fates or [Parcæ] (q.v.).

Atys (ā´tis).—A beautiful shepherd of Phrygia, beloved by Cybele (sib´el-ē). Having proved unfaithful, the goddess caused him to become mad, and he was changed into a fir tree.

Augeas (aw´je-as), or Augias (aw-jī´as).—A king of Elis, whose stable, containing three thousand head of cattle, uncleansed for thirty years, was cleaned out in one day by [Hercules] (q.v.).

Aulis (aw´lis).—A harbor in Bœotia, where the Greek fleet assembled before sailing for Troy.

Aurora (aw-ror´a).—The goddess of the dawn, called Eos (ē´ōz) by the Greeks; daughter of Hyperion and Thia, wife of Tithonus. She is represented as rising, at the close of every night, from the river Oceanus, in her rose-colored chariot drawn by swift horses, and opening with her rosy fingers the gates of the East. She bore Memnon to Tithonus.

Auster (aws´ter); the Greek Notus, the southwest wind. In the winter it brought fogs and rain; but in the summer it was a harmful dry and parching wind.

Autolycus (aw-tol´ik-us).—A very dexterous robber, who could transform himself into various shapes. He was the son of Mercury (the god of cunning and theft) and Chione (kī´on-ē), and the father of Anticlea, the mother of Ulysses, who was celebrated for his cunning.

Avatar.—The incarnation or descent of the deity Vishnu, of which nine are believed to be past, and the tenth is yet to come, when Vishnu will descend from heaven on a white-winged horse, and introduce on earth a golden age of virtue and peace.

Avernus lacus (a-ver´nus lā´kus).—Lake Avernus. A lake near Cumæ, enclosed by steep and wooded hills, whose deadly exhalations were said to kill the birds flying over it. Near it was the cave of the Sibyl, through which Æneas (see Æneid, Book VI.) descended to the lower world. Sometimes Avernus is used to mean the lower world itself. In the latter sense it is used in the well-known quotation, Facilis descensus Averno, “The descent to hell is easy.”

Azazel.—Ewald considers Azazel to have been a demon belonging to the pre-Mosaic religion. Another opinion identifies him with Satan, or the devil. Milton makes him Satan’s standard bearer.

Azrael.—Meaning in Hebrew “help of God.” In the Jewish and the Mohammedan mythology, the name of an angel who watches over the dying, and separates the soul from the body.

B

Baal.—A sun god, the center of whose worship was Phœnicia, whence it spread to neighboring countries.

Bacchantes (bak-an´tez), or Bacchæ (bak´ē).—Priestesses of Bacchus.

Bacchus (bak´us); called Dionysus (dī-on-ī´sus) by the Greeks. The god of wine; was the son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. Bacchus went on a traveling expedition through Syria and Asia, returning to Europe through Thrace, during which he taught men the cultivation of the vine and the elements of civilization. He married [Ariadne] (q.v.). Feasts in honor of Bacchus were called Bacchanalia, and were of a very noisy and riotous character. The vine, ivy and laurel were sacred to him, as were also the tiger, lynx, panther, ass, serpent and dolphin. Rams were usually sacrificed to his honor.

Banshee.—The domestic spirit of certain Irish or Scottish families, supposed to wail shortly before the death of one of the family. The banshee is allowed only to families of pure stock.

Baldur (bâl´dör,) or Balder (bâl´der).—In old Norse mythology, a son of Odin, and one of the principal gods. Baldur’s characteristics are those of a sun-god. He is the “whitest” of the gods, and so beautiful and bright that a light emanates from him. He is [825] the wisest, most eloquent and mildest of the Ases, His dwelling is Breidablik. His wife is Nanna. He is finally slain, at the instigation of Loki, by a twig of mistletoe in the hands of the blind god Hodur. Baldur is specifically a Northern god; among the other Germanic races there is no existing record of him whatsoever.

Bellerophon (bel-ler´o-fon).—Son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus. He incurred the hatred of Antea, wife of Proetus, king of Argos, who sent him to his father-in-law (Iobates) with a letter requesting the latter to put the young man to death. Iobates selected what seemed to be a sure method of compassing his death, by asking him to go and kill the [Chimæra] (kī-mē´ra) (q.v.). Bellerophon, however, obtained possession of the winged horse [Pegasus] (q.v.), which enabled him to rise in the air. He then slew the monster with his arrows. Iobates then sent him against the Solymi, a warlike race in Lycia, and afterwards against the Amazons; but in these expeditions also he was successful. Finally, he attempted to fly to heaven on Pegasus; but Jupiter sent a gad-fly to sting the horse, which threw its rider on to the earth.

Bellona (bel-lō´na).—The Roman goddess of war, sister of Mars.

Belphegor.—A god of evil, worshiped by the Moabites. An archfiend who had been an archangel.

Belus.—The name of the Chaldean sun-god.

Berg Folk.—Pagan spirits doomed to live on the Scandinavian hills till the day of redemption.

Bertha.—The white lady who guards good German children, but is the terror of the bad, who fear her iron nose and big feet. Corresponds to the Italian La Befana.

Bheem.—One of the five brotherhoods of Indian demigods, famous for strength.

Bifrost.—In Norse mythology, a bridge between earth and heaven, over which none but the gods could travel. It leads to the palace of the Fates.

Bilskirnir.—A wonderful palace built by Thor for the use of peasants after death.

Bona Dea (bon´a de´a), or Fauna, or Fatua.—A Roman goddess, sister, wife or daughter of Faunus. She was the goddess of chastity and prophecy, and revealed her oracles to females only. During her annual festival on the first of May, in the house of the consul or prætor, no male person was allowed to be present.

Boreas (bor´e-as).—The north wind; was the son of Astræus and Aurora, and brother of the other three winds, Notus, Zephyrus and Hesperus. He was worshiped at Athens, where a festival was celebrated in his honor.

Bosphorus, or Bosporus.—The Straits of Constantinople, so called from Io, who, in the form of a heifer, swam across it (Bosphorus = Ox-ford). See “[Io].”

Brahma.—The supreme god of the Hindus, represented with four heads and four arms. He is regarded as the creator of the universe, and forms, with Vishnu the preserver, and Síva the destroyer, the divine triad.

Briareus (brī-ār´e-us).—A hundred-armed giant, also called [Ægæon] (q.v.). Pope thus expresses his admiration for Handel:—

“Strong in new arms the giant Handel stands,
Like bold Briareus with a hundred hands.”

Briseis (brī-sē´is).—Daughter of Brises and beloved by Achilles. She was the occasion of a feud between Achilles and Agamemnon.

Bucephalus (bū-sef´a-lus)—i. e. bull-headed. The favorite charger of Alexander the Great, so named because he was branded with a bull’s head. No one but Alexander was able to mount this celebrated horse, which always knelt down to receive his master. He died in India after carrying Alexander through all his campaigns. Alexander built a city near the place where he died, and named it Bucephala in memory of him.

Busiris (bū-sī´ris).—A king of Egypt who cruelly sacrificed strangers to Jupiter. He attempted to sacrifice Hercules, but the latter slew him and all his ministers.

Buto (bū´tō).—An Egyptian goddess identified with Latona.

C

Cacus (kā´kus).—Son of Vulcan; a huge giant and notorious robber; lived in a cave on Mount Aventine. He stole the oxen of Hercules, which the latter had taken from Geryon, in Spain, whereupon Hercules slew him.

Cadmus (kad´mus).—Son of the Phœnician king Agenor, and brother of Europa. His father sent him to search for his sister, who had been carried off by Jupiter, and he was directed to follow a certain cow, and to build a city on the spot where the cow fell down with fatigue. In this way he became the founder of Thebes, in Bœotia. Near this place was a well guarded by a dragon, which Cadmus slew, and sowed the teeth of the monster. From these arose armed men, who killed each other, with the exception of five, who were the ancestors of the Thebans. All this he did on the direction of Minerva, and Jupiter gave him Harmonia for his wife. The marriage was celebrated in the citadel of Thebes, and all the Olympian gods were present at the ceremony. Cadmus gave Harmonia a famous robe of state (peplus) and a necklace (see “[Harmonia]”) which he had received from Vulcan. Their children were Autonoë, Ino, Semele, Agave, Polydorus and Illyrius. Cadmus introduced among the Greeks an alphabet of sixteen letters.

Cæneus (sē´nūs).—Originally a maiden, named Cænis, who was beloved by Neptune and changed by him into a boy, and at the same time made invulnerable. In the lower worlds she recovered her female form.

Calchas (kal´kas).—The most eminent of the Greek soothsayers at the siege of Troy. He died of grief on meeting Mopsus, who was a wiser soothsayer, and predicted things which Calchas could not.

Calliope (kal-lī´op-ē).—The Muse of epic poetry. See “[Musæ].”

Callirrhoe (kal-lir´ro-ē).—Second wife of Alcmæon. She induced her husband to get the peplus and necklace of Harmonia, whereupon he was slain. See “Alcmæon.”

Callisto (kal-lis´tō).—An Arcadian nymph beloved by Jupiter, by whom she became the mother of Arcas. Jupiter changed her into a she-bear, and afterwards placed her among the stars as Ursa major.

Calpe (kal´pē).—One of the Pillars of Hercules; now Gibraltar.

Calydon (kal´i-dōn).—A very ancient town in Ætolia. In the mountains around it the celebrated Calydonian Boar Hunt took place. The story is as follows: During the reign of Œneus, king of Calydon, Diana sent a huge boar to devastate the country, because the king had neglected her divinity. All the heroes of the age joined together for the purpose of killing this boar. Meleager, son of Œneus, slew the boar, and gave its hide to Atalanta, with whom he was in love. See “[Atalanta].”

Calypso (kal-ip´sō).—A nymph who ruled in the island of Ogygia, on which Ulysses was shipwrecked on his journey home from Troy. She desired Ulysses to marry her, and detained him on the island for seven years.

Camenæ (kam-ē´nē).—Originally prophetic nymphs belonging to the religion of ancient Italy, afterwards identified with the Muses.

Campus Martius (kam´pus mar´shi-us)—i. e. the plain of Mars; so named because it was consecrated to the god Mars. An open plain outside the walls of Rome, where the Roman youths performed their gymnastic and warlike exercises, and where the Roman people met for the purpose of electing magistrates.

Capitolium (kap-it-ō´li-um).—The temple of Jupiter and the citadel of Rome.

Cassandra (kas-san´dra).—Daughter of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba. She possessed great beauty, and was beloved by Apollo, who bestowed on her the gift of prophecy. She disappointed him, however, whereupon the god ordained that no one should believe her predictions. On the fall of Troy she fell to the share of Agamemnon, who took her to Mycenæ, where she was murdered by Clytæmnestra.

Castor and Pollux (kas´tor, pol´luks).—Twin brothers, often called the Dioscuri (di-os´ku-rī), i. e. sons of Zeus (Jupiter), because they were the sons of Jupiter and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. Castor was famous for his skill in managing horses, and Pollux for his ability as a boxer. Castor was supposed to be mortal, while Pollux was immortal. They took part in the celebrated expedition of the Argonauts, and assisted the Romans against the Latins in the great battle of Lake Regillus. They were greatly attached to each other, and were placed by Jupiter among the stars as Gemini (jem´in-ī), i. e. twins, where they served as a guide to mariners. They were worshiped more especially as the protectors of sailors.

Cauther.—In Mohammedan mythology the lake of paradise, whose waters are as sweet as honey, as cold as snow, and as clear as crystal; and any believer who tastes thereof is said to thirst no more.

Cecrops (sē´krops).—The most ancient king of Attica, founder of Athens. He decided in favor of Athena (Minerva) when she and Neptune contended for the possession of Attica. The citadel of Athens was called Cecropia after him.

Celeus (sel´e-us).—King of Eleusis, husband of Metanira, and father of Triptolemus and Demophon. He entertained the goddess Ceres, who in return taught his son [Triptolemus] (q.v.) agriculture.

Centauri (sen-taw´rī), or Centaurs—i.e. the bull-killers—were a fabulous race living in Thessaly, half men and half horses. They were defeated in a famous fight with the [Lapithæ] (q.v.), and expelled from their country. [Chiron] (kī´ron) was the most celebrated of them (q.v.).

Cephalus (sef´al-us).—Was beloved by Aurora, whose advances he rejected from love of his wife Procris. Aurora asked him to try the fidelity of Procris. Having metamorphosed him into a stranger, he appeared, laden with rich presents, before her. The presents caused her to yield, whereupon her husband discovered himself. She fled in shame to Crete, but afterwards returned, disguised as a youth, with a dog and spear (the gifts of Diana) that never missed their object. To obtain these, Cephalus promised to love the youth, who then made herself known to him as his wife Procris. In this way a reconciliation was effected. Afterwards Cephalus, while out hunting, accidentally killed her with the never-erring spear.

Cepheus (sē´fūs).—King of Ethiopia and father of Andromeda.

Cerberus (ser´ber-us).—The three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the lower world.

Ceres (sē´rēz).—The goddess of agriculture, especially of the cultivation of corn; called Demeter (dē-mē-tēr) by the Greeks. She was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, and sister of Jupiter and Pluto. She became by Jupiter the mother of Proserpine. The latter was carried off by Pluto. When Ceres found this out, she did not allow the earth to bring forth any fruits, and Jupiter was compelled to send Mercury into the lower world to fetch back Proserpine. Pluto consented, but gave Proserpine part of a pomegranate to eat. In consequence of this she was obliged to spend one-third of the year with Pluto. The earth then brought forth fruit again. This legend evidently refers to the concealment of seed-corn in the earth and its subsequent reappearance above the surface. The Romans sacrificed pigs to Ceres. The decrees of the senate were deposited in her temple.

Ceyx (sē´ix).—Son of Lucifer and husband of Alcyone.

Charites (char´it-ēz)—Gr., the Graces—were the goddesses who confer all grace. They were the daughters of Jupiter and were three in number, their names being Aglaia (ag-lā´i-a), i. e. the bright one; Euphrosyne (ū-fros´i-nē), i. e. the cheerful or mirthful one; and Thalia (thal-ī´a), i. e. the blooming one. They were the personifications of grace and beauty, and enhanced by refinement and gentleness the enjoyments of life. They were the friends of the Muses and specially favored poetry.

Charon (kär´on).—Son of Erebus; was the ferryman of Hades who conveyed the souls of the departed across the rivers Acheron and Styx, receiving in return the obolus placed in the mouth of every corpse before burial.

Charybdis (ka-rib´dis).—A dangerous whirlpool between Italy and Sicily, opposite [Scylla] (q.v.).

Chibiabos.—A musician, ruler in the land of spirits, and friend of Hiawatha. Personification of harmony in nature.

Chimæra (ki-mē´ra)—i. e. a she-goat.—A fabulous, fire-breathing monster with a lion’s head, a serpent’s tail, and a goat’s body. She was killed by Bellerophon, mounted on Pegasus. The myth relates to a volcano in Lycia.

Chione (ki´on-ē).—Daughter of Dædalion. She was shot by Diana because she compared her beauty with that of the goddess.

Chiron (kī´ron).—A centaur famous for his knowledge of medicine, plants, music and divination. Son of Saturn and Philyra, the tutor of Æsculapius, Achilles and Hercules. Being accidentally wounded by one of the poisoned arrows of Hercules, he gave up his immortality and was changed into the constellation Sagittarius.

Chloris (klor´is).—The Greek goddess of flowers, identical with Flora.

Chou.—An Egyptian god corresponding to the Roman Hercules.

Circe (sir´sē).—Daughter of Helios (the sun) and Perse, famous for her magic arts. She lived on the Island of Ææa, on which Ulysses was cast on his voyage home from Troy. Circe met his companions, whom he had sent to explore the country, and offered them a magic cup, on tasting which they all became, with the single exception of Eurylochus, changed into swine. Ulysses, on hearing of it, obtained from Mercury the root moly, which fortified him against enchantment, and compelled Circe to restore his companions to their former shape. He then remained with her for a year, and she bore him a son, Telegonus.

Clio (klē´o).—The Muse of history. See “[Musæ].”

Clotho (klō´tho).—The spinner of the thread of life; one of the Fates. See “[Parcæ].”

Clusium (klū´si-um).—One of the oldest and most important of the twelve Etruscan cities, the residence of Porsena, in the neighborhood of which was the famous sepulchre of this king in the form of a labyrinth.

Clytæmnestra (klī-tem-nes´tra).—Daughter of Tyndarus and Leda, and sister of Helen, Castor and Pollux; wife of Agamemnon, and mother of Orestes, Electra and Iphigenia. While her husband was absent at Troy she lived with Ægisthus, and on his return the guilty pair murdered him. In revenge for this deed, her own son Orestes put her to death.

Cnidus (knī´dus), or Gnidus.—A city on the southwestern coast of Caria, in Asia Minor, highly celebrated for the statue of Venus, by Praxiteles, the famous sculptor, which stood in her temple there.

Cocytus (ko-sī´tus)—i.e. the river of wailing. A river in the lower world.

Colchis (kol´chis).—A country in Asia, lying on the eastern part of the Black Sea, celebrated on account of the Golden Fleece (see “[Argonautæ]”).

Comus (kō´mus).—The god of mirth and joy, represented as a winged youth.

Concordia (kon-kor´di-a).—The Roman goddess of concord. Camillus, in B. C. 367, erected a temple in her honor to celebrate the reconciliation between the patricians and plebians.

Corybantes (kor-i-ban´tes).—Priests of Cybele (sib´el-ē), or Rhea, in Phrygia, who worshiped her with riotous dances to the sound of cymbals.

Creusa (kre-ū´sa).—Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, wife of Æneas, and mother of Ascanius. She perished at the capture of Troy.

Cronos (kron´os).—The Greek divinity corresponding to the Roman [Saturnus] (q.v.).

Cumæ (kū´mē).—A very ancient town on the coast of Campania, said to have been founded B. C. 1050. It was celebrated as the residence of the earliest Sibyl. Tarquinius Superbus died here.

Cupido (kū-pī´dō), or Cupid (kū´pid); called Eros (er´ōz) by the Greeks. The god of love, son of Venus, his father being either Jupiter, Mars or Mercury. He is represented as a boy with golden wings, armed with a bow and a golden quiver full of arrows. He is so mischievous that he shoots his arrows at gods and men alike. Sometimes his eyes are covered, so that he acts blindly. He is the usual companion of his mother.

Cybele (sib´e-lē); called Rhea (rē´a) by the Greeks. A goddess, originally Phrygian, regarded as goddess of the earth. She was daughter of Uranus (ū´ran-us) and Ge (jē), and the wife of Saturn, and the mother of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Neptune, Ceres and Vesta. As Saturn devoured all her children, Cybele, just before the birth of Jupiter, went to Crete. When Jupiter was born, she gave Saturn a stone wrapped up like an infant, which the god, supposing it to be the child, swallowed. Cybele is usually figured seated on a throne and having a crown of towers on her head. She is frequently referred to as the “tower-crowned Cybele.” The lion was sacred to her.

Cyclopes (sī-klō´pēz), or Cyclops (sī´klops)—i. e. beings with one circular eye in the middle of their foreheads. These were a fabulous race of giants living in Sicily. They were shepherds, but devoured human beings. They were also Vulcan’s workmen, volcanoes, especially Mount Ætna in Sicily, being regarded as their workshops, in which they made the armor for gods and heroes. The chief among them was [Polyphemus] (q.v.).

Cyllene (sil-lē´nē).—The highest mountain in Peloponnesus, on which Mercury was born.

Cynthus (sin´thus).—A mountain of Delos, celebrated as the birthplace of Apollo and Diana, who are hence called, respectively, Cynthius and Cynthia (sin´thi-a).

Cyprus (sī´prus).—A large island in the Mediterranean, renowned in ancient, no less than in modern, times for its fertility. It was one of the chief seats of the worship of Venus.

Cythera (si-thē´ra).—An island in the Ægean Sea, celebrated for the worship of Venus.

D

Dædalus (dē´da-lus).—A mythical personage skillful as a sculptor and architect. He made the wooden cow for Pasiphaë, and when Pasiphaë gave birth to the monster, the Minotaur, Dædalus constructed the labyrinth in which it was kept. For doing this Minos, king of Crete, imprisoned him; but he escaped, and as Minos had seized all the ships on the coast of the island, Dædalus made wings for himself and his son Icarus, and they flew away. Dædalus flew safely [827] over the Ægean, alighting at Cumæ, in Italy; but Icarus was slower in his flight, and the rising sun melted the wax by which the wings were fastened to his body, and he fell into the sea and was drowned; hence that part of the sea was called Icarian.

Danae (dan´a-ē).—Daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. Her father confined her in a brazen tower, as an oracle declared that she would have a son that would kill his grandfather. Here, however, Jupiter visited her in a golden shower, and she became the mother of Perseus. Acrisius then shut up mother and child in a chest, which he threw into the sea; but Jupiter caused the chest to come ashore at the island of Seriphos, when Dictys, a fisherman, found them and took them to the king of the country. See “[Perseus].”

Danai (dan´a-ī).—The Greeks. See “[Danaus].”

Danaides (dan-ā´i-dēz).—The fifty daughters of King [Danaus] (q.v.).

Danaus (dan´a-us).—Son of Belus and twin-brother of Ægyptus (see “Ægyptus”). Lynceus, son of Belus, whose life was spared by Hypermnestra, avenged the death of his brothers by killing his father-in-law, Danaus. The fifty daughters of Danaus—called the Danaides—were punished in the lower world by being compelled everlastingly to pour water into a sieve. From Danaus, who was king of Argos (which was the most ancient city of Greece), the Greeks collectively were called Danai.

Daphne (daf´nē).—Daughter of the river-god Peneus. Her great beauty attracted the god Apollo, who pursued her; but just as she was being overtaken her prayer for aid was answered by her being changed into a laurel tree, the Greek word for which is Daphne. This tree consequently became the favorite tree of Apollo and was sacred to him.

Dardanus (dar´dan-us).—Son of Jupiter and Electra, the mythical ancestor of the Trojans.

Deianira (dē-ya-nī´ra).—Daughter of Œneus and wife of Hercules. She was beloved by the river god Achelous and by Hercules; but Hercules overcame his opponent in a fight for her, and obtained her as his wife. She accidentally killed her husband by giving him a poisoned garment to wear, and on seeing what she had done hanged herself (see “[Hercules]”).

Deidamia (dē-id-a-mī´a).—Daughter of Lycomedes, at whose court Achilles was concealed in maiden’s attire. She became, by Achilles, the mother of Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus.

Deiphobus (dē-if´ob-us).—Son of Priam and Hecuba. After the death of Paris he married Helen. He was killed in a barbarous manner by Menelaus, Helen’s first husband.

Delos (dē´los).—The smallest of the Cyclades (islands), the birthplace of Apollo and Diana, and the most holy seat of the worship of the former.

Delphi (del´fī).—A small town in Phocis, very celebrated on account of its oracle of Apollo. Homer always refers to it under its old name, Pytho. It was looked upon as the central point of the whole earth, and was hence called “the navel of the earth.” The oracle was consulted in the center of the splendid temple of Apollo. Here there was a small opening in the ground, from which a mephitic vapor occasionally arose. A tripod was placed over this opening, and the priestess—called Pythia, from Pytho—sat on it. In this way she inhaled the vapor, and the words she then uttered were believed to be inspired by Apollo. The priests took the words down and communicated them to the persons who had desired to consult the oracle.

Demeter (dē-mē-tēr). See “[Ceres].”

Deucalion (dū-kā´li-on).—Son of Prometheus, king of Phthia, in Thessaly, and husband of Pyrrha. He and his wife were the only human survivors of a great deluge which Jupiter sent to destroy mankind. They were preserved during the nine days’ flood in a ship which Deucalion built on the advice of his father. The ship finally rested on Mount Parnassus, in Phocis. On the direction of Themis, Deucalion and his wife threw “the bones of their mother,” i. e. the stones of the earth, behind them, those thrown by Deucalion becoming men, and those thrown by Pyrrha becoming women. In this way the earth was repeopled.

Diana (dī-ā´na).—Twin-sister of Apollo, the virgin goddess of the moon and of hunting, called by the Greeks Artemis (ar´te-mis). She was the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and was born on the island of Delos. She is represented as armed with a bow, quiver and arrows, and was also regarded as identical with the moon (in Greek, Selene), her brother Apollo being looked upon as the sun (or Helois).

Dido (dī´dō).—Daughter of the Tyrian king Belus, and reputed founder of Carthage. Æneas, on his journey from Troy, landed at Carthage, and was handsomely entertained by Dido. She fell in love with the hero, and, on his leaving her to proceed to Italy, she, in despair, destroyed herself on a funeral pile. Dido is also called Elissa.

Diomedes (di-o-mē´dēz).—A famous hero at the siege of Troy. He was the son of Tydeus and Deïpyle, and is hence frequently called Tydides (ti-dī´dēz). Next to Achilles, he was the bravest hero in the Greek army. The gods themselves were supposed to be taking part in this memorable siege, some being ranged on one side and some on the other. Diomedes was under the special protection of Minerva. He not only engaged in conflict with the Trojan heroes, Hector and Æneas, but even wounded both Venus and Mars, who had espoused the cause of the Trojans. Diomedes and Ulysses carried off the palladium from the city of Troy, the safety of which was contingent on its possession (see “[Troy]”). At the end of the Trojan war he returned to Argos, where he found his wife (Ægialea) living in adultery with Hippolytus—a punishment visited upon him by the angry Venus. He consequently left Argos, and went to Ætolia. He afterwards settled at Daunia, in Italy, where he married Evippe, the daughter of Daunus, and died at an advanced age.

Dione (di-ō´nē).—A female Titan who became, by Jupiter, the mother of Venus.

Dirce (dir´sē).—Wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who married her after divorcing his former wife, Antiope (an´ti-o-pē). On account of the cruelty with which she treated Antiope, Amphion and Zethus—Antiope’s sons by Jupiter—took terrible vengeance on Dirce. They tied her to a wild bull, which dragged her about till she perished, and then threw her body into a fountain near Thebes, which was from that time called the Fountain of Dirce.

Dis (dīs).—A contraction of Dives, i. e. rich; the god of the infernal regions. See “[Pluto].”

Discordia (dis-kor´di-a); in Greek, Eris (er´is).—The goddess of strife or discord. She was the sister of Mars, and, with him, delighted in the noise and tumult of war. It was she who threw the celebrated golden apple into the assembly of gods, for a full account of the results of which see “[Paris].”

Donar.—A name given, sometimes, to Thor, the thunder-god, in Norse mythology.

Doris (dōr´is).—Daughter of Oceanus and Thetis. She married her brother [Nereus] (q.v.), and became the mother of the fifty Nereides.

Draupnir.—The marvelous ring belonging to Odin, with which he worked magic. It was burned on the funeral pyre of his son Balder.

Droma.—The chain forged for the purpose of binding the Fenris wolf, but which he broke. Hence the proverb, “to dash out of Droma.”

Dryades (dry´a-dez), or Dryads.—Wood-nymphs. See “[Nymphæ].”

E

Echidna (e-kīd´na).—A monster, half woman and half serpent. She was the mother of the Chimæra, Cerberus, the Lernean Hydra, and other monsters. She was killed in her sleep by Argus with the hundred eyes.

Echo (ek´ō).—A nymph who, because she kept Juno in incessant conversation while Jupiter was sporting with the nymphs, was punished by being changed into an echo. In this state she fell in love with Narcissus—a beautiful youth, who was incapable of the tender passion—and, as her love was not returned, she pined away till nothing remained but her voice.

Elbegast.—One of the dwarfs of Scandinavian mythology who dwelt in a magnificent palace underground, and drew their servants from the bosom of the earth.

Elberich.—In the German hero-legends a dwarf who aided the Lombard emperor Otnit to win the daughter of the soldan of Syria. He is identical with the Oberon of French and English fairy mythology.

Egil.—The Vulcan of northern mythology, one of the three brothers who married the swan-maidens. He was a great archer, killed his brother, Volünd, by command of the king, and himself later became a peasant.

Electra (e-lek´tra).—Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra. She saved the life of her brother Orestes, and afterwards the two avenged the death of Agamemnon by slaying their mother, Clytæmnestra. See “[Orestes].”

Eira.—An attendant of the goddess Fuigga, and a skillful nurse. She gathered herbs and plants for the cure of both sickness and wounds and taught the science to women.

Eleusis (el-ū´sis).—A very ancient city of Attica, famous for its mysteries of Ceres, to whom was erected a magnificent temple.

Elis (ē´lis).—A country on the west coast of the Peloponnesus. In it was Olympia, where every four years a splendid festival was held in honor of Jupiter.

Elysium (e-lizh´i-um).—The Elysian fields. That part of the lower world which forms the abode of the blessed.

Enceladus (en-sel´ad-us).—One of the hundred-armed giants who made war upon the gods. He was slain by Jupiter, and buried under Mount Ætna.

Endymion (en-dim´i-on).—A youth of surpassing beauty who so moved the cold heart of the virgin goddess of the moon (Diana or Selene), that she kept him in a perpetual sleep on Mount Latmus, in Caria, that she might kiss him without his knowledge.

Eos (ē´ōz).—See “[Aurora].”

Ephesus (ef´e-sus).—The chief of the twelve Ionian cities in Asia Minor, with a celebrated temple of Diana. The latter was regarded as one of the wonders of the world. It was always a very flourishing city, and was visited by St. Paul and St. John.

Elf.—The water sprite, known also as Elb, from which the name of the river Elbe is said to be derived. Elves are more properly known as mountain fairies, or those airy creatures that dance on the grass or sit in the leaves of trees and delight in the full moon.

Elivagar.—In Norse mythology the name of a great stream in Chaos, flowing from a fountain in the land of mist. This stream was much frequented by the elves at their creation.

Erato (er’a-tō).—The Muse of amatory poetry. See “[Musæ].”

Erebus (er´e-bus).—The god of darkness, son of Chaos and brother of Nox (night). The name signifies darkness, and is frequently used to designate the lower world.

Erechtheus (e-rek´thūs).—An ancient and mythical king of Athens. See “Athenæ.”

Eridanus (ē-rid´an-us).—The Greek name of the river Padus (Po), into which Phaethon fell when struck by the lightning of Jupiter. See “[Phaethon].”

Erinyes (er-in´i-es).—The [Furiæ] (q.v.).

Erl-king.—Name given to the king of the elves, or a spirit of the air. According to tradition, its home is in the Black Forest of Germany, and it appears as a goblin, working harm and ruin, especially among children.

Eryx (er´ix).—A high mountain in the northwest of Sicily, on the summit of which stood an ancient and celebrated temple of Venus.

Eumenides (ū-men´i-dēz).—See “[Furiæ].”

Euphrosyne.—See “[Charites].”

Europa (ū-rō´pa).—The beautiful daughter of the Phœnician king Agenor. Jupiter was so charmed with her that he obtained possession of her by the following stratagem: He assumed the form of a bull among the herds of Agenor, and Europa and her maidens were delighted with the tameness of the noble animal, so much so that at length Europa ventured to mount his back, whereupon the god plunged into the sea and carried her over to Crete. Here Jupiter assumed his proper shape, and Europa bore him Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon.

Eurydice (ū-rid´i-sē).—Wife of [Orpheus] (q.v.).

Eurystheus (ū-ris´thūs).—Son of Sthenelus and grandson of Perseus, a king of Mycenæ. Jealous of the fame of Hercules, and wishing to destroy him, Eurystheus, at the command of Juno, imposed upon Hercules his famous twelve labors.

Euterpe (ū-ter´pē).—One of the [Muses] (q.v.).

F

Fada.—A fée or kobold of the south of France, sometimes called “Hada.” These house-spirits, of which, strictly speaking, there are but three, bring good luck in their right hand and ill luck in their left.

Fafnir.—In northern mythology the eldest son of the dwarf king Hreidmar. The slaying of Fafnir is the destruction of the demon of cold or darkness who had stolen the golden light of the sun.

Fates.—See “[Parcæ].”

Faunus (faw´nus).—Son of Picus, grandson of Saturn, institutor of tillage and grazing, and after his death the protecting deity of agriculture and of shepherds, and also a giver of oracles. He is identical with the Greek god Pan, and is represented with horns and goat’s feet.

Faustulus (faws´tu-lus).—A shepherd who brought up Romulus and Remus.

Flora (flō´ra).—The Roman goddess of flowers and spring.

Fortuna (for-tū´na); called Tyche (tik´ē) by the Greeks. The goddess of fortune. She is variously represented: with the horn of plenty, indicative of the plentiful gifts of fortune; with a rudder, to signify that she guides the affairs of men; with a ball, emblematic of the shifting and changing character of the fickle goddess.

Freki and Geri.—The two wolves of Odin. When Odin, seated on his throne, overlooks heaven and earth, his two wolves lie at his feet.

Frey.—Scandinavian god of the sun and of rain, and hence of fertility and peace. He was one of the most popular of the northern divinities. No weapons were ever allowed in Frey’s temple, although oxen and horses were sacrificed to him. His name was connected with the taking of any solemn oath, a heavy gold ring being dipped in the blood of the sacrifice and the oath sworn upon the ring. One of the most celebrated of the temples built to Frey was at Therva, in Iceland.

Freyja.—She was the sister of Frey, and the wife of Odur, who abandoned her on her loss of youth and beauty, and was changed into a statue by Odin, as a punishment. She is known as the northern goddess of beauty and love; plants were called Freyja’s hair, and the butterfly, Freyja’s hen.

Frigga.—In Scandinavian mythology the wife of Odin, the queen of the gods, and the mother of Baldur, Thor, etc. She sometimes typifies the earth, as Odin does the heavens. The Anglo-Saxons worshiped her as Frea. The name survives in Friday.

Frodi.—The son of Frey, a god of peace. Under his direction two giantesses turned a pair of magic millstones which ground out gold according to his wish and filled his coffers. Excited by greed he forced them to labor, allowing rest only long enough for the singing of one verse. When Frodi himself slept, the giantesses changed their song and proceeded to grind out an army of troops to invade the land. These troops represent the vikings.

Furiæ (fū´ri-ē).—The Furies; called Eumenides (ū-men´-i-dēz), i. e. the gracious or well-meaning ones, by the Greeks; three goddesses of vengeance, whom the Greeks so much dreaded that they dared not to call them by their real names, hence referred to them by the euphemism Eumenides. The Romans also called them Diræ (dī´rē). Their names were Alecto (a-lek´tō), Megæra (me-gē´ra) and Tisiphone (tī-sif´-onē). They were the daughters of Earth or of Night, and were terrible winged maidens with serpents twined in their hair and with blood dripping from their eyes. They were stern and inexorable, punishing the guilty both in this world and after death. They dwelt in Tartarus—i. e. Hades. The sacrifices offered to them were black sheep and a drink of honey mixed with water, the latter, called a libation (lī-bā´shun), being poured forth out of a cup in their honor.

G

Galatea (gal-a-tē´a).—A sea nymph. See “[Acis].”

Ganesa.—Goddess of wisdom, in Hindu mythology.

Gangler.—The gate-keeper in Odin’s palace who gave the explanation of the northern mythology that it might be recorded.

Ganymedes (gan-i-mē´dēz), or Ganymede (gan´i-mēd).—Son of Tros and Callirrhoe, a beautiful youth who was carried off by Jupiter’s eagle from Mount Ida to heaven, that he might be cup-bearer to the gods in place of Hebe. Jupiter compensated his father by presenting him with a pair of divine horses.

Garm.—A fierce dog that kept guard at the entrance of Hel’s kingdom, the realm of the dead. He could be appeased by the offering of a Hel-cake which always appeared in the hand of one who, on earth, had given bread to the needy.

Genius (jē´ni-us).—The protecting spirit or genius of a person, place, etc.; called by the Greeks Dæmon. They were represented as the guardians of men and of justice, and the Greek philosophers held that every human being at his birth had a dæmon assigned to him, which accompanied him throughout life. Every place, also, had its genius, which appeared in the form of a serpent eating fruit placed before him. In works of art genii are commonly represented as winged beings.

Gerda.—Wife of Frey, and daughter of the frost giant Gymir. She is so beautiful that the brightness of her naked arms illuminates both air and sea.

Giallar Bridge.—The bridge of death, over which all must pass.

Giallar Horn, The.—Heimdall’s horn, which went out into all worlds whenever he chose to blow it. According to northern mythology, he blew a long-expected blast as a rallying call to the battle which ended the reign of the gods Odin, Frey, and Tyr.

Gian ben Gian.—In Arabia, king of the Ginns or Genii, and founder of the Pyramids. He was overthrown by Azazel or Lucifer.

Gigantes (ji-gan´tēz).—A fabulous race of huge beings, with terrible countenances and the tails of dragons. They endeavored to storm the heavens, being armed with huge rocks and trunks of trees; but the gods, with the assistance of Hercules, destroyed them all, and buried them under Ætna and other volcanoes. This story probably had its origin in volcanic convulsions.

Glaucus (glaw´kus).—(i) A fisherman who became a sea-god by eating a part of the divine herb sown by Saturn, (ii) Son of Sisyphus. Was torn to pieces by his own mares, because he had despised the power of Venus. (iii) The commander of the Lycians in the Trojan war. He was slain by Ajax.

Golden Fleece.—See “[Argonautæ].”

Gill.—The infernal river of Scandinavian mythology.

Ginungagap.—In Norse mythology the vast chaotic gulf of perpetual twilight which existed before the present world, and separated the region of fog from the region of heat. Giants were the first beings who came to life among the icebergs that filled this vast abyss.

Gorgons (gor’gonz).—Three frightful female monsters who turned all they looked upon into stone. Their names were Medusa (me-dū´-sa), Euryale (ū-rī´al-e) and Stheno (sthē´no), and they were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Their heads were covered with serpents in place of hair, and they had wings, frightful teeth and brazen claws. Of the three, Medusa alone was mortal. She was killed by [Perseus] (q.v.).

Gladsheim.—The palace of Odin, in which were the great hall Valhalla (the hall of the slain) and the twelve seats occupied by the gods when holding council.

Glasir.—A marvelous grove in Asgard, in which the leaves were all of shimmering red gold.

Glendoveer.—In Hindu mythology is a kind of sylph, the most lovely of the good spirits.

Gnome.—One of a class of spirits or imaginary beings which were supposed to tenant the interior parts of the earth, and in whose charge mines, quarries, etc., were left. Rübezahl, of the German legends, is often cited as a representative of the class.

Goblins and Bogies.—Familiar demons of popular superstition, a spirit which lurks about houses. It is also called hobgoblin. Goblin is used in a serious sense by Shakespeare in Hamlet, where the ghost is supposed to be a “spirit of health or goblin damned.”

Graces, The Three.—See “[Charites].”

Gradivus (grad-i´vus).—i. e. the marching one. A surname of Mars.

Grææ (grē´ē), lit., “the old women” (Gr.).—So called because they had gray hair from their birth. They were the sisters of the Gorgons, and were three in number. They had but one eye and one tooth to use between them.

Gyas (jī´as), Gyes (jī´ēz), or Gyges (jī´jēz).—One of the giants with a hundred hands who made war upon the gods.

H

Hades (hā´dez).—See “[Pluto].”

Hæmon (hē´mon).—Son of Creon, king of Thebes. He loved Antigone, and killed himself on hearing that she was condemned by Creon to be shut up in a subterranean cave.

Harmonia (har-mō´ni-a).—Daughter of Mars and Venus, and wife of Cadmus. On the wedding-day Cadmus received a necklace, which afterwards became famous, inasmuch as it became fatal to all who possessed it.

Harpocrates (har-pok´ra-tēz).—The god of mystery and silence, and, on that account, represented as having been born with his finger in his mouth. He was the son of Osiris. His statue stood at the entrance of most of the Egyptian temples.

Harpyiæ (har´pi-ē).—The Harpies—i. e. the Robbers or Spoilers, hideous rapacious monsters, half bird and half woman. They were three in number. Homer described them as carrying off people who had disappeared.

Hebe (hē-bē).—The goddess of youth, daughter of Jupiter and Juno. She was the cup-bearer to the gods, in which office she was afterwards supplanted by Ganymede. She became the wife of Hercules after he was deified.

Hecate (hek´a-tē).—Daughter of Perses and Asteria, the presider over enchantments, etc. She was looked upon as a kind of threefold goddess—viz., Luna (the moon) in heaven, Diana on earth, and Proserpine in the lower world—and is accordingly represented with three bodies or three heads. Dogs, honey and black female lambs were sacrificed to her.

Hector (hek´tor).—Eldest son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba, and husband of Andromache. He was the chief hero of the Trojans in their war with the Greeks. He was slain in single combat by Achilles, who chased him thrice round the walls of the city, and, after having slain him, tied his body to his chariot and dragged it thrice round the walls. The character of Hector as a warrior, husband, father and son is very finely drawn by Homer in the Iliad.

Hecuba (hek´u-ba).—Wife of Priam, king of Troy. After the fall of Troy she was carried away as a slave by the Greeks and suffered great misfortunes.

Heimdall.—In northern tales a god who lived in the celestial fort Himinsbjorg, under the farther extremity of the bridge Bifrost, and kept the keys of heaven. He is the watchman or sentinel of Asgard, sees even in sleep, can hear the grass grow, and even the wool on a lamb’s back. Heimdall, at the end of the world, will wake the gods with his trumpet.

Helena (hel´en-a), or Helene (hel´en-ē); commonly called Helen of Troy. Daughter of Jupiter and Leda, and sister of Castor and Pollux. She was the greatest beauty of her age, and her hand was sought by the noblest chiefs of Greece. She chose Menelaus (men-e-lā´us), and became by him the mother of Hermione. She eloped with [Paris] (q.v.) to Troy, and hence arose the Trojan war, as all the Greek chiefs, who had been former suitors of Helen, resolved to avenge her abduction, and sailed with Menelaus against Troy. After the death of Paris she married his brother Deiphobus (de-if´ob-us). On the capture of Troy, after a ten years’ siege, she became reconciled to Menelaus, and returned with him to Sparta, where they lived for a number of years in peace and happiness.

Helenus (hel´e-nus).—A celebrated soothsayer, son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba. He deserted his countrymen and joined the Greeks—some say voluntarily, others that he was taken prisoner by the Greeks.

Heliades (hē´li-a-dēz).—Daughters of the Sun (Helios). They lamented the death of their brother Phaethon so bitterly that the gods, in compassion, metamorphosed them into poplar trees and their tears into amber.

Helicon (hel´i-kon).—A mountain in Bœotia, sacred to Apollo and the Muses. The famous fountains of the Muses, Aganippe and Hippocrene, sprang here.

Helios (hē´li-os).—The god of the sun. See “[Phœbus]” and “[Apollo].”

Helle (hel´lē).—Sister of [Phrixus] (q.v.). When she and her brother were riding through the air upon the ram with the golden fleece she fell into the sea, which was thence called the Hellespont—i. e. the sea of Helle; now called the Dardanelles.

Hephæstus (hē-fēs´tus).—The god of fire. See “[Vulcan].”

Hera.—See “[Juno].”

Hercules (her´kū-lēz); called Heracles (hē´ra-klēz) by the Greeks.—The most celebrated hero of antiquity, noted especially for his Twelve Labors. He was the son of Jupiter and Alcmene. He showed his prowess at a very early age, for when the jealous Juno sent two serpents to destroy him as he lay in his cradle, the infant hero strangled them with his own hands. His first great adventure happened while he was tending the oxen of his supposititious father, Amphitryon, the husband of Alcmene. A huge lion devastated the flocks of Amphitryon and Thespius, king of Thespiæ. Hercules slew the lion, and thenceforth wore the skin as a garment, although some state that the lion’s skin of Hercules was taken from the Nemean lion which Hercules killed as one of his labors. Next he defeated and killed King Erginus, to whom the Thebans paid tribute. Creon, king of Thebes, gave him his daughter Megara in marriage, and she bore him several children. Soon afterwards Juno drove him mad, and in this state he killed his children. His grief was so great that he went into voluntary exile and was purified by Thespius. He then consulted the celebrated oracle at Delphi as to where he should settle, and was ordered to live at Tiryns and to serve Eurystheus (ū-ris´thūs) for twelve years, after which he should become immortal. It was at the bidding of Eurystheus that he performed the following Twelve Labors. Hercules usually carried a huge club which he had cut for himself in the neighborhood of Nemea.

(i) The fight with the Nemean lion. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the skin of this monster. Finding his club and arrows useless, he strangled the animal with his own hands.

(ii) The fight against the Lernean Hydra. This monster, which had nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal, dwelt in a swamp, and ravaged the country of Lerna, near Argos. When Hercules struck its heads with his club, for each head he struck off two more appeared. With the assistance of his servant he then burned off its heads, and buried the immortal one under a huge rock. Having done this, he poisoned his arrows with the bile of the monster, thus rendering the wounds inflicted by them incurable.

(iii) Capture of the Arcadian stag. This animal had golden antlers and brazen feet, and Hercules was ordered to bring it alive to Eurystheus. After pursuing it in vain for a whole year, he at length wounded it with an arrow, caught it, and bore it away on his shoulders.

(iv) Capture of the Erymanthian boar. Hercules chased this animal through the deep snow, and at last caught it in a net and delivered it alive to Eurystheus.

(v) Cleansing of the stables of Augeas. Augeas, king of Elis, had a herd of three thousand oxen, whose stalls had not been cleansed for thirty years, and Hercules was ordered to cleanse them in one day. He did it by turning the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stalls.

(vi) Destruction of the Stymphalian birds. These birds had brazen claws, wings and beaks, used their feathers as arrows, and ate human flesh. They dwelt on a lake near Stymphalus, in Arcadia. Minerva provided Hercules with a brazen rattle, by the noise of which he roused the birds and then killed them with his arrows.

(vii) Capture of the Cretan bull. This was a mad bull that made great havoc in the island of Crete. Hercules caught it, and brought it home on his shoulders.

(viii) Capture of the mares of Diomedes. These mares were fed with human flesh. Hercules, with a few friends, seized them and led them to Eurystheus.

(ix) Seizure of the girdle of the queen of the Amazons. The daughter of Eurystheus having expressed a desire to obtain the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, Hercules was sent to fetch it. After an eventful journey he at length reached the country of the Amazons, and was kindly received by Hippolyte. Juno, however, excited the Amazons against him, and in the contest that ensued Hercules killed Hippolyte and carried off her girdle.

(x) Capture of the oxen of Geryon. Geryon was a monster with three bodies. His cattle were guarded by a giant and a two-headed dog. On his journey he erected two pillars (Calpe and Abyla) on the two sides of the Straits of Gibraltar, which were hence called the Pillars of Hercules. He slew the giant, the dog and Geryon himself, and reached home safely with the oxen.

(xi) Bringing the golden apples of the Hesperides (Hes-per´id-ēz). These apples, which were given by Ge (the earth) to Juno at her wedding, were kept by the Hesperides and a dragon on Mount Atlas. Hercules obtained the apples, and afterwards dedicated them to Minerva, who restored them to their former place.

(xii) Bringing Cerberus from the lower world. This was not only the last, but the most difficult of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Pluto, the god of the lower world, having given Hercules permission to carry off Cerberus provided he did not use force of arms, he succeeded in seizing the monster and carrying it to the upper world, taking it back again after having shown it to Eurystheus.

Having concluded his Twelve Labors, Hercules was released from the servitude of Eurystheus and returned to Thebes. Later, he became a servant to Omphale (om´fal-ē), queen of Lydia and widow of Tmolus, and lived with her in an effeminate manner, he wearing woman’s attire, while Omphale put on his lion’s skin. He afterwards married [Deianira] (q.v.), who accompanied him into exile after he had accidentally killed the boy Eunomus. Having to cross a river, Hercules went on first, leaving his wife to be carried over by the centaur Nessus. The latter attempted to do violence to her, but her screams were heard by Hercules, who shot an arrow into the heart of Nessus. Deianira preserved some of the blood of the centaur, as he told her it would enable her to keep the love of her husband. Unfortunately, however, the blood was poisoned with the arrow with which Hercules had shot Nessus, so that when Hercules put on a garment which had been steeped in the blood he speedily suffered most terrible torture, and in endeavoring to wrench the garment off, tore whole pieces of flesh from his body. Deianira, on seeing what she had unwittingly done, hanged herself. Hercules was carried off by the gods to Olympus and married Hebe.

Hermes (her´mēz).—See “[Mercury].”

Hermione (her´mi-o-nē).—The beautiful daughter of Menelaus and Helen. She was married, first to Neoptolemus and secondly to Orestes.

Hero (he´rō).—A priestess of Venus in Sestos, beloved by [Leander] (q.v.).

Hesione (hē´si-o-nē).—Daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy, who was exposed by her father to the fury of a sea-monster in order to appease the anger of Apollo and Neptune. Hercules rescued her and gave her to Telamon, to whom she bore Teucer.

Hesperides (hes-per´id-ēz).—The guardians of the golden apples given by Ge (the Earth) to Juno at her marriage with Jupiter. They were three in number, and were the daughters of Atlas and Hesperis. See “[Hercules].”

Hestia.—See “[Vesta].”

Hippocrene (hip-po-krē´nē)—i. e. the Fountain of the Horse. A fountain near Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses, and which is fabled to have been produced by a stroke of the hoof of the winged horse Pegasus.

Hippodamia (hip-po-da-mī´a).—Wife of Pirithous, at whose nuptials took place the celebrated fight between the Centaurs and Lapithæ.

Hippolyte (hip-pol´it-ē).—Daughter of Mars and queen of the Amazons. She was slain by [Hercules] (q.v.).

Hippolytus (hip-pol´it-us).—Son of Theseus and Hippolyte. In consequence of a false accusation brought against him by his stepmother Phædra, he was thrown out of his chariot and dragged along the ground till he was dead. He was restored to life by Æsculapius.

Hippomenes (hip-pō´men-ēz).—Son of Megarus, who conquered [Atalanta] (q.v.) in a race.

Hobomoko.—An evil spirit known among American Indians.

Hōdeken.—A famous German kobold, or domestic fairy servant; so called from wearing a little felt hat pulled down over his face.

Hoder.—In Norse mythology a blind god who destroyed his brother Baldur, at the instigation of Loki, without meaning to do so. He is the type of night and darkness, as Baldur is of light and day.

Hofvarpnir.—The fleet steed of Ina, in Scandinavian legend, which traveled through fire and air and enabled this messenger of the gods to see all that was happening on the earth.

Honir.—In Asgard tales, name given to the god of mind or thought.

Horæ (ho´rē); the Hours.—Daughters of Jupiter and Themis. They presided over the changes of the seasons, and kept watch at the gates of Olympus.

Horn of Plenty.—See “[Amalthea].”

Horus.—The Egyptian god of the sun, son of Osiris and Isis, who was also worshiped in Greece and at Rome.

Hugin.—One of Odin’s two ravens, which carried him news from earth, and when not thus employed, perched upon his shoulders. The personification of thought or intellect.

Hugon.—A kind of evil spirit in the popular superstition of France—a sort of ogre made use of to frighten children.

Hyacinthus (hi-a-sin´thus).—A beautiful Spartan youth, beloved by Apollo, but accidentally killed by a blow of his quoit. From his blood sprang the flower of the same name.

Hyades (hī´a-dēz)—i. e. the Rainers. The name of seven nymphs forming a group in the head of Taurus. They were so called because when they rise simultaneously with the sun rainy weather is announced.

Hygeia (hi-jē´i-a).—The goddess of health, daughter of Æsculapius. She is often represented as a maiden in a long robe, and feeding a serpent from a cup.

Hylas (hi´las).—A beautiful youth who accompanied Hercules in the Argonautic expedition. On landing for water on the coast of Mysia, he was carried off by the Naiads.

Hymen (hi´men).—The god of marriage; represented as a handsome youth carrying in his hand a bridal torch.

Hymettus (hi-met´tus).—A mountain near Athens, famed for its honey and its marble.

Hyperborei (hī-per-bor´e-ī)—lit. “beyond the north wind.” A fabulous people living in the extreme north in a land of perpetual sunshine, in a state of perfect happiness.

Hyperion (hī-per-ī´ōn)—lit. “he who goes above.” (i) A name applied to the sun. (ii) A Titan, father of the sun.

Hypsipyle (hip-sip´i-lē).—Daughter of Thoas, king of Lemnos, in the time of the Argonauts.

I

Iacchus (i-ak’us).—A name of Bacchus.

Iapetus (i-ap’et-us), or Japetus.—One of the Titans; father of Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus.

Icarus (ī-kar’us).—See “[Dædalus].”

Ichthyophagi (ik-thi-of´a-jī)—i. e. fish-eaters.—A name given by the ancients to various peoples on the coasts of Asia and Africa.

Ida (ī´da).—(i) A mountain range near Troy, celebrated as the scene of the judgment of [Paris] (q.v.). From the summit of Ida the gods watched the battles in the plain of Troy. (ii) A high mountain in Crete, on which Jupiter was brought up.

Idomeneus (ī-dom´en-ūs).—King of Crete, and leader of the Cretans against Troy. He rashly vowed to Neptune that, if the god granted him a safe return, he would sacrifice to him whatever he should first meet on landing. He was met by his son, whom he accordingly sacrificed. A plague came in consequence, and the Cretans expelled Idomeneus.

Iduna, or Idun.—Daughter of the dwarf Svald, and wife of Bragi. She kept in a box the golden apples which the gods tasted as often as they wished to renew their youth. Loki on one occasion stole the box, but the gods compelled him to restore it. Iduna seems to personify that part of the year when the sun is north of the equator. Her apples indicate fruits generally. Loki carries her off to Giant-land when the sun descends below the equator, and he steals her apples. In time, Iduna makes her escape, in the form of a sparrow, when the sun again rises above the equator; and both gods and men rejoice in her return.

Ifing.—In Scandinavian mythology the great stream between the earth and the sacred lands, whose waters never froze.

Ilioneus (ī´li-o-nūs).—The youngest son of Niobe.

Ilium (ī´li-um).—A poetical name for Troy, derived from Ilus, the son of Tros, its founder. See “[Troja].”

Indra.—In Hindu mythology the ever-youthful god of the firmament, and the omnipotent ruler of the elements. He is a most important personage in Indian fable. In the Vedic period of the Hindu religion, he occupied a foremost rank, and, though degraded to an inferior position in the Epic, he long enjoyed a great legendary popularity. In works of art he is represented as riding on an elephant.

Ino (ī´nō).—Daughter of Cadmus and Hermione, wife of Athamas, king of Thebes.

Io (ī´ō).—Daughter of a king of Argos; beloved by Jupiter, and through fear of Juno changed into a cow (see “[Argus]”). Juno now tormented her with a gadfly, and drove her from land to land, swimming the Bosphorus (i. e. ox-ford), until she found rest at length in Egypt, where she regained her original form. She was afterwards worshiped as an Egyptian divinity under the name of Isis.

Iolaus (ī-o-lā´us).—The faithful companion and charioteer of Hercules.

Iphigenia (if-i-jen-ī´a).—Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra, who was to have been offered up by way of expiation for an offense committed by her father against Diana in killing a hart in her sacred grove; but the goddess put a hart in her place and conveyed her to Tauris, when she became the priestess of the goddess. Here she afterwards saved her brother [Orestes] (q.v.).

Iris (ī´ris).—The swift-footed messenger of the gods, the personification of the rainbow. She was the sister of the Harpies.

Isis (ī´sis).—One of the chief Egyptian goddesses. See “[Io].”

Isocrates (ī-sok´ra-tēz).—A celebrated orator and teacher of rhetoric at Athens. He acquired a large fortune by his profession. He put an end to his life B. C. 338, aged ninety-eight.

Israfil.—Known among Arabians as the angel of music, who possessed the most melodious voice of all God’s creatures. This is the angel who is to sound the resurrection trump, and make music for the saints in paradise. Israfil, Gabriel and Michael were the three angels that warned Abraham of Sodom’s destruction.

Ithaca (ith´ak-a).—An island in the Ionian Sea, celebrated as the birthplace and the kingdom of Ulysses.

Iulus (i-ūl´us).—Son of Ascanius and grandson of Æneas.

Ixion (iks-ī´on).—King of the Lapithæ, in Thessaly, and father of Pirithous. Jupiter purified him of a treacherous murder, yet he was sufficiently ungrateful to attempt to win the love of Juno. Jupiter then hurled him into Tartarus, where he was bound fast to a perpetually revolving wheel.

J

Jamshid.—King of the genii, famous for a golden cup full of the elixir of life. This cup, hidden by the genii, was discovered while digging the foundations of Persepolis.

Janus (jā´nus).—An old Latin deity, the sun-god. He presided over the beginning of everything; he opened the year, and hence the first month of the year was called after him. He was the porter of heaven. His temple in the Forum had two doors opposite each other, which in time of war were open and in time of peace were shut. The latter happened only thrice in Roman history. He is represented with a face at the back, as well as one at the front, of his head.

Japetus.—See “[Iapetus].”

Jason (jā´son).—The famous leader of the Argonauts; was the son of Æson, king of Thessaly, who reigned at Iolcus. The principal part of his history is given under “[Argonautæ].” During his absence, while on the Argonautic expedition, his uncle Pelias had slain his father. In order to avenge this deed Medea, the wife of Jason, persuaded the daughters of Pelias to cut their father to pieces and boil him, in the belief that he would thus be restored to youth and vigor. Medea, who was well versed in magic arts, had previously changed a ram into a lamb by similar treatment. In this way, then, Pelias perished miserably, and his son Acastus expelled Jason and Medea from Iolcus. They then went to Corinth, where they lived happily for several years, until Jason deserted her in favor of Creusa, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. Medea took fearful vengeance. She sent Creusa a poisoned garment, which burned her to death when she put it on; the palace also took fire, and her father, Creon, perished in the flames. Medea then killed her children, and fled to Athens in a chariot drawn by winged dragons.

Jinn.—A sort of fairies in Arabian mythology, the offspring of fire. They are governed by a race of kings named Suleyman, one of whom “built the pyramids.” Their chief abode is the mountain Kâf, and they appear to men under the forms of serpents, dogs, cats, monsters, or even human beings, and become invisible at pleasure. The evil jinn are ugly, but the good are beautiful. According to fable, they were created from fire two thousand years before Adam was made of earth.

Jord.—Daughter of Night and mother of Thor. In Scandinavian mythology the name given to primitive earth.

Juggernaut, or Jaggernaut.—A Hindu god. The temple of this god is in a town of the same name in Orissa.

Juno (jū´no); called Hera (hē´ra) by the Greeks.—The sister and wife of Jupiter, and queen of heaven; daughter of Saturn and Rhea. She was the guardian deity of women, and presided over marriage. She specially watched over the birth of children, and was then invoked under the name of Lucina (lū-sī´na). Homer described her as being of a jealous, obstinate and quarrelsome disposition. In consequence of the judgment of [Paris] (q.v.), she was hostile to the Trojans, and accordingly sided with the Greeks in the Trojan war. The peacock was sacred to Juno. Juno was also regarded as the guardian of the finances, and had a temple on the Capitoline hill, which contained the mint. Mars, Vulcan and Hebe were her children.

Jupiter (jū´pit-er); called Zeus (zūs) by the Greeks.—King of heaven, and greatest of the Olympian gods; was a son of Saturn and Rhea. He dwelt on Mount Olympus, in Thessaly. He was the father and supreme ruler of gods and men. His first wife was [Metis] (q.v.). By Juno, his second wife, he had two sons, Mars and Vulcan, and one daughter, Hebe. The eagle, the oak, and doves were sacred to Jupiter. He was armed with thunderbolts, and surrounded with thick clouds, the former being provided for him by the Cyclops who worked under the direction of Vulcan. Jupiter was regarded as the special protector of Rome, and had a temple on the Capitol. He was looked upon as the guardian of law and the protector of justice and virtue. He was also the ruler of the lower air, hence rain and storms were supposed to come from him. In this connection the Romans applied the surname Pluvius (i. e. the rain-bringer) to him, and special sacrifices were offered to him during long-protracted droughts.

Juventas (jū-ven´tas).—The Roman name for [Hebe] (q.v.), the goddess of youth.

K

Kama.—The Hindu god of love. His wife is Rati (voluptuousness), and he is represented as riding on a sparrow, holding in his hand a bow of flowers and five arrows, each tipped with the bloom of a flower supposed to conquer one of the senses. His power is so much exalted that even the god Brahma is said to succumb to it.

Kami.—The gods of ancient Japan. The name, in modern times, designates any spiritual saint, and may also be applied to a prince.

Kaswa.—The camel admitted into Moslem paradise, the favorite camel of Mohammed which fell on its knees in adoration when “the prophet” delivered the last clause of the Koran to the assembled multitude at Mecca.

Kederli.—In Mohammedan mythology is a god corresponding to the English St. George, and is still invoked by the Turks when they go to war.

Kelpie.—In mythology of Scotland a spirit of the water seen in the form of a horse. Each lake has its kelpie.

Kobold.—A house-spirit in German superstition. In northern lands the name is sometimes used in place of elf or dwarf, representing an underground spirit. Probably the same as the Scotch brownie.

Koppelberg.—The hill which miraculously opened to receive the children who followed the Pied Piper. This belongs to mythology, as people in the middle ages considered Odin as the leader of disembodied spirits, and from this came the Pied Piper. The rats were the restless souls of the dead, which the Pied Piper released by drowning.

Krishna.—In Hindu mythology the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. According to some authorities, he is considered distinct from all the Avatars, as these had only a portion of the divinity, and Krishna was Vishnu himself in the form of “the Black One.”

L

Ladon (lā´don).—The dragon that guarded the apples of the Hesperides. It was slain by Hercules.

Laertes (lā-er´tēz).—King of the island of Ithaca and father of Ulysses. He took part in the Calydonian boar hunt, and in the Argonautic expedition. He lived to see the return of his son to Ithaca, after the fall of Troy.

Laius (lā´i-us).—King of Thebes and father of Œdipus.

Laocoon (lā-ok´o-on).—A Trojan, priest of Apollo, who strenuously opposed the admission of the wooden horse into [Troy] (q.v.). As he was preparing to sacrifice a bull to Neptune, two fearful serpents swam out of the sea and strangled both him and his two sons.

Laodamia (lā-od-a-mī´a).—Daughter of Acastus and wife of Protesilaus.

Laodice (la-od´i-sē).—(i) Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. (ii) The name given by Homer to Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra.

Laomedon (lā-om´e-don).—King of Troy, father of Priam.

Lapithæ (lap´i-thē).—A mythical people inhabiting the mountains of Thessaly. They were ruled by Pirithous, who, as Ixion’s son, was half-brother of the Centaurs. When Pirithous married Hippodamia, and invited the Centaurs to the marriage feast, the latter, fired by wine, attempted to carry off the bride and the other women. Hence arose the celebrated fight between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ, in which the former were defeated. The Lapithæ are said to have invented bits and bridles for horses.

Lares (lār´ēz).—Household divinities—the divinities presiding over the hearth, and the whole house. In great houses the images of the Lares were placed in a separate compartment. At meal times some portion was offered to the Lares, and on festive occasions they were adorned with wreaths.

Latinus (la-tī´nus).—King of Latium, who gave Æneas his daughter Lavinia in marriage.

Latmus (lat´mus).—A mountain in Caria, on which [Endymion] (q.v.) lay in perpetual sleep.

Latona (la-tō´na); called Leto (lē´tō) by the Greeks. The mother of Apollo and Diana, by Jupiter. She was persecuted by Juno, and wandered from place to place till she came to Delos, which was then a floating island, but which Jupiter fastened by adamantine chains to the bottom of the sea. Here Apollo and Diana were born.

Lavinia (la-vin´i-a).—Daughter of Latinus and wife of Æneas.

Leander (lē-an´der).—A young man of Abydos (a-bī´dos), who swam across the Hellespont every night to visit Hero, the priestess of Venus, in Sestus. One night, however, during a storm, he perished; and when his corpse was washed on the coast, on the following morning, Hero threw herself into the sea.

Leda (lē´da).—Wife of Tyndarus, king of Sparta. Jupiter visited her in the form of a swan, and she became the mother of Castor and Pollux, the celebrated Helen of Troy, and Clyæmnestra.

Lemnos (lem´nos).—One of the largest islands in the Ægean Sea; the abode of Vulcan, who was said to have fallen here when he was hurled down from Olympus. It is now called Stalimene.

Lemures.—The specters or spirits of the dead. They were said to wander about at night, as specters, and to torment and frighten the living. In order to propitiate them the Romans celebrated the festival of the Lemuralia or Lemuria.

Lerna (ler´na).—A forest and marsh near Argos, through which flowed a stream of the same name. Here Hercules killed the famous Lernean hydra. See “[Hercules].”

Lesbos (les´bos).—A celebrated island in the Ægean Sea, off the coast of Mysia. Its principal city was Mytilene. It was the birthplace of Sappho, Arion, Alcæus and Theophrastus.

Lethe (lē´thē)—lit. “forgetfulness” (Gr.).—A river in the lower world, the water of which was drunk by the shades, who thus obtained forgetfulness of the past.

Leto.—See “[Latona].”

Liber (lī´ber).—An old Italian deity who presided over planting and fructification. Subsequently the name was applied to Bacchus.

Libera (lī´ber-a).—Another name for Proserpine, daughter of Ceres, and sister of Liber.

Libitina (lib-i-tī´na).—The goddess of the dead, in whose temple at Rome everything pertaining to burials was sold or hired out.

Lidskialf.—The throne of Alfadir, whence he can view the whole universe.

Lif.—In Norse mythology the name given to a man who is to occupy the purified earth when goodness resumes its sway.

Lilinau.—In American Indian folk-lore Lilinau was wooed by a phantom. She followed his green waving plume through the forest, and was never seen again.

Lilith.—In Hebrew mythology a female specter who lies in wait for children in order to destroy them. The older traditions tell of Lilith as a former wife of Adam and the mother of demons. Amulets were worn as protection from her powers.

Lobaircin.—In Irish mythical tales a fairy shoemaker resembling an old man, who resorts to out-of-way places where he is discovered by the noise of his hammer. He is rich, and, while anyone keeps his eye fixed upon him, cannot escape, but the moment the eye is withdrawn he vanishes.

Lofu.—The Scandinavian god who guards friendship.

Lofua.—The Scandinavian goddess who reconciles lovers.

Loki.—The great god of fire in Norse mythology.

Lorelei.—In German legend a siren who haunted a rock of the same name on the right bank of the Rhine. She combed her hair with a golden comb, and sang a wild song which enticed fishermen and sailors to destruction on the rocks and rapids at the foot of the precipice. In northern mythology Lorelei is represented as immortal, a daughter of the Rhine, and dwelling in the river bed.

Lotis (lō´tis).—A nymph who, to escape from Priapus, son of Bacchus, was changed into the lotus tree.

Lotophagi (lō-tof´a-jī)—i. e. lotus-eaters.—A people visited by Ulysses during his voyage homewards from Troy. The lotus was a fruit the taste of which was so delicious that all who ate it lost all desire to return to their native land.

Lua (lu´a).—A goddess to whom were devoted the arms taken in battle.

Lucifer (Lat.), or Phosphorus (Gr.)—i. e. the light-bringer. The planet Venus when it appears as the morning-star.

Lucina (lū-sī´na).—The goddess that presides over the birth of children. It was used as a surname for Juno.

Lud.—In ancient British mythology the king of the Britons.

Luna (lū´na).—Goddess of the moon, called by the Greeks Selene (sel-ē´nē), and identified with Diana.

Lupercus (lu-per´kus).—A deity who protected the flocks from wolves.

Lycæus (li-sē´us).—A lofty mountain in Arcadia, where Jupiter and Pan were worshiped.

Lycaon (li-kā´ōn).—King of Arcadia, who impiously placed a dish of human flesh before Jupiter when the god visited him. He and all his sons were metamorphosed into wolves.

Lyceum (li-sē´um).—A gymnasium at Athens, outside of the city; celebrated as the place where Aristotle and the Peripatetics taught. It derived its name from the temple of Apollo Lyceus (li-sē´us) in the neighborhood.

Lycomedes (li-ko-mē´dēz).—King of Scyros, to whose court Achilles was sent, disguised as a maiden, by his mother Thetis, in order to prevent him going to the Trojan war.

Lycurgus (li-sur´gus).—Son of Dryas, and king of the Edones in Thrace. He prohibited the worship of Bacchus, and was hence driven mad by the gods, and subsequently killed.

Lynceus (lin´sūs).—One of the Argonauts, famous for the keenness of his sight.

Lyncus (lin´sus).—A Scythian king, who was changed by Ceres into a lynx.

M

Machaon (ma-kā´on).—Son of Æsculapius, a famous surgeon of the Greeks before Troy.

Maia (mā´i-a)—Daughter of Atlas and Pleione, and the eldest and most beautiful of the several Pleiades. She became, by Jupiter, the mother of Mercury.

Manes (mā´nēz)—lit. “the good, benevolent.”—The name given by the Romans to the souls of the dead, who were worshiped as gods.

Mani.—Name given in ancient Norse mythology to the moon. Later known as the son of Mundilfori; taken to heaven by the gods to drive the moon-car. He is followed by a wolf, which, when time shall be no more, will devour both Mani and his sister Sol.

Manitou.—The great spirit of American Indians.

Marica (ma-rī´ka).—A Latin nymph, the mother of Latinus.

Mars (märz); called by the Greeks Ares (ā´rē).—The god of war, of husbandry, of shepherds, and seers, who, as father of Romulus, was the progenitor of the Roman people. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He loved, and was beloved by Venus. The wolf and the woodpecker were sacred to Mars.

Marsyas (mar’si-as).—A satyr who, having found the flute which Minerva had thrown away because it distorted her features whilst playing it, rashly challenged Apollo to a musical contest. Apollo played upon the cithara and Marsyas upon the flute, and the Muses were the umpires. They decided in favor of Apollo, who then bound Marsyas to a tree and flayed him alive in accordance with the conditions of the contest—namely, that the victor should do what he pleased with the vanquished.

Medea (mē-dē´a).—Daughter of Æëtes, king of Colchis; celebrated for her skill in magic. She assisted Jason in obtaining the Golden Fleece (see “[Argonautæ]”), and accompanied him to Greece. She effectually stopped her father’s pursuit by killing her brother [Absyrtus] (q.v.), and strewing his body cut in pieces on the seashore. See “[Jason].”

Medusa (me-dū´sa).—See “[Gorgons].”

Megæra (me-gē´ra).—See “[Furiæ].”

Megin-giord.—A magic belt worn by the god Thor. He once proposed to show his strength by lifting great weights, but when challenged to pick up the giant’s cat, he tugged and strained, only to succeed in raising one paw from the floor, although he had taken the precaution to enhance his strength as much as possible by tightening his belt Megin-giord.

Meleager (mel-e-ā´ger).—Son of Œneus, king of Calydon; was one of the Argonauts, and also the leader of the heroes who took part in the celebrated Calydonian boar hunt. See “[Calydon].”

Melicerta (mel-i-ser’ta), or Melicertes.—Son of Ino and Athamas. When Athamas was seized with madness he pursued Ino and Melicertes, who in order to escape had to throw themselves into the sea, whereupon both were changed into marine deities. Ino becoming Leucothea, and Melicertes a sea-god, called by the Greeks Palaemon, and by the Romans Portunus.

Melos (mē´los).—An island in the Ægean Sea, and the most southwesterly of the Cyclades. It is now called Milo, and here was found the celebrated statue known as the “Venus of Milo.” See “[Venus].”

Melpomene (mel-pom’en-ā).—The muse of tragedy. See “[Musæ].”

Memnon (mem’nōn).—The handsome son of Tithonus and Aurora; was king of the Ethiopians. He went to the aid of Priam, king of Troy, towards the end of the Trojan war, but was slain by Achilles. His colossal marble statue at Thebes (which, however, in reality represented the Egyptian king Amenophis) when struck by the first rays of the rising sun was said to emit a sound resembling that of a plucked string.

Menelaus (men-e-lā´us).—Son of Atreus, the husband of the beautiful Helen and father of Hermione; king of Lacedæmon (or Sparta), younger brother of Agamemnon. [Paris] (q.v.), having been promised the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife, sailed to Greece under the protection of Venus, and was hospitably received in the palace of Menelaus at Sparta. Here he succeeded in carrying off Helen, and thus arose the Trojan war, the object of which was to recover Helen. In the Trojan war Menelaus met Paris in single combat, and would have killed him had he not been carried off in a cloud by Venus. After the death of Paris, Helen married his brother Deiphobus, who was barbarously put to death by Menelaus at the taking of Troy. Helen secretly introduced Menelaus into the chamber of Deiphobus, and thus became reconciled to him. Menelaus and Helen then sailed away from Troy, and after eight years’ wandering about the shores of the Mediterranean finally reached Sparta, where they passed the rest of their lives in peace and wealth.

Mentor (men’tor).—The faithful friend of Ulysses.

Mephistopheles.—One of the seven chief devils in the old demonology, the second of the fallen archangels, and the most powerful of the infernal legionaries after Satan. He figures in the old legend of Dr. Faustus as the familiar spirit of that magician. To modern readers he is chiefly known as the cold, scoffing, relentless fiend of Goethe’s Faust, and the attendant demon in Marlowe’s Faustus.

Mercurius (mer-kū´ri-us), or Mercury (mer´kū-ri), called Hermes (her´mēz) by the Greeks.—Son of Jupiter and Maia; the messenger of the gods, and the god of commerce and gain. As the herald of the gods, he was the god of eloquence. He was the god of prudence and cunning, also of fraud and theft. Being the messenger of the gods, he was likewise looked upon as the god of roads who protected travelers; and was the god of music and of chemistry, hence the words hermetic, hermetically (sealed). He was employed by the gods to conduct departed souls to the lower world. He invented the lyre, which he first made by stretching strings across the shell of a tortoise. The palm tree, the tortoise, the number 4, and several kinds of fish were sacred to him. He is generally represented with a hat having two wings; a pair of winged sandals, which carried him with the speed of wind across land and sea; and, as messenger of the gods, he carries in his hand a wand or caduceus (ka-dū´se-us), having two serpents intertwined at one end of it.

Meriones (mē´ri-o-nēz).—The charioteer of Idomeneus, and one of the bravest heroes in the Trojan war.

Mermaids.—Wave maidens of northern mythology and classed with nymphs in Grecian and Roman. They were generally represented as young and beautiful virgins, partially covered with a veil or thin cloth, bearing in their hands vases of water, or shells, leaves, or grass, or having something as a symbol of their appropriate offices. They were attendants of the gods.

Meru.—In Hindu mythology a sacred mountain, eighty thousand leagues high, situated in the center of the world. It is the abode of Indra, and abounds with every charm that can be imagined. The Olympus of the Indians.

Merope (mer´o-pē).—Daughter of Atlas, one of the Pleiades.

Metis (mē´tis)—lit. wisdom, prudence (Gr.).—Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and the first wife of Jupiter. Fearing that she might give birth to a child who should become more powerful than himself, Jupiter swallowed her. Afterwards Minerva sprang from his head.

Midgard.—In Scandinavian mythology the name given to the earth. Out of the giant’s flesh they fashioned Midgard (middle garden), as the earth was called, which was placed in the exact center of the vast space, and hedged all around with Ymir’s eyebrows, which formed its bulwarks or ramparts. The solid portion of Midgard was surrounded by the giant’s blood or sweat, which now formed the ocean, while his bones made the hills, his flat teeth the cliffs, and his curly hair the trees and all vegetation.

Midgard Sormen (earth’s monster).—The great serpent that lay in the abyss at the root of the celestial ash. Child of Loki.

Milo.—The modern name for the island of [Melos] (q.v.).

Mimir.—In Scandinavian mythology the god of wisdom. Also god of the ocean, which is called “Mimir’s well,” in which wit and wisdom lay hidden, and of which he drank every morning from the horn Gjallar.

Minerva (min-er´va); called Athena (a-thē´na), Pallas Athene (pal´las), or simply Pallas, by the Greeks.—The goddess of wisdom, of the arts and sciences, of poetry and of spinning and weaving, and the protectress of agriculture. She was also a goddess of war. She was the daughter of Jupiter and [Metis] (q.v.). She was the protective deity of Athens, which was so named in honor of her (Athena): see “Athenæ.” The owl, serpent, cock and olive tree were sacred to her.

Minos (mī´nos).—(i) Son of Jupiter and Europa, brother of Rhadamanthus, king and lawgiver in Crete, and after death one of the three judges of the shades in the infernal regions (the other two being Rhadamanthus and Æacus). (ii) Grandson of the former, likewise king of Crete, the husband of Pasiphaë and the father of Ariadne and other children. His son [Androgeos] (q.v.) having been shamefully treated by the Athenians, he made war against the latter and compelled them to send every year to Crete, as tribute, seven young men and seven maidens to be devoured by the Minotaur. This Minotaur was a terrible monster, with the head of a bull and the body of a man, the offspring of Pasiphaë and a bull. It was kept in a labyrinth constructed by Dædalus, but was slain by [Theseus] (q.v.), with the help of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos.

Minotaur (mī´no-tawr)—i.e. the bull of Minos (Lat.).—See “[Minos].”

Minyæ (min´i-ē).—The Minyans, an ancient Greek race dwelling in Thessaly. The Argonauts, being mainly Minyans, are called Minyæ.

Mithras (mith´ras).—The sun-god of the Persians.

Mjolnir.—From mythology of northern lands. The name of Thor’s celebrated hammer—a type of the thunderbolt—which, however far it might be cast, was never lost, as it always returned to his hand; and which, whenever he wished, became so small that he could put it in his pocket.

Mnemosyne (nē-mos´i-nē)—i. e. memory (Gr.).—The mother of the Muses.

Moakkibat.—A class of angels, according to the Mohammedan mythology. Two angels of this class attend every child of Adam from the cradle to the grave. At sunset they fly up with the record of the deeds done since sunrise. Every good deed is entered ten times by the recording angel on the credit or right side of his ledger, but when an evil deed is reported the angel waits seven hours, “if happily in that time the evil-doer may repent.”

Moloch.—A god of the Phœnicians to whom human victims, principally children, were sacrificed. Moloch is figurative of the influence which impels us to sacrifice that which we ought to cherish most dearly.

Momus (mō´mus).—The god of mockery and censure.

Mona (mon´a).—The isle of Anglesey; sometimes supposed to be the isle of Man. It was one of the chief seats of the Druids.

Moneta (mon-ē´ta).—A Roman surname of Juno as the protectress of money.

Mopsus (mop´sus).—The name of two soothsayers, one being the prophet of the Argonauts, and the other the son of Apollo and Manto. He contended in prophecy with [Calchas] (q.v.), whose superior he proved himself to be.

Morpheus (mor´fe-us).—The son of sleep and the god of dreams. The name signifies (Gr.) the fashioner, moulder, so called from the shapes he calls up before the sleeper.

Mowis.—The bridegroom of Snow, who (according to American Indian tradition) wooed and won a beautiful bride; but when morning dawned, Mowis left the wigwam, and melted into the sunshine. The bride hunted for him night and day in the forests, but never saw him more.

Musæ (mū´zē).—The Muses, daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, were nine in number, and presided over the different kinds of poetry, the arts and sciences. Their names and special attributes were as follows: (i) Calliope (kal-lī´o-pē), the muse of epic poetry; (ii) Clio (klī´ō), of history; (iii) Erato (er´a-tō), of erotic poetry and mimic imitation; (iv) Euterpe (ū-ter´pē), of lyric poetry; (v) Melpomene (mel-pom´en-ē), of tragedy; (vi) Polyhymnia (pol-i-him´ni-a), of the sublime hymn; (vii) Terpsichore (terp-sik´o-rē), of choral song and dancing; (viii) Thalia (tha-li´a), of comedy; and (ix) Urania (ū-rā´ni-a), of astronomy. The favorite haunt of the Muses was Mount Helicon in Bœotia, where were the sacred fountains of Aganippe and Hippocrene. Mount Parnassus was also sacred to them.

Myrmidones (mer-mid´on-ēz), or Myrmidons (mer´mid-ons).—A people of Thessaly, under the rule of Achilles, whom they accompanied to Troy.

Myrtilus (mer´til-us).—Son of Mercury, and charioteer of Œnomaus. See “[Pelops].”

Mysterious Three, The.—In Scandinavian mythology were Har “the Mighty,” the “Like-Mighty,” and the “Third Person,” who sat on three thrones above the rainbow. Then came the Æsir, of which Odin was chief, who lived in Asgard (between the rainbow and earth); next came the Vanir, or gods of the ocean, air, and clouds, of which deities Niörd was chief.

N

Naiades (nā´i-a-dēz), or Naiads (nā´yadz).—The nymphs of freshwater. See “[Nymphæ].”

Naraka.—The hell of the Hindus. It has twenty-eight divisions, in some of which the victims are mangled by ravens and owls; in others they are doomed to swallow cakes boiling hot, or walk over burning sands.

Narcissus (nar-sis´us).—A beautiful youth, inaccessible to the feeling of love. The nymph Echo fell in love with him, but, her love not being returned, she pined away in grief (see “[Echo]”). In order to punish him, Nemesis made him see his own reflected image in a fountain, whereupon he became so enamored of it that he gradually pined away until changed into the flower that bears his name.

Nausicaa (naw-sik´a-a).—Daughter of Alcinous, who conducted Ulysses, when shipwrecked on the coast of Scheria (an island), to her father’s court.

Neleus (nē´lūs).—Son of Neptune and the nymph Tyro; king of Pylos, in Peloponnesus, and father of [Nestor] (q.v.).

Nemea (ne-mē´a).—A city in Argolis, near which Hercules slew the Nemean lion.

Nemesis (nem´e-sis)—i. e. vengeance (Gr.).—The goddess of retribution, who brings down all immoderate good fortune. She was also regarded as the goddess who punished crimes. She was the daughter of Night, and was represented as a crowned virgin, of great beauty and grace, with a whip in one hand and a pair of scales in the other.

Neoptolemus (ne-op-tol´em-us).—Son of Achilles and Deidamia. He was also called Pyrrhus (pir´us), on account of his reddish hair (Gr.); his other name, Neoptolemus, which signifies New-to-war (Gr.), having been given to him because he came late to Troy. He displayed great valor at Troy, and was one of the heroes concealed in the wooden horse (see “[Troy]”). He slew Priam and his daughter Polyxena. At the distribution of captives Andromache, the widow of Hector, fell to his lot, and he took her to Epirus. He married Hermione, the beautiful daughter of Menelaus and Helen, but was slain by Orestes, to whom she had been previously promised.

Neptunus (nep-tū´nus), or Neptune; called Poseidon (po-sī´don) by the Greeks.—The god of the sea and other waters, the brother of Jupiter, and husband of Amphitrite. His palace was in the depth of the sea, near Ægæ, in Eubœa, where he kept his horses with brazen hoofs and golden manes, which drew his chariot over the waves of the sea. His celebrated contest with Minerva for the possession of Athens is narrated under “Athenæ.” In the Trojan war he sided with the Greeks. He not only created the horse, but also taught men the art of managing horses by the bit and bridle. The symbol of his power was a trident, or spear with three prongs, with which he called forth or hushed storms, shook the earth, etc. Besides the trident, his attributes are the dolphin and the horse.

Nereides (nē´re-i-dēz or nē-rē´id-ēz); the Nereids (nē´-re-ids).—The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. They were the marine nymphs of the Mediterranean (see “[Nymphæ]”). Thetis, the mother of Achilles, was a Nereid.

Nereus (nē´rūs).—Son of Pontus and Gæa, and husband of Doris, father of the fifty Nereids. He dwelt at the bottom of the sea, and was regarded as the wise old man of the sea. Like other marine divinities, he was supposed to have the power of prophesying the future, and of appearing to mortals in various shapes. The Ægean Sea was his empire—possibly the whole of the Mediterranean.

Nessus (ness´us).—A Centaur who was slain with a poisoned arrow by [Hercules] (q.v.).

Nestor (nes´tor).—Son of Neleus and king of Pylos. He was famous among the heroes before Troy for his wisdom, justice and eloquence. In early life he was a distinguished warrior, and took part in the fight between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ, and was one of the Calydonian hunters and one of the Argonauts. He is said to have lived through three generations of men. He safely reached Pylos again after the fall of Troy.

Nicneven.—A gigantic and malignant female spirit of the old popular Scottish mythology. The hag is represented as riding at the head of witches and fairies at Hallowe’en.

Nidhogg.—The dragon that gnaws at the root of Yggdrasil, the tree of the universe in Scandinavian mythology.

Niflheim.—Mist-home of old Norse mythology. The region of endless cold and everlasting night, ruled over by Hela. It consists of nine worlds, to which are consigned those who die of disease or old age. This region existed “from the beginning” in the north, and in the middle thereof was the well Hvergelmir, from which flowed twelve rivers.

Niobe (nī´o-bē).—Daughter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion, king of Thebes. Having seven sons and seven daughters, she imprudently boasted of her superiority to Latona, who had but two children—Apollo and Diana. The latter, indignant at her presumption, slew all her children with their arrows. Niobe herself was changed into a stone.

Niord.—The Scandinavian sea-god. He was not one of the Æsir. Niord’s son was Frey (the fairy of the clouds), and his daughter was Freyja. His home was Noatun. Niord was not a sea-god like Neptune, but the spirit of water and air. The Scandinavian Neptune was Ægir, whose wife was Skadi. His temples were near the seashore and all aquatic plants belonged to him.

Nisus (nī´sus).—A friend of Euryalus (ū-rī´a-lus).—The two accompanied Æneas to Italy, and perished in a night attack on the Rutulian camp.

Nix.—Little creatures not unlike the Scotch brownie and German kobold. They wear a red cap, and are ever ready to lend a helping hand to the industrious and thrifty.

Nokomis.—Daughter of the moon, American Indian myths. Sporting one day with her maidens on a swing made of vine canes, a rival cut the swing, and Nokomis fell to earth, where she gave birth to a daughter named Wenonah.

Nornir, or Norns.—The three fates of Scandinavian mythology, past, present, and future. They spin the events of human life, sitting under the ash-tree Yggdrasil which they carefully tend. Their names are Urda (the past), Verdandi (the present), and Skuld (the future). Besides these three Norns, every human creature has a personal Norn or fate. The home of the Norns is called in Scandinavian mythology Doomstead.

Notus (nō´tus) (Gr.); called Auster by the Romans.—The south or southwest wind.

Nox (noks); called Nux (nūks) by the Greeks.—Night, daughter of Chaos.

Numitor (nū´mi-tor).—A king of Alba, grandfather of Romulus and Remus.

Nymphæ (nim´fē), or Nymphs.—Lesser female divinities supposed by the Greeks to dwell in the sea, springs, rivers, grottoes, trees and mountains. They had distinctive names, according to their habitat, as follows:

(i) The sea-nymphs, which were divided into two classes—the Oceanides (ō-se-an´id-ēz), or Nymphs of the Ocean, who were daughters of Oceanus (ō-sē´an-us); and the Nereides (nē´re-id-ēz or nē-rē´id-ēz), or Nereids (nē´re-ids), the nymphs of the Mediterranean, who were the daughters of Nereus.

(ii) The nymphs of fresh-water (rivers, lakes, brooks or springs); called Naiades (nā´i-a-dēz), or Naiads (nā´yads).

(iii) Oreades (o-rē´ad-ēz), the nymphs of mountains and grottoes.

(iv) Napææ (na-pē´ē), the nymphs of glens.

(v) Dryades (drī´ad-ēz), or Dryads, and Hamadryades (ham-a-dri´ad-ēz), the nymphs of trees; these nymphs died with the trees that had been their abode, and with which they had come into existence.

Nysa (nī´sa).—A city in India, where Bacchus was brought up.

O

Oceanus (ō-sē´an-us).—Son of Heaven and Earth, the god of the water that was supposed to surround the whole earth, the husband of Tethys, and the father of all the river-gods and water-nymphs of the whole earth. The ancient Greeks imagined the earth to be flat and circular, and to be surrounded by a river, which flowed perpetually around it, and which they called Oceanus. It was the great Outward Sea, opposed to the Inward or Mediterranean.

Odhærir.—In Scandinavian mythology the mead or nectar made of Kvasir´s blood, kept in three jars. The second of these jars is called “Sohn,” and the third “Bohn.” Probably the nectar is the “spirit of poetry.”

Odin.—The king of gods and men, and the reputed progenitor of the Scandinavian kings. He corresponds both to the Jupiter and the Mars of classical mythology. As god of war, he holds his court in Valhalla, surrounded by all warriors who have fallen in battle, and attended by two wolves, to whom he gives his share of food; for he himself lives on wine alone. On his shoulders he carries two ravens, Hugin (mind) and Munin (memory), whom he dispatches every day to bring him news of all that is doing throughout the world. He has three great treasures, namely, Sleipnir, an eight-footed horse of marvelous swiftness; Gungnir, a spear, which never fails to strike what it is aimed at; and Draupnir, a magic ring, which every ninth night drops eight other rings of equal value. The German tribes worshiped Odin under the name of “Woden.” The fourth day of the week, Wednesday, was sacred to him.

Odur.—In Scandinavian mythology, husband of Freyja, whom he deserted. He abandoned his wife on her loss of youth and beauty, and was punished.

Odysseus (od-is´sūs).—The Greek form of Ulysses, king of Ithaca, whose return from Troy to Ithaca forms the subject of the Odyssey. See “[Ulysses].”

Œneus (ē´nūs).—King of Pleuron and Calydon, in Ætolia, husband of Althæa, and father of Meleager, Deianira, and other children. During his reign the boar that laid waste the lands of Calydon gave rise to the celebrated Calydonian boar hunt.

Œnone (ē-nō´nē).—Wife of Paris of Troy, before he carried off Helen.

Oileus (o-ī´lūs).—King of the Locrians, father of the lesser Ajax, and one of the Argonauts.

Olympia (o-lim´pi-a).—A plain in Elis, where the Olympian games were held. In the plain was the sacred grove of Jupiter, which contained the masterpiece of Greek art—the colossal statue of Jupiter by Phidias. The Olympic games were held every four years, this interval being called an Olympiad.

Olympus (o-lim´pus).—A mountain range on the boundary of Macedonia and Thessaly, of great height, and consequently regarded as the abode of the gods. Once the giants tried to reach heaven, and to do so piled Mount Pelion on Mount Ossa (both being high mountains in the neighborhood of Olympus); but Jupiter used his thunderbolts against them, and, with the assistance of Hercules, destroyed them all, and buried them under Mount Ætna.

Omphale (om´fa-lē).—A queen of Lydia, whom Hercules served as a slave a short time. She put on his lion´s skin, and carried his club, whilst he donned woman´s attire and spun wool.

Ops.—Wife of Saturn, the goddess of plenty and fertility, and especially the patroness of husbandry.

Oreades.—See “[Nymphæ].”

Orestes (o-res´tēz).—Son of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra, who, on the murder of Agamemnon, after his return from Troy, by Clytæmnestra and her paramour Ægisthus, was saved from the same fate by his sister Electra. He went to Strophius, king of Phocis, who was the husband of his aunt Anaxibia. Here he formed a memorable friendship with Pylades (pī´la-dēz), the king’s son. Later he avenged his father’s death by slaying his mother and Ægisthus; but was, in consequence, seized with madness and wandered from place to place. Apollo told him he could recover from his madness only by bringing the statue of Diana from the Tauric Chersonesus. Accordingly he set out, in company with his friend Pylades; but on their arrival they would have been sacrificed by the Tauri (q.v.) to Diana had not Orestes’ sister Iphigenia, who was the priestess of Diana, recognized him and intervened in time to save their lives. All three then escaped with the statue of the goddess. After this Orestes became king of Mycenæ, his father’s kingdom, and married the beautiful Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen (of Troy), after slaying [Neoptolemus] (q.v.).

Orion (o-rī´on).—A handsome giant and hunter. He was beloved by Diana, which so displeased Apollo that he asserted that she was unable to hit, with one of her arrows, a distant point he showed her in the sea. This point was the head of Orion, who was swimming in the sea. Thus Orion perished, and he was placed among the stars, where he appears as a giant with a girdle, sword, a lion’s skin, and a club.

Orlog.—A god of Norse fable personifying the eternal law of the universe, from whose decree there was no appeal.

Ormuzd.—The name of the supreme deity of the ancient Persians, and of their descendants, the Parsees and Ghebers. He is an embodiment of the principle of good, and was created by the will of the great eternal spirit, Zervan-Akharana, simultaneously with Ahriman, the principle of evil, with whom he is in perpetual conflict. Ormuzd is the creator of the earth, sun, moon, and stars, to each of which he originally assigned its proper place, and whose various movements he continues to regulate.

Orpheus (or´fe-us).—A pre-Homeric poet, son of Œagrus and Calliope, lived in Thrace, and accompanied the Argonauts in their celebrated expedition. He played so skillfully on the lyre, which had been presented to him by Apollo, and which he had been taught to play by the Muses, that not only were wild beasts made tame, but even the rocks and trees moved from their places to follow him. He married the nymph Eurydice (ū-rid´is-ē), who died from the bite of a snake. He followed her into the lower world, where his beautiful strains of music even suspended the punishment of the wicked. Pluto promised to yield back his wife to him on the condition that he did not look back until he arrived in the upper world again. At the very moment, however, of passing the fatal bounds, Orpheus glanced back to see if she were following him, and just beheld her snatched back into the infernal regions. His grief for the loss of Eurydice was such that he treated all the Thracian women with contempt, and they in revenge, during the Bacchanalian orgies, tore him to pieces.

Ortygia (or-tij´i-a).—The ancient name of Delos, where Apollo and Diana were born.

Osiris (o-sī´ris).—A great deity of the Egyptians, husband of Isis. The ancients differ in opinion concerning this celebrated god, but they all agree that as ruler of Egypt he took care to civilize his subjects, to improve their morals, to give them good and salutary laws, and to teach them agriculture. He was worshiped under the form of an ox.

Ossa (os’sa).—A celebrated mountain in the northeast of Thessaly, near Mount Olympus. When the giants tried to scale heaven, they heaped Pelion, another mountain, on Ossa in order to reach the lofty mount Olympus, on the top of which Jupiter and the other gods dwelt.

P

Pæan (pē´an)—lit. “physician” (Gr.).—The name of the physician of the gods. Later the name was transferred to Apollo, and afterwards it was applied to a choral song, hymn or chant addressed to Apollo, and also to a war song before battle or after a victory.

Pagasæ (pag´a-sē), or Pagasa.—A maritime town of Thessaly, where the Argo (see “[Argonautæ]”) was built.

Paimosaid.—In American Indian myths a walking thief, especially one who walks through cornfields about harvest time to pluck the ears of maize or corn.

Palæmon (pal-ē´mon).—A sea-god; originally called [Melicerta] (q.v.).

Palamedes (pal-a-mē´dēz).—Son of Mauplius, and one of the Greek heroes who sailed against Troy. Having exposed [Ulysses] (q.v.) when he feigned madness in order to avoid going to Troy, the latter, who was famous for his craft, revenged himself by contriving to get a letter, purporting to be written by Priam, king of Troy, concealed under Palamedes’ bed. Ulysses then accused Palamedes of treachery, the fatal letter apparently established the charge, and Palamedes was stoned to death by the Greeks. Palamedes is credited with having added four letters—θ, ξ, χ, φ—to the original Greek alphabet of Cadmus, and also with the invention of quoits, dice, lighthouses, measures, scales, etc.

Pales (pal´ēz).—The Roman protecting deity of flocks and shepherds.

Palici (pal-ī´sī).—Twin sons of Jupiter and the nymph Thalia. They were worshiped in Sicily, in the neighborhood of Mount Ætna.

Palinurus (pal-i-nū´rus).—The pilot of Æneas, who fell into the sea off the west coast of Lucania.

Palladium (pal-lad´i-um).—Properly any statue of Pallas—i. e. Minerva; but the Palladium was an ancient image of the goddess at Troy, on the preservation of which the safety of the city was supposed to depend. Ulysses and Diomedes succeeded in carrying it off and afterwards took it to Greece. See “[Troy].”

Pallas (pal´las).—The Greek name of [Minerva] (q.v.).

Pan.—The chief god of shepherds and flocks; son of Mercury, and the inventor of the syrinx or shepherd’s flute. He was also god of woods, in which he dwelt, and occasionally appeared suddenly before travelers, whose consequent fright was hence called “Panic fear.” Pan is usually represented as a being with horns, puck-nose and goat’s legs and feet.

Pandarus (pan´da-rus).—A celebrated archer in the Trojan army.

Pandora (pan-dō´ra)—lit. “giver of all” (Gr.).—A beautiful woman, made by Vulcan at Jupiter’s command, who received presents from the gods—hence her name. She was the first woman on earth, and was designed to work the ruin of man in revenge for Prometheus having stolen fire from heaven and thus benefited mankind against the will of Jupiter. Venus adorned her with beauty, Mercury endowed her with boldness and cunning, and the gods, each and all, provided her with a combination of destructive powers wherewith to work out the ruin of man. Thus provided, Mercury took her to Epimetheus (i. e. afterthought), who made her his wife, forgetting, till too late, that his brother Prometheus (i. e. forethought) had strictly enjoined him not to receive any gifts from the gods. Pandora brought with her from heaven a box containing every human ill, which, with feminine curiosity, she opened, and out of it they all flew, to afflict mankind, Hope alone remaining.

Paphos (paf´os).—A town in Cyprus; the chief seat of the worship of Venus.

Parcæ (par´sē).—The Fates; called by the Greeks Moiræ (moy´rē).—They were three in number; and their names were:

(i) Clotho (klō´tho), the spinner of the thread of life.

(ii) Lachesis (lak´e-sis), the disposer of lots in life.

(iii) Atropos (at´ro-pos)—lit. “the inflexible”—the fate that cannot be avoided. To these mighty goddesses both gods and men must submit. Sometimes Atropos is represented as cutting the thread of life spun by Clotho.

Paris, usually called Alexander (lit. “defending men”) in the Iliad. The second son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba. He was brought up on Mount Ida by a shepherd, who gave him the name Paris. He was afterwards called Alexander on account of the bravery he displayed in defending the flocks and shepherds. He married Œnone (ē-nō´nē), the daughter of the river-god Cebren. He soon deserted her, however, in the following manner: At the marriage of Peleus and the Nereid Thetis all the gods, with the single exception of the goddess of Discord, were invited. Annoyed at being thus passed over, she threw among the guests a golden apple—usually called the Apple of Discord—with the inscription, “To the fairest.” Three were claimants for it—Juno, Venus and Minerva. Jupiter ordered Mercury to take the three goddesses to Mount Ida, and submit the matter to the judgment of the shepherd Paris, hence giving rise to the celebrated “Judgment of Paris,” which has formed the subject of so many masterpieces of art. In order to influence him in their favor severally, Juno promised him the sovereignty of Asia, Minerva renown in war, and Venus the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife. Paris decided in favor of Venus, and awarded her the golden apple. He then, under the guidance of Venus, sailed for Greece, to the court of Menelaus, king of Sparta, whose wife, Helen, was the most beautiful of women. He succeeded in carrying Helen off, and so gave rise to the famous Trojan war, as all the chiefs in Greece joined with Menelaus in an expedition to fetch her back from Troy (see “[Helena]”). Paris fought with Menelaus before the walls of Troy, and would have been slain by him, had not Venus interposed and carried him off in a cloud. He was killed by the celebrated archer Philoctetes, who shot him with one of the poisoned arrows of Hercules. When wounded he returned to his long-neglected wife Œnone, and requested her to heal the wound; but she refused, and he died in consequence. Œnone soon repented, however, and put an end to her own life. During the Trojan war Paris killed [Achilles] (q.v.).

Parnassus (par-nas´sus).—A high mountain in Phocis (Greece), with two peaks, sacred to Apollo and the Muses. Near it was the town of Delphi; and on the mountain was the famous Castalian spring, also sacred to Apollo and the Muses, in which the Pythia, the priestess, at Delphi, used to bathe.

Parthenopæus (par´then-o-pē´us).—Son of Meleager and Atalanta, and one of the “Seven against Thebes.”

Parthenope (par-then´o-pē).—One of the [Sirens] (q.v.), and the name of an ancient city forming the site of the present city of Naples (Neapolis).

Pasiphae (pā-sif´a-ē).—Daughter of the Sun and Perseis, wife of Minos and mother of Androgeos, Ariadne and Phædra; also of the Minotaur (see “[Minos]”).

Patroclus (pa-trok´lus).—The beloved friend of Achilles. Whilst Achilles remained inactive during part of the Trojan war, Patroclus was allowed by Achilles to lead the latter’s Myrmidons against the Trojans at a critical time. Achilles, in order to enhance the effect, equipped him with his own armor and arms. Patroclus, whom the Trojans supposed to be Achilles himself, drove them back to the walls of Troy, where, however, he was slain by Hector. To avenge his death, Achilles quickly reappeared in the field, and slew Hector in single combat.

Pauguk.—Name given to the great power, death, in American Indian mythology.

Pau-Puk-Keewis.—In American Indian folk-lore a mischievous magician, who is pursued by Hiawatha, goes through a series of wonderful transformations in his endeavors to escape, and finally becomes an eagle.

Peboan.—In American Indian folk-lore the personification of winter in form of a great giant who shook the snow from his hair and turned water into stone by his breath.

Pegasus (peg´a-sus).—The winged horse which sprang from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa, when her head was struck off by [Perseus] (q.v.). It was named Pegasus from the springs of Ocean, near which Medusa was killed. With a blow of his hoof he caused the fountain of the Muses (Hippocrene) to spring from Mount Helicon. Bellerophon rode him when he slew the Chimæra (ki-mē´ra).

Peleus (pē´lūs).—Son of Æacus, king of the Myrmidons in Thessaly, husband of Thetis and father of Achilles. The Nereid Thetis, who was his second wife, had the power, possessed also by Proteus, of assuming any form she pleased, a power she exercised in order to escape from Peleus. But the latter, having been taught by Chiron, held the goddess fast till she promised to marry him. At their marriage all the gods, save one, were present, and the uninvited one, the goddess of strife, threw the celebrated golden apple among the guests (see “[Paris]”). Peleus survived the death of his famous son Achilles.

Pelias (pe´li-as).—King of Ioclus, in Thessaly. In order to get rid of his nephew Jason, who claimed the throne, he sent him to fetch the golden fleece, thus giving rise to the celebrated expedition of the Argonauts (see [837] “[Argonautæ]”). When Jason returned with Medea, the latter persuaded the daughters of Pelias to cut him in pieces and boil him, with the idea of thus restoring him to youth and vigor. In this way he perished. See “[Jason].”

Pelion (pē´li-on).—A lofty range of well-wooded mountains in Thessaly. The giants heaped it on Mount Ossa, in their attempt to scale heaven (see “[Ossa]” and “[Olympus]”). The Centaur Chiron dwelt in a cave near its summit. The Argo (see “[Argonautæ]”) was built from timber felled here.

Pelops (pē´lops).—Son of Tantalus, king of Phrygia, father of Atreus and Thyestes, grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus. When a boy he was cut in pieces and boiled to make a savory dish to set before the gods, whom Tantalus, the favorite of the gods, had invited to a repast; but the gods would not touch it, and ordered Mercury to again put him into a caldron, whereby he was restored to life. Being driven out of Phrygia, he went to Elis, a province of Peloponnesus, and there obtained the hand of Hippodamia, daughter of King Œnomaus, whom he succeeded on the throne. He afterwards became so powerful that the whole peninsula was called after him “the island of Pelops.” In order to gain Hippodamia (hip-po-da-mī´a) he had first to engage in a chariot race with Œnomaus (ē-nom´a-us), a condition which the latter imposed on every suitor for his daughter’s hand, as an oracle had declared that he would be killed by his son-in-law. His horses being swifter than those of any mortal, many a suitor had suffered death, the stipulated penalty of defeat. Pelops, however, bribed Myrtilus, the charioteer of Œnomaus, to remove the linchpins of his master’s chariot, the bribe being the promise of half the kingdom. In the race the wheels of Œnomaus’ chariot soon came off, and Œnomaus was thrown out, and killed. Pelops thus gained Hippodamia, but was unwilling to keep faith with Myrtilus, whom he threw from a cliff into the sea.

Penates (pē-nā´tēz).—Old Latin guardian deities both of a household and of the state. The images of these gods were kept in the penetralia (pen-e-trā´li-a)—that is, the innermost or central part of the house. The [Lares] (q.v.) formed part of the Penates. On the hearth a perpetual fire was kept up in their honor, and the table, which was also sacred to them, always contained the salt-cellar and offerings of first fruits for them.

Penelope (pe-nel´o-pē).—The wife of Ulysses; celebrated for her constancy to her husband during his twenty years’ absence from Ithaca. She was the daughter of Icarius and Peribœa, of Sparta, and was won by Ulysses in the following way: Her father promised her to the suitor who should win a foot-race; but when Ulysses was the successful competitor her father tried to persuade her not to leave him. Ulysses left her free to act as she pleased in the matter, whereupon she covered her face with her veil to hide her blushes, and thus intimated that she preferred to accompany him as her husband. By Ulysses she became the mother of an only child, Telemachus. During Ulysses’ long absence she was the object of much undesired attention on the part of a host of importunate suitors, who declared that Ulysses must surely be dead. Penelope at last promised to make a selection of one of their number to be her husband as soon as she had finished a robe she was making for Ulysses’ aged father, Laërtes (lā-er´tēz). This was only a ruse (generally referred to as “Penelope’s web”), however, to put them off, as she undid every night the work done during the day. At last the secret was betrayed by one of her servants, and she was importuned more than ever. Ulysses now arrived home after twenty years’ absence at Troy and his subsequent celebrated wanderings, and came at first disguised as a beggar to see how the land lay. Having soon ascertained his wife’s noble fidelity, he still further tested her by getting her to promise her hand to the suitor who could draw his bow. This none of them could do, so Ulysses took it up and slew them all. He then made himself known to Penelope, and went to see his aged father.

Peneus (pē-nē´us).—The principal river of Thessaly, which flows in the valley of Tempe, between Mount Pelion and Mount Ossa, into the sea; also the river-god, who was the father of Daphne and Cyrene.

Penthesilea (pen-thes-i-lē´a).—The young and beautiful queen of the Amazons, who fought against the Greeks before Troy, and was slain by Achilles.

Pentheus (pen´thūs).—Grandson of Cadmus, whom he succeeded as king of Thebes. He was opposed to the introduction of the worship of Bacchus into his kingdom, and in consequence was torn to pieces by his mother and her sisters, who in their Bacchic frenzy imagined him to be a wild beast.

Perdix (per´diks).—The nephew of [Dædalus] (q.v.), the inventor of the chisel, saw, compasses, etc.

Peri.—Peris are delicate, gentle, fairy-like beings of eastern mythology, begotten by fallen spirits. They direct with a wand the pure in mind the way to heaven. These lovely creatures, according to the Koran, are under the sovereignty of Eblis; and Mohammed was sent for their conversion, as well as for that of man.

Persephone (per-sef´on-ē).—The Greek name for [Proserpina] (q.v.).

Perseus (per´sūs).—Son of Jupiter and [Danaë] (q.v.). His most heroic deed was the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa, which he accomplished in the following manner: With the aid of Mercury and Minerva he possessed himself of the winged sandals, the magic wallet, and the helmet of Pluto, which rendered the wearer invisible, and further received from Mercury a sickle, and from Minerva a mirror. Thus provided, he rose into the air and made his way to the abode of the Gorgons. He found them asleep, and cut off with the sickle the head of Medusa, looking at her terrible form in the mirror, as a single glance would have immediately changed him into stone. Perseus placed her head in the magic wallet, which he carried on his back, and escaped in safety from the pursuit of the two other Gorgons, the helmet rendering him invisible. He then proceeded to Æthiopia, where he slew the sea-monster, and saved and married the beautiful [Andromeda] (q.v.). The latter having been previously promised, however, to her uncle Phineus, he and several armed companions made their appearance at the nuptials, and endeavored to carry off the bride; but Perseus brought out Medusa’s head, and they were all turned into stone. Perseus afterwards gave the head of Medusa to Minerva, who placed it in the middle of her breastplate or shield. In fulfillment of the oracle he accidentally killed his grandfather Acrisius (q.v.) with a quoit. He is said to have founded Mycenæ.

Phæaces (fē-ā´sēz).—A fabulous people represented in the Odyssey as inhabiting the island of Scheria (afterwards Corcyra; now Corfu), and famous as sailors. Alcinous (q.v.) was their king.

Phaethon (fā´e-thon)—lit. “the shining” (Gr.).—Son of the sungod (Apollo) and Clymene (klī´men-ē). Having obtained permission from his father to drive the chariot of the sun across the heavens for one day, he drove so near the earth that he almost set it on fire, his strength being insufficient to keep the horses in the right track. Consequently Jupiter hurled him down with a thunderbolt into the river Padus (Po).

Phaon (fā´ōn).—A boatman at Mytilene, who, originally an ugly old man, was made young and handsome by Venus, whom he had carried across the sea without payment. Sappho (q.v.) thus fell in love with him, and, on her love not being returned, threw herself into the sea.

Philoctetes (fil-ok-tē´tēz).—A very famous archer, a friend of Hercules, who gave him at his death the poisoned arrows without which Troy could not be taken. In the tenth year of the Trojan war he was specially fetched from Lemnos, where he had been detained by a wound, by Ulysses and Diomedes. On arriving at Troy, Æsculapius or his sons cured his wound. He slew Paris and other Trojans.

Phlegethon (fleg´e-thon)—lit. “the blazing” (Gr.).—A river in the lower world, which ran with fire instead of water.

Phœbe (fē´bē).—A feminine form of Phœbus (lit. “the bright one”); applied to Diana, the sister of Apollo, as the goddess of the moon.

Phœbus (fē´bus)—lit. “the bright one” (Gr.).—An epithet applied to Apollo as the god of the sun. See “[Apollo].”

Phœnix (fē´nix).—(i) A fabulous bird described as being as large as an eagle; its head finely crested with a beautiful plumage, its neck covered with gold-colored feathers, its tail white, and its body purple or crimson. (ii) Son of Amyntor, the teacher of Achilles, and his companion during the Trojan war.

Phorcys (for´sis), or Phorcus (for´kus).—A sea-god, father of the Gorgons and of the Grææ.

Phrixus (frix´us).—Son of Athamas and Nephele. Athamas having neglected Nephele (nef´el-ë), and married Ino, the latter persuaded him to sacrifice Nephele’s son Phrixus to Jupiter. Nephele, however, enabled her two children, Phrixus and Helle, to escape by means of a ram with golden fleece, the gift of Mercury, which carried them through the air. Helle fell into the sea (see “[Helle]”), but Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis, the kingdom of [Æëtes] (q.v.). Here he sacrificed the ram to Jupiter, and gave its golden fleece to Æëtes, who suspended it to an oak tree in the grove of Mars. To fetch this golden fleece the famous expedition of the Argonauts (see “[Argonautæ]”) was undertaken.

Picus (pī´kus).—Son of Saturn and father of Faunus. He was changed by Circe into a woodpecker, because he did not requite her love. The Romans regarded the woodpecker as a prophetic bird, sacred to Mars.

Pieria (pī-er´i-a).—A district of Macedonia, in the north of Greece; celebrated as one of the earliest seats of the worship of the Muses, who are hence called Pierides (pī-er´id-ēz). Hence the following lines:—

“A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.”
Pope’s Essay on Criticism.

Pirene (pī-rē´nē).—A noted fountain at Corinth, at which Bellerophon caught Pegasus.

Pirithous (pī-rith´o-us).—Son of Ixion, whom he succeeded as king of the Lapithæ; famous for his friendship with Theseus. When Pirithous was invading Attica he was opposed by Theseus, king of Athens, for whom he soon conceived feelings of admiration, which afterwards deepened into a lasting friendship. At the marriage of Pirithous with Hippodamia (hip-po-da-mī´a) the bride was seized by a drunken Centaur, and thus arose the celebrated fight between the Centaurs and [Lapithæ] (q.v.), in which, with the assistance of Theseus, Pirithous and the Lapithæ came off victorious. On the death of Hippodamia, Pirithous conceived the bold project of carrying off Proserpine, wife of Pluto. Accordingly the two friends descended into the lower world, but were seized by Pluto and chained to a rock, where they both remained till Hercules visited that region. Hercules then delivered Theseus, who was suffering punishment merely on account of his friendship for Pirithous; but the latter he left to his fate.

Pleiades (plē´ya-dēz).—The seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione (plē´yo-nē).—They were the virgin companions of Diana, and when pursued by Orion were changed into doves and placed among the stars.

Pluto (plū´tō).—The god of the nether world; originally called Hades (hā´dēz), the name Pluto (lit. “wealth”) being applied to him because corn, the wealth of early times, was sent from beneath the earth as his gift. He was the son of Saturn and Rhea, brother of Jupiter and Neptune, and the husband of Proserpine. He possessed a celebrated helmet, which rendered the wearer invisible, and which [Perseus] (q.v.) borrowed when he went to slay the Gorgon Medusa. Black sheep were sacrificed to him. Pluto was also called Dis (dīs) and Orcus (or´-kus).

Plutus (plū´tus).—The god of wealth; represented as blind.

Pluvius (plū´vi-us)—lit. “rain-bringing” (Lat.).—A surname of Jupiter, to whom sacrifices were offered in times of drought. See “[Jupiter].”

Pollux.—See “[Castor].”

Polyhymnia.—See “[Musæ].”

Polyphemus (pol-i-fē´mus).—Son of Neptune; was one of the celebrated Cyclops living in Sicily. He was a huge monster, having but one eye in the center of his forehead, and ate human flesh. Being rejected by the nymph Galatea in favor of Acis, he crushed the latter under an enormous rock. Ulysses, during his wanderings on his journey homeward after the fall of Troy, was driven upon Sicily, and at once seized by Polyphemus, who shut him and his companions in the great cave in which he dwelt. In the evening he drove his flock into the cave, closed the mouth of the cave with a heavy rock, and ate two of Ulysses’ companions for his supper. The next morning he led his sheep out to pasture, closing the mouth of the cave after him. The wily Ulysses then contrived and successfully carried out the following plan of escape: When the monster returned in the evening, Ulysses offered him some wine he had brought with him, and gave him enough to make him intoxicated. Polyphemus asked Ulysses his name, and the latter gave that of Noman. The giant then fell asleep, whereupon Ulysses and his companions, having made everything ready, bored out his eye with a red-hot piece of timber. Polyphemus roared out, and the other Cyclops dwelling on the island came to the mouth of the cave and inquired what was the matter; Polyphemus replied that no man had injured him, whereupon they all went away. Even now, however, Ulysses could not escape, the cave being closed by such a heavy rock, and had to wait till the following morning. Polyphemus then removed the rock, but sat by the opening and felt the back of each sheep as it passed out. Ulysses, whose name is synonymous with craft itself, had foreseen this, however, and he and his six companions safely passed out by clinging to the wool on the bellies of the sheep. They then made their way to their ships, and quickly put out from the shore. When a little way out Ulysses derided Polyphemus, whereupon the latter threw several immense rocks after him, one of which nearly struck his ship. See Odyssey, Book IX.

Polyxena (pol-ix´en-a).—Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was beloved by Achilles, and sacrificed at the grave of the latter by his son Pyrrhus.

Pomona (pō-mō´na).—The goddess of fruit and fruit trees. Her name is derived from Lat. pomum, fruit (of any kind).

Ponemah.—In American Indian mythology the name of the land of the future life, or the spirit land.

Portunus (por-tū´nus), or Portumnus (por-tum´nus).—The protecting god of harbors.

Poseidon (po-sī´don).—See “[Neptune].”

Priam (prī´am).—Son of Laomedon, the famous king of Troy at the time of the Trojan war. The name Priam (Gr.) means the Chief, or Leader. He was the husband of Hecuba, and the father of Paris, Hector, Deiphobus, Cassandra, Polyxena, etc. On the capture of Troy he was slain by Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles.

Priapus (pri-ā´pus).—Son of Bacchus and Venus. The god of fruitfulness in general, and the protector of flocks of sheep and goats, of bees, of the vine, and of all garden produce.

Procas (prō´kas).—King of Alba Longa, and father of Numitor and Amulius.

Procne (prok´nē).—Sister of Philomela (q.v.).

Procris (prō´kris).—Wife of [Cephalus] (q.v.).

Procrustes (prō-krus´tēz)—lit. “the Stretcher” (Gr.).—The name of a famous robber of Greece, who used to make all his captives fit into his iron bed, either by cutting pieces off their legs if they were too long, or by stretching them out if they were too short. He was slain by Theseus.

Prometheus (pro-mē´thūs)—lit. “Forethought” (Gr.).—Son of the Titan Iapetos, brother of Epimetheus (ep-i-mē´thūs), or “After-thought.” The great benefactor of mankind, in spite of Jupiter. He stole fire from Olympus (heaven), and was the inventor of many arts, especially of working in metal and clay, whence he is said to have made man from clay. As a set-off against these advantages, Jupiter gave [Pandora] (q.v.) to Epimetheus. He also chained Prometheus to a rock, where in the daytime an eagle consumed his liver, which grew again during each succeeding night. From this perpetual torture he was delivered by Hercules, who killed the eagle.

Proserpina (pro-ser´pin-a); usually called Proserpine (pros´er-pīn); called by the Greeks Persephone (per-sef´on-ē).—Daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, and queen of the lower world. Her father, unknown to her mother, promised her to Pluto, who carried her off by causing the earth to open beneath her as she was gathering flowers. In consequence of this, Ceres did not allow the earth to bring forth any fruits, and Jupiter was obliged to send Mercury into the lower world to fetch Proserpine back. Pluto allowed her to go, but first gave her a pomegranate to eat. Having thus eaten in the lower world, she was obliged to spend one-third of the year with Pluto, remaining during the other two-thirds with her mother (see “[Ceres]”). Pluto and Proserpine ruled over the souls of the dead in the lower world.

Proteus (prō´tūs).—A sea-god who had the power of assuming any form he pleased. He tended the flocks (seals) of Neptune, and at midday rose from the sea and slept in the shade of the rocks. At such times he was much sought after, his prophetic powers being highly valued. When seized by the person wishing to consult him, he, in order to escape, assumed several different shapes in succession; but, if firmly held, he speedily returned to his original form, and prophesied.

Psyche (si´kē)—lit. “the soul” (Gr.).—The following beautiful story shows in an allegorical manner how the human soul is purified by misfortunes and prepared for the enjoyment of true and lasting happiness hereafter: Psyche was the youngest and most beautiful of the three daughters of a king, and by her beauty excited the jealousy of Venus. The goddess consequently ordered Cupid to inspire her with love for some utterly unworthy object; but instead of doing this Cupid himself fell in love with her. He accordingly visited her every night, leaving her always at daybreak. Her jealous sisters, however, made her believe that her midnight lover was a monster, and accordingly she one night brought a lamp while Cupid was asleep, and was astonished to behold the lovely god. In her excitement she let fall a drop of hot oil on the shoulder of Cupid, and so awoke him. He blamed her for her mistrust, and fled. In misery Psyche now wandered from temple to temple, inquiring after her lover, and at length came to the palace of Venus. Here she was treated with great severity and compelled to perform hard and menial tasks, which would have overcome her had not Cupid secretly and invisibly sustained her. At length she overcame the jealousy [839] of Venus, and, becoming immortal, was united to Cupid forever. In works of art Psyche is represented as a maiden with the wings of a butterfly.

Pukwana.—The smoke from the calumet or peace pipe among American Indians. The pipe was made from stone found near the headwaters of the Mississippi. A quarry, located near the mountains, was famous among the Indians, who had made the adjacent territory neutral ground. Here they came and provided themselves with pipes. To apply the stone to any other use than that of pipe-making would have been sacrilege in their mind. From the color, they even fancied it to have been made, at the great deluge, out of the flesh of the perishing Indian.

Puk-Wudjies.—The pygmies of American Indian folklore; little wild men of the woods.

Pygmalion (pig-mā´li-on).—King of Cyprus, who became enamored of an ivory statue which he had made. Venus having answered his prayer to her to breathe life into it, he married the maiden.

Pylades (pi´la-dēz).—Nephew of Agamemnon, and celebrated as the friend of [Orestes] (q.v.). He married Electra, the sister of Orestes.

Pyramus (pī´ra-mus).—The lover of [Thisbe] (q.v.).

Pyrrhus (pir´us).—See “[Neoptolemus].”

Python (pi´thon).—The famous serpent produced from the mud left after the subsidence of the deluge of Deucalion. It was slain near Delphi by Apollo, who founded the Pythian games to commemorate the victory.

Q

Quirinus (kwi-rī´nus).—The name of Romulus after his deification.

R

Rachaders.—In Indian mythology the second tribe of giants or evil genii, who had frequently made the earth subject to their kings, but were ultimately punished by Siva and Vishnu.

Radegaste.—In Slavonic mythology a tutelary god of the Slavi. The head was that of a cow, the breast was covered with an ægis, the left hand held a spear, and a cock surmounted its helmet.

Ragnarök (twilight of the gods).—The day of doom, when the present world and all its inhabitants will be annihilated. Vidar and Vali will survive the conflagration, and reconstruct the universe. In Scandinavian mythology the belief is taught that after this time the earth or realm will become imperishable and happiness sure.

Rahu.—In Hindu mythology the demon that causes eclipses. One day Rahu stole into Valhalla to quaff some of the nectar of immortality. He was discovered by the Sun and Moon, who informed against him, and Vishnu cut off his head. As he had already taken some of the nectar into his mouth, the head was immortal; and he ever afterward hunted the Sun and Moon, which he caught occasionally, causing eclipses.

Rakshas.—Evil spirits in Hindu myths, who guard the treasure of Kuvera, the god of riches. They haunt cemeteries and devour human beings; assume any shape at will, and their strength increases as the day declines. Some are hideously ugly, but others, especially the female spirits, allure by their beauty.

Ravana.—According to Indian mythology, was fastened down between heaven and earth for ten thousand years by Siva’s leg, for attempting to move the hill of heaven to Ceylon. He is described as a demon giant with ten faces.

Ravens.—According to an oracle from the gods, delivered at ancient Athens, ravens prognosticate famine and death because they bear the characteristics of Saturn, the author of these calamities, and have a very early perception of the malign influence of that planet.

Remus (rē´mus).—The brother of [Romulus] (q.v.).

Rhadamanthus (rad-a-man´thus).—Son of Jupiter and Europa, and brother of Minos. He was one of the three judges in the lower world, the other two being Æacus and Minos.

Rhea (rē´a).—See “[Cybele].”

Rhea Silvia (rē´a sil´vi-a).—Daughter of Numitor, and mother of Romulus and Remus.

Rhesus (rē´sus).—A Thracian prince, who went to the assistance of Troy. As an oracle had declared that Troy would never be taken if the snow-white horses of Rhesus once drank of the Xanthus and fed on the grass of the Trojan plain. Diomedes and Ulysses slew Rhesus on the night of his arrival on Trojan territory, and carried off his horses.

Rhodope (rod´o-pē).—A lofty mountain range in Thrace, which, like the rest of Thrace, was sacred to Bacchus.

Romulus (rom´u-lus).—The founder and first king of Rome; twin-brother of Remus, son of Silvia by Mars. Silvia was the daughter of Numitor and a vestal virgin, hence the twins were condemned to be thrown into the Tiber. This was done; but the cradle stranded, and they were suckled by a she-wolf. They were afterwards found by Faustulus, the shepherd of king Amulius, who handed them over to the care of his wife Acca Larentia. When grown up, they decided to found a city on the Tiber; but in a dispute as to the site, Romulus killed Remus. When the city was built, it was found that women were very scarce. Romulus accordingly proclaimed that games were to be celebrated, and invited his neighbors, the Latins and Sabines, to the festival, during which the Roman youths carried off the maidens—this being generally referred to as “The Rape of the Sabine Women.” Hence arose a war between the two peoples, which was brought to a termination by the Sabine women rushing in between the armies and praying them to be reconciled. After a reign of thirty-seven years, Romulus was taken up to heaven by his father Mars in a fiery chariot. He was then worshiped by the Romans as Quirinus (kwi-rī´nus).

S

Saga.—Goddess of history in Scandinavian mythology.

Salamander.—A fabulous animal supposed by the ancients to live in and have the quality of eating fire.

Salmoneus (sal-mō´nūs).—Son of Æolus and brother of Sisyphus. He presumed to imitate the thunder and lightning of Jupiter, and was consequently hurled down to Tartarus with a thunderbolt by the father of the gods.

Sarpedon (sar-pē´don).—(i) Son of Jupiter and Europa, king of the Lycians. Jupiter granted him the privilege of living three generations. (ii) Grandson of the preceding; assisted the Trojans in the Trojan war, but was slain by Patroclus.

Saturnus (sā-tur´nus); usually called Saturn (sat´urn); called by the Greeks Cronos.—A mythical king of Italy, whose reign was the “golden age.” He was the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gæa (Earth), the husband of Rhea, and the father of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Neptune, etc. He was the god of agriculture and of civilization in general. He was dethroned from the government of the world by his son Jupiter. His temple in Rome was used as the state treasury.

Satyri (sat´er-ī), or Satyrs (sat´erz).—A kind of wood-deities, resembling apes, with two goats-feet, and very lascivious. The older Satyrs were generally called Sileni (sī-lē´nī), and the younger ones Satyrisci. They were described as fond of wine, sleep, and music.

Scamander (ska-man´der).—A celebrated river near Troy.

Scamandrius (ska-man´dri-us), or Scamander.—Son of Hector and Andromache (an-drom´a-kē), whom the Trojans called [Astyanax] (q.v.).

Sciron (sĩ´ron).—A famous robber of Attica, slain by Theseus. He compelled those he robbed to wash his feet on the Scironian rock (which was named after him), and at the completion of the process kicked them over the rock into the sea. At the base of the rock was a tortoise, which devoured them.

Scylla (sill´a), and Charybdis (ka-rib´dis).—The names of two rocks, opposite to one another, between Italy and Sicily. In the one nearest to Italy was a cave in which dwelt Scylla, who was a terrible creature (female) with six long necks and heads, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth, twelve feet, and barking like a dog. On the opposite rock, Charybdis, dwelt a being of the same name under an immense fig tree. Thrice a day she swallowed the waters of the sea and thrice threw them up again. Between these rocks, Scylla and Charybdis, the sea was very narrow and very dangerous. Hence mariners had to exercise great vigilance lest while avoiding Scylla they did not fall on Charybdis. This last expression is often used in speaking of cases where a middle course has to be carefully steered between two threatening difficulties.

Scyros (sī´ros).—An island in the Ægean Sea, near Eubœa. Here Achilles—at the court of King Lycomedes—was concealed, dressed as a woman, by his mother Thetis, in order to prevent his going to the Trojan war.

Sedrat.—The lotus tree which stands on the right hand side of the invisible throne of Allah. Its branches extend wider than the distance between heaven and earth. Its leaves resemble the ears of an elephant. Each seed of its fruit incloses an houri; and two rivers issue from its roots. Numberless birds sing among its branches, and numberless angels rest beneath its shade.

SCENES FROM THE STORY OF PSYCHE AND VENUS

PSYCHE’S PARENTS CONSULT THE ORACLE	A ZEPHYR BORE PSYCHE FROM THE EARTH

BURNING OIL FELL ON CUPID’S SHOULDER	A FISHERMAN SHELTERS PSYCHE	SHE OPENED THE BOX

PSYCHE’S SISTERS ASKED WHAT SORT OF A PERSON HER HUSBAND WAS

VENUS AND PSYCHE BECOME RECONCILED	“DRINK THIS, PSYCHE, AND BE IMMORTAL”

THE MARRIAGE OF CUPID AND PSYCHE

This symbolical picture represents the conscious union of the Soul of Man, figured as a young girl (Psyche), with the divine Spirit of Love (Cupid). Their starry or celestial environment signifies the emergence of the soul from matter into a permanent, uninterrupted or eternal life. The beautiful Greek story as a whole is simply an allegory describing the fall of the soul of man into earthly conditions; the labors and pains there undergone in order that, refined and redeemed, it may once more be raised into the heavenly world.

Semele (sem´el-ē).—Daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, and mother, by Jupiter, of Bacchus. Juno, actuated by jealousy, persuaded her to ask Jupiter to appear before her in his terrible majesty as king of heaven. Having promised to grant whatever she desired, Jupiter did so; but warned her of the danger she would incur. The result was that she was consumed by the lightning; but Jupiter saved her child Bacchus.

Serapis (se-rā´pis).—An Egyptian divinity (male), whose worship was introduced into Rome, together with that of Isis, toward the end of the republic.

Seven Sages.—Same as [Seven Wise Men of Greece] (q.v.).

Seven Wise Men of Greece.—The title applied to seven Greeks of the sixth century B. C., who were distinguished for their practical wisdom and their terse maxims or principles of life. Their names are as follows: Bias, Chilo, Cleobulus, Periander (in place of whom some give Epimenides), Pittacus, Solon and Thales. They were the authors of the following famous mottoes, inscribed in later times in the temple of Apollo at Delphi: “Most men are bad,” Bias; “Consider the end,” Chilo; “Avoid excess,” Cleobulus; “Nothing is impossible to industry,” Periander; “Know thy opportunity,” Pittacus; “Know thyself,” Solon; “Suretyship is the precursor of ruin,” Thales.

Seven Wonders of the World.—A name applied to seven very remarkable objects of the ancient world. They are usually given as follows:

(i) The Pyramids of Egypt.

(ii) The Pharos (fā´ros) of Alexandria, which was a lofty lighthouse built by Ptolemy II. on the island of the same name, just opposite to Alexandria and united to it by a mole.

(iii) The walls and hanging gardens of Babylon. The walls are described under “Ninus.” The hanging gardens of Nebuchadnezzar were laid out upon terraces, which were raised one above another on arches.

(iv) The Temple of Diana at Ephesus.

(v) The colossal statue of the Olympian Jupiter by Phidias. It was made of ivory and gold, and the god was represented as seated on a throne of cedar wood, adorned with gold, ivory, ebony and precious stones.

(vi) The mausoleum of Artemisia.

(vii) The Colossus of Rhodes.

Sibyllæ (si-bil´lē), or Sibyls.—Prophetesses, supposed to be ten in number. The most famous of them is the Cumæan, who was consulted by Æneas before he descended into the lower world and gave him the sop to throw to Cerberus, which, when he had devoured it, threw him into a deep sleep and so enabled Æneas to slip by.

Sichæus (si-kē´us).—Dido’s uncle and husband; often called Acerbas. He was murdered by Pygmalion, Dido’s brother.

Silenus (si-lē´nus).—A name specially applied to a [satyr] (q.v.) who brought up and instructed Bacchus and was his constant companion. He is described as a bald-headed, jovial old man, generally intoxicated, and hence unable to trust his own legs to carry him safely. He generally rode on an ass. He possessed prophetic powers, which he could be made to exercise by surrounding him with chains of flowers while he was drunk and asleep.

Silvanus (sil-vā´nus).—A Latin deity presiding over woods and forests.

Sinon (sin´on).—Son of Æsimus, who allowed the Trojans to take him prisoner, and then persuaded them to take the famous wooden horse into their city. See “[Troy].”

Sirenes (sī-rē´nēz), or Sirens (si´renz).—Sea nymphs, three in number, who had the power of enticing mariners to their destruction on dangerous rocks by their sweet music. In order to get his ship away in safety from them, Ulysses stuffed the ears of his companions with wax and then tied himself to the mast of the vessel, and did not release himself till he could no longer hear their charming voices. They dwelt on an island near the southwest coast of Italy.

Sisyphus (sis´i-fus).—Son of Æolus and king of Corinth; notorious for his avarice and deceit. His punishment in the lower world was to roll to the top of a hill a huge marble block, which no sooner reached the top than it rolled down again: hence a never-ending punishment.

Siva.—The third of the Hindu triad of divinities, who, among a thousand names, bears also that of Mahadeva. The greatest confusion exists as to his attributes; now he is said to be the destroyer, and now the creative principle.

Somnus (som´nus).—The god of sleep; was a son of Night and a brother of Death.

Soracte (sō-rak´tē).—A high mountain, near the Tiber, in Etruria, on the summit of which was a temple of Apollo.

Specter of the Brocken.—Among German myths, a singular colossal apparition seen in the clouds, at certain times of the day, by those who ascend the Brocken, or Blocksberg, the highest peak of the Hartz mountains.

Sphinx (sfingks).—A she-monster, who proposed a riddle to the Thebans, and murdered all who failed to guess it (see “[Œdipus”]). In works of art she is represented with a woman’s bust on the body of a lioness. The word Sphinx (Gr.) means the Throttler, from her manner of killing her victims.

Stentor (sten´tor).—A Grecian herald in the Trojan war. His voice was as loud as that of fifty ordinary men together: hence our word stentorian.

Stheno.—See “[Gorgons].”

Stymphalus (stim-fā´lus).—A town in Arcadia; the haunt of the terrible birds slain by Hercules. See “[Hercules (vi)].”

Styx (stiks)—i. e., “the hateful, horrible” (Gr.).—The principal river of the lower world, around which it flows seven times. [Charon] (q.v.) ferried the souls of the departed across it. By the Styx the gods swore their most sacred oaths.

Surya.—The sun-god, according to the Hindu Veda, whose car is drawn by seven green horses, the charioteer being Dawn.

Sybaris (sib´ar-is).—A Greek town in Lucania, notorious for the luxury of its inhabitants: hence our word Sybarite.

Syphax (sif´ax).—King of one of the tribes of the Numidians. See “Sophonisba.”

Syrinx (sī´rinks).—A nymph, who, being pursued by Pan, was metamorphosed into a reed, of which Pan then made his shepherd’s pipe, usually called Pan’s pipe.

T

Tantalus (tan´ta-lus).—Son of Jupiter and the nymph Pluto; father of Pelops and Niobe. Having divulged some of his father’s secrets, he received a terrible punishment in the lower world. He was made to stand up to his chin in water, being at the same time afflicted with a raging thirst, and over his head hung branches of tempting fruit, yet when he attempted to drink the waters receded from him, and when he would pluck the fruit the branches immediately sprang out of his reach. Moreover, a huge rock was suspended above his head, threatening every moment to crush him. (Hence our word tantalize, meaning to torment by holding out hopes or prospects which cannot be realized.)

Tarpeia (tar-pē´ya).—Daughter of the governor of the Roman citadel: was tempted by the gold bracelets of the Sabines, who, in the time of Romulus, were besieging the fortress, to treacherously open one of the gates. As they rushed in they threw their shields upon her and crushed her to death. The Tarpeian Rock (tar-pē´yan), from which criminals were hurled headlong, was named after her.

Tartarus (tar´ta-rus).—The place of punishment of the wicked in the lower world, as opposed to the Elysian Fields, the abode of the blessed. Sometimes it means the lower world generally.

Taygete (tā-ij´et-ē).—Daughter of Atlas and Pleione, one of the Pleiones.

Tecmessa (tek-mes´sa).—Daughter of Teleutas, king of Phrygia, and mistress of Ajax the Great.

Telamon (tel´a-mōn).—Son of Æacus and brother of Peleus. He was king of Salamis and father of Ajax the Great (or Telamonius) and of Teucer, the celebrated archer. He was one of the Argonauts, and took part in the Calydonian boar hunt.

Telegonus (te-leg´on-us).—Son of Ulysses and Circe. He killed his father without knowing it. See “[Ulysses].”

Telemachus (tē-lem´ak-us).—Son of [Ulysses] (q.v.) and Penelope.

Telephus (tē´le-fus).—Son of Hercules and king of Mysia. He married Laodice, daughter of Priam, king of Troy. He was wounded by the spear of Achilles, but was afterward cured by its rust.

Tenedos (ten´e-dos).—A small island in the Ægean Sea, off the coast of Troas. Hither the Greeks brought their fleet when they pretended to sail away from [Troy] (q.v.).

Tereus (tē´rūs).—Son of Mars, king of Thrace and husband of Procne, by whom he became the father of Itys. He hid Procne and married Philomela (q.v.). Procne killed her son Itys and served him up in a dish to Tereus. She then fled with her sister Philomela. Procne was afterwards changed into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, and Tereus into a hawk.

Terpsichore.—See “[Musæ].”

Tethys (tē´this).—Wife of Oceanus and mother of the sea-nymphs and sea-gods.

Teucer (tū´ser).—(i) Brother of Ajax the Great, and the most skillful archer among the Greeks before Troy. (ii) The first king of Troy: whence the Trojans are sometimes called Teucri.

Thalia.—See “Musæ.”

Themis (them´is).—The goddess of justice and of prophecy. She is generally represented holding a cornucopia and a pair of scales.

Thersites (ther-sī´tēz).—A Greek before Troy, notorious for his ugliness and scurrility. He was killed by Achilles.

Theseus (thē´sūs).—The great legendary hero of Attica; was the son of Ægeus, king of Athens, and of Æthra. He went of his own accord as part of the yearly tribute of Athens to the [Minotaur] (q.v.). Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, however, fell in love with the hero, and gave him a sword wherewith he slew the monster, and a clue of threads by means of which he found his way out of the labyrinth. Theseus then sailed away in company with Ariadne, but he abandoned her (see “[Ariadne]”) in the island of Naxos. When approaching Attica, he forgot to hoist the white sail, as a token of success, and so caused the death of his father (see “Ægeus”). Theseus thus became king of Athens. His life was full of adventure. He was an Argonaut, and took part in the Calydonian boar hunt. His friendship with Pirithous is proverbial. He even accompanied Pirithous into the lower world with the object of carrying off Proserpine (see “[Pirithous]”). On his return from the lower world he found himself unable to re-establish himself as king of Athens, and retired to the island of Scyros, where he was killed by Lycomedes, the king, who treacherously thrust him down a rock.

Thetis (thet´is).—A sea-nymph; daughter of Nereus and Doris, wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles. At her wedding with Peleus occurred the celebrated incident of the Golden Apple (see “[Paris]”).

Thisbe (this´be).—A beautiful maiden of Babylon, beloved by Pyramus (pi´ra-mus).—Their parents being averse to their union, they used to converse secretly through a hole in the wall, as they lived in adjoining houses. Once they agreed to meet at the tomb of Ninus. Thisbe arrived first, but perceiving a lioness devouring an ox, she took flight. While running she lost her garment, which the lioness seized and soiled with blood. Meanwhile Pyramus came on the scene, and finding her garment soiled with blood, he imagined that she had been slain, and killed himself. Thisbe returned later, and finding the dead body of her lover killed herself also.

Thor.—In Scandinavian mythology the eldest son of Odin and Frigga; strongest and bravest of the gods. He launched the thunder, presided over the air and [844] the seasons, and protected man from lightning and evil spirits. His wife was Sif (“love”); his chariot was drawn by two he-goats; his mace or hammer was called Mjolner; his belt was Megin-giord, and whenever he put it on his strength was doubled; his palace, Thrudvangr, contained five hundred and forty halls; Thursday is Thor’s day. This word means “refuge from terror.”

Thyone (thi-ō´nē).—The name given to Semele when she was brought from the lower world by her son Bacchus and placed among the immortals.

Tiresias (tī-res´i-as).—A celebrated blind soothsayer of Thebes. He was blind from his seventh year; but lived to a great age. He was one of the most famous soothsayers in all antiquity.

Tiryns (tī´rins).—A town in Argolis; one of the most ancient in all Greece, where Hercules was brought up. Remains of the city are still to be seen.

Tisiphone.—See “[Furiæ].”

Titanes (tī-tā´nēz).—The Titans; the six sons and six daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Ge (Earth), who contended with Jupiter for the sovereignty of heaven, but were overcome by him and precipitated into Tartarus.

Tithonus (tī-thō´nus).—Son of Laomedon and brother of Priam. He was beloved by the goddess Aurora, who endowed him with immortality, but not with eternal youth. Consequently, with the gradual decay of nature, he became at length a decrepit old man, whose immortality with ever-weakening physical vigor became a terrible burden to him. Aurora eventually changed him into a grasshopper.

Trimurti.—The name of the Hindu triad of deities; or Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva united in one god-head, and spoken of as an inseparable unity.

Triptolemus (trip-tol´em-us).—Son of Celeus, king of Eleusis. He was the favorite of Ceres, and the inventor of the plow and agriculture: hence introduced civilization, which follows the latter. He introduced the worship of Ceres.

Triton (trī´ton).—A sea-god; son of Neptune, who blows through a shell to calm the sea. He is represented with a man’s head and body, the lower part being that of a fish.

Troas (trō´as).—The region about Troy (or Ilium), forming one of the five parts into which Mysia, a district occupying the northwest corner of Asia Minor, was divided. Troas is frequently called The Troad.

Troilus (trō´il-us).—Son of Priam and Hecuba; slain by Achilles.

Troja (trō´ja), or Troy, called by the Greeks Ilium (ī´li-um).—A city of Asia Minor, situated in the Troad, famous for its ten years’ siege by the Greeks. The name Troy was derived from king Tros (trōs), who gave his name originally to the district (Troas) and the people; Ilium from Ilus, son of Tros, who founded the city—which, however, was also called, after his father, Troy. The Trojan war forms the subject of Homer’s immortal poem, the Iliad. The history of this celebrated war may be briefly told as follows: The war arose from the abduction of Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and the most beautiful woman of her time, by Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy. The cause of her abduction is given under “[Paris]” and “[Helen].” All the chiefs of Greece, who had been former suitors of Helen, joined Menelaus in an expedition to Troy to bring her back. They accordingly massed all their forces and sailed for the coast of Troas. Even the gods took an active part in the contest: Juno and Minerva, owing to the judgment of Paris, were hostile to the Trojans, and accordingly sided with the Greeks; while Venus, to whom Paris had awarded the golden apple, took the side of the Trojans. The innumerable incidents of the siege itself must be passed over; only the remarkable way in which, after a ten years’ siege, the city was finally taken, must be told. The city contained an ancient statue of Pallas (i. e. Minerva), called the Palladium, (q.v.) on the preservation of which the safety of the city was supposed to depend. Accordingly the Greeks make a night attack on Troy, and Ulysses and Diomedes succeeded in carrying off this Palladium. A little later the Greeks returned to their ships and sailed away, pretending that they had relinquished the siege. On the plain before the city, however, they left behind them the celebrated wooden horse, the invention of Ulysses, which was hollowed out in the interior sufficiently to admit of the presence of its wily inventor and a few other heroes within it. Meanwhile Sinon, a relation of Ulysses, had allowed himself to be taken prisoner by the Trojans, and then persuaded them to draw this wooden horse, which he pretended was an atonement for the Palladium, into the city. They foolishly believed him and dragged the horse into the city, and in the dead of night Sinon let the Greeks out of the horse, and they at once set fire to the city. Meanwhile the main body of the Greeks, who had gone no farther than the island of Tenedos, returned and rushed through the gates of the city, opened by their friends within, and in this way the city was taken. The date most generally accepted for the capture of Troy is B. C. 1184.

Trolls.—Dwarfs of Northern mythology, living in hills or mounds; they are represented as stumpy, misshapen, and humpbacked, inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children or substituting one of their own offspring for that of a human mother. They are called hill-people, and are especially averse to noise, from a recollection of the time when Thor used to fling his hammer after them.

Tydeus (tī´dēs).—Son of Œneus, king of Calydon, and father of Diomedes, who was one of the principal Greek heroes at the Trojan war. Hence Diomedes is often called by his patronymic Tydides (ti-dī´dēz).

Tyndareus (tin´dar-ūs).—King of Sparta and husband of Leda. He invited Menelaus to come to Sparta, and handed over the kingdom to him.

Typhoeus (ti-fō´ūs), or Typhon (ti´fon).—A giant who wished to acquire the sovereign power over gods and men, but was overcome with a thunderbolt from Jupiter and buried under Mount Ætna.

Tyr.—In Norse mythology, a warrior deity, and the protector of champions and brave men; he was also noted for his sagacity. When the gods wished to bind the wolf Fenrir, Tyr put his hand into the demon’s mouth as a pledge that the bonds should be removed again. But Fenrir found that the gods had no intention of keeping their word, and revenged himself in some degree by biting the hand off. Tyr was the son of Odin and brother of Thor.

U

Ulin.—An enchantress, who had no power over those who remained faithful to Allah and their duty; but if any fell into error or sin, she had full power to do as she liked. Thus, when Misnar (sultan of India) mistrusted the protection of Allah, she transformed him into a toad. When the Vizier Horam believed a false report, obviously untrue, she transformed him also into a toad. And when the Princess Hemjunah, to avoid a marriage projected by her father, ran away with a stranger, her indiscretion placed her in the power of the enchantress, who transformed her likewise into a toad. Ulin was ultimately killed by Misnar, sultan of Delhi, who felled her to the ground with a blow.

Ulysses (ū-lis´ēz), or Ulixes (u-lix´ēz); called Odysseus (od-is´sūs) by the Greeks.—A king of Ithaca, famed among the Grecian heroes of the Trojan war for his craft and eloquence; the son of Laertes, husband of Penelope, and father of Telemachus and Telegonus (by Circe). In order to escape from going with the other Greek heroes against Troy, he feigned madness, ploughing the sea-shore with a horse and bull yoked together and sowing salt. The imposture, however, was laid bare by [Palamedes] (q.v.), who placed Telemachus, the infant son of Ulysses, in the furrow, when the latter at once turned aside the plough; but the wily Ulysses had his revenge on Palamedes. Ulysses, in his turn, sought out and obtained the indispensable assistance of [Achilles] (q.v.). At the siege of Troy his cunning and valor were of the greatest service to the Greeks. In company with Diomedes he slew the horses of Rhesus, and also carried off the Palladium (q.v.). Perhaps the crowning effort of his ingenuity was the invention of the famous wooden horse, by means of which the city of [Troy] (q.v.) was ultimately taken by the Greeks. After the taking of Troy Ulysses set out for Ithaca, which, however, he did not reach for twenty years. During this time he passed through the adventures which form the subject of Homer’s glorious poem, the Odyssey, which takes its name from Odysseus, the Greek name for Ulysses. He thus visited [Circe] (q.v.), [Polyphemus] (q.v.), the Lotophagi, and other persons and places. In order to get safely past the island of the Sirens, he, with his usual sagacity, devised special means, which proved entirely successful (see “[Sirens]”). He lost six of his companions while sailing between [Scylla] (q.v.) and Charybdis. He then suffered shipwreck, he alone escaping by means of the mast and planks. In ten days he was drifted on to the island of Ogygia, inhabited by [Calypso] (q.v.), with whom he stayed for eight years. He then constructed a raft, and made his way to the island of Scheria (q.v.), whence he obtained a ship that carried him to Ithaca. He did not, however, make himself known at once to his wife and son. In order to see how the land lay, he disguised himself [845] as a beggar, but was kindly received by the old swineherd. Meanwhile his son Telemachus, now grown up to manhood, returned from a journey to Pylos and Sparta, undertaken with a view to gleaning what information he could as to the probable whereabouts of his father. Ulysses then made himself known to Telemachus, and the two resolved on a plan of revenge on the numerous unfortunate suitors for the hand of the virtuous and constant [Penelope] (q.v.). With great difficulty she was induced (being, as yet, unaware of the safe arrival of her husband) to promise her hand to that suitor who could shoot with the bow of Ulysses. Not one of them, however, was able to draw this bow, whereupon Ulysses himself took it up and slew them all. He then made himself known to Penelope, and went to see his father Laertes, bowed down with grief and years. Now Circe, who had had a son, Telegonus, by Ulysses, sent him in search of his father. Telegonus encountered a storm which cast his ship on the coast of Ithaca, and being pressed by hunger, he began to plunder the fields. Ulysses and Telemachus hearing of this, went out against the spoliator; but Telegonus, not knowing Ulysses, ran him through the body with a spear given to him by his mother. Thus the famous hero died at the hands of his own son. Telegonus afterwards married Penelope, and became by her the father of Italus.

Urania (ū-rā´ni-a).—The muse of astronomy. See “[Musæ].”

Uranus (ū´ra-nus), or Heaven.—Husband of Gæa (Earth), and father of Oceanus, Hyperion, Rhea, Themis, Cronos, and other children. At the instigation of Gæa he was dethroned by Cronos.

Utgard-Loki.—The chief of the giants, in Norse mythology.

V

Varuna, or Vrauna.—In Hindu mythology, the deity who presides over the waters of the ocean, corresponding with Neptune of classic mythology.

Valhalla.—In Scandinavian mythology the palace of immortality wherein are received the souls of heroes slain in battle.

Valkyrs.—The battle-maidens of Scandinavian mythology. They were mounted on swift horses and held drawn swords. They rushed into battle and selected those destined to death and conducted them to Valhalla. The number of Valkyrs differs greatly according to the various mythologists and ranges from three to sixteen, the greater part of them, however, naming only nine.

Venus (vē´nus); called by the Greeks Aphrodite (af-ro-dī´tē)—i. e. “sea-foam.”—The goddess of love and beauty. She was supposed to have sprung from the foam of the sea: hence her Greek name. She was the wife of Vulcan, but was very unfaithful to him. She loved the gods Mars, Bacchus, Neptune and Mercury, and the mortals Adonis and Anchises. She was considered by [Paris] (q.v.) the most beautiful of the goddesses and had awarded to her the celebrated Golden Apple. Anyone who wore her magic girdle immediately became beautiful and the object of love and desire. She is generally accompanied by her son Cupid. The month of April, as the commencement of spring, was considered peculiarly sacred to the goddess of love. The myrtle, rose, apple and poppy, and the sparrow, dove, swan and swallow, were all sacred to her. She was probably originally identical with Astarte, a Syrian goddess, called by the Hebrews Ashtoreth. As might have been anticipated, the representation of the Queen of Beauty on canvas and in marble has resulted in some of the finest works of the most celebrated painters and sculptors of antiquity. Among the former, Apelles’ masterpiece of Venus rising from the sea deserves special mention; and among the latter the “Cnidian Venus” (so called because it stood in her temple at Cnidus), by Praxiteles, is unquestionably the most famous. Phryne (q.v.) sat as model for both of these noble works of art. The fame of the “Cnidian Venus” was so great that travelers from all parts of the civilized world resorted to Cnidus in order to see it. In fact, Pliny and others declared it to be the finest statue in the world. The “Venus of Milo” is, however, the noblest extant representation of Venus. It was found, in 1820, in the island of Melos, the modern Milo (hence the epithet), which is one of the group of islands named the Cyclades, in the Ægean Sea. It now forms one of the treasures of the Louvre, Paris.

Vertumnus (ver-tum´nus).—The god of the changing year—that is, of the seasons and their productions. His festival was celebrated by the whole Roman people on the 23rd of August.

Vesta (ves´ta); called by the Greeks Hestia (hes´ti-a)—i. e. “the hearth.”—One of the twelve great Roman deities, the goddess and guardian of the hearth and home. She was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea. In her temple in the Forum at Rome stood no statue, the goddess being represented by the eternal fire burning on her altar as her abiding symbol. This fire was kept up and attended to by a number of virgin priestesses, called Vestals, who were chaste and pure like the goddess herself. On March 1 in every year the sacred fire was renewed, and on June 15 her temple was cleaned and purified.

Vidar.—The Scandinavian god of wisdom, noted for his thick shoes, and not infrequently called “The god with the thick shoes.”

Vishnu.—In Hindu mythology one of the great deities of the Hindu triad, ranking as the Preserver, after Brahma, the Creator, and before Siva, the Destroyer. It is believed that he has appeared on earth nine times, his tenth avatar, or incarnation, having yet to come.

Volumnia (vol-um´ni-a).—Wife of [Coriolanus] (q.v.).

Vulcanus (vul-kā´nus), or Vulcan; called Hephæstus (hē-fēs´tus) by the Greeks. The god of fire. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was lame from his birth. Besides being the god of fire, he was master of the arts which need the aid of fire, especially of working in metal. He made all the palaces of the gods on Olympus, the armor of Achilles, the fatal necklace of Harmonia, the fire-breathing and brazen-hoofed bulls of Æëtes (see “[Argonautæ]”), etc. The Cyclops were his workmen, and his workshops were situated under Mount Ætna in Sicily. Vulcan’s wife was Venus. His favorite abode on the earth was the island of Lemnos. His great festival was celebrated on the 23rd of August.

W

White Lady.—In German folk-lore, the ancient Teutonic goddess Holda or Berchta, who was the receiver of the souls of maidens and children, and who still exists as the White Lady, not infrequently, in German legends, transforming herself, or those whom she decoys into her home, into a white mouse.

Wild Huntsman, The.—A spectral hunter in folk-lore, especially in German folk-lore; the subject of a ballad by Bürger.

Woden (wō´den), or Wotan.—The Anglo-Saxon form of the Scandinavian god Odin; Wednesday is called after him.

Y

Yama.—In the Rigveda, the name of the god who rules in heaven over the blessed—the Manes, Fathers, or Pitris—and is therefore called king.

Yggdrasil.—In Scandinavian mythology the great ash tree which binds together heaven, earth, and hell. Its branches extend over the whole earth, its top reaches heaven, and its roots hell. The three nornas, or fates, sit under the tree, spinning the events of man’s life.

Z

Zem.—The sacred well of Mecca. According to Arab tradition, this is the very well that was shown to Hagar when with Ishmael in the desert. It is supposed to be in the heart of the city of Mecca.

Zephyrus (zef´i-rus).—The west wind, or properly, the northwest.

Zeus (zūs).—See “[Jupiter].”

Zohak.—The giant of Persian mythology who keeps the “mouth of hell.” He was the fifth of the Pischdadian dynasty, and was a lineal descendant of Shedâd, king of Ad. He murdered his predecessor, and invented both flaying men alive and killing them by crucifixion. The devil kissed him on the shoulders, and immediately two serpents grew out of his back and fed constantly upon him. He was dethroned by the famous blacksmith of Ispahan, and appointed by the devil to keep hell-gate.

Zohara.—An oriental queen of love, and mother of mischief. When Harût and Marût were selected by the host of heaven to be judges on earth, they judged righteous judgment till Zohara, in the shape of a lovely woman, appeared before them with her complaint. They then both fell in love with her and tried to corrupt her, but she flew from them to heaven; and the two angel-judges were forever shut out.

Zulzul.—According to Chinese mythology the sage whose life was saved in the form of a rat by Gedy, the youngest of the four sons of Corcud. Zulzul gave him, in gratitude, two poniards, by the help of which he could climb the highest tree or most inaccessible castle.

EXPLANATORY CHART OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY: SHOWING THE ORIGIN, RELATIONSHIP AND DESCENT OF CHIEF MYTHS

The relationship of these mythical personages are quite unlike those of mortals and are full of inconsistencies. To reconcile all the contradictions of the poets and mythologists is impossible. Perhaps this chart is as consistent with their fabulous tales as can well be made.

CHAOS Produced EREBUS, god of darkness, NOX,goddess of night, and TERRA, Earth.

-

TITAN Oldest of the twelve Titans.

-

-

JUNO, wife and sister of Jupiter, queen of the gods, and of Heaven and Earth.

-

By Them´is.

Astræa, the goddess of justice; Nemesis, of vengeance.

By Juno.

Mars, the god of war; by Venus, Anteros, Harmonia; the goddess of youth; oncecupbearer to Jupiter.

THE CYCLOPS Giants, at first three in number: Arges, Brontes, Steropes.

JUPITER or Zeus, the most powerful of all the gods; kingof gods and men, had

Hebe, by her husband Hercules, Alexiares and Anicetus.

Typhon, by the monster Echidna, Chimæra and Sphinx.

Vulcan, the god of fire and of blacksmiths, and husband of Venus; by hiswife Venus, Cupid; by Medusa, Cacus, by Juno, Cæculus.

By Lato´na.

Apollo, the god of poetry, music, eloquence, medicine, the finearts, augury, and archery.

Diana, the goddess of hunting, the patroness of chastity, presided also over childbirth.

By Ma´ia.

TERRA or TITÆA produced CŒLUS orURANUS, Heaven.

BRIAREUS A famous giant called by men Ægæon, and by the gods Braireus.

Mercury, the messenger of the gods, the god of eloquence and commerce, thepatron of travellers, thieves, and knaves, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to the infernal regions. ByPenelope, Pan. By the Greeks he was called Hermes.

By Mnemos´y-ne.

The Nine Muses.

TETHYS Wife of Oceanus; for offspring, see [Oceanus]

Cli´o presided over History. - See [Dictionary of Mythology]. Calli´o-pe presided over eloquence and epic poetry. Er´ato presided over lyric and amorous poetry. Thali´a presided over pastoral and comic poetry and festivals. Melpom´e-ne presided over tragedy. Terpsich´o-re presided over dancing. Euter´pe presided over music. Polyhym´nia presided over singing and rhetoric. Ura´nia presided over astronomy.

THEA Wife of Hyperion; the mother of rivers, and of about three thousand daughters,called Ocean´i-des.

By Euryn´o-me.

Graces.

Agla´ia - Three beautiful virgins, attendants on Venus; presided over kindness and good offices, and were supposed to give to beauty its charms; represented dancing in a circle with their hands joined. Thali´a Euphros´y-ne

CŒLUS or URANUS, i.e. Heaven, and TERRA orTITÆA, i.e. Earth.

-

had

SATURN or Cronos, god of Time, had by Rhea sameas Ops, same as Cybele.

By Sem´e-le.

Bacchus, god of wine; by his wife Ariadne, Thoas, Œnopion, Ceranus, Tauropolis,and others.

By Metis.

Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal and useful arts.

By Dione.

Venus, said to have been borne in the foam of the sea; the goddess of love and beauty,and mistress of the graces; wife of Vulcan; for offspring, see [Vulcan].

MNEMOSYNE Mother of the nine Muses.

By Ceres.

Pros´erpine, wife of Pluto, queen of hell, presidedover death. She was stolen away by Pluto while gathering flowers in Sicily, and became the mother of the [Fates] and[Furies], which see under [Dictionary].

By Euro´pa.

Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Æ´acus, threeinflexible judges of Hades.

THEMIS Mother of Astræa, goddess of Justice.

By Leda. - See [Dictionary of Mythology]. Castor and Pollux. By Dan´a-e. Per´seus. By Anti´o-pe. Amphi´on and Zethus.

CYBELE OPS or RHEA, wife of Saturn; the goddess of all things; styled MagnaMater or Great Mother, Bona Mater or Good Mother; for off-spring, see Saturn.

By Segesta.

Æolus, whose offspring were the various Winds.

By Alcmena.

Hercules, whose descendants were the Heraclidæ.

VESTA, the goddess of fire, and patroness of Vestal Virgins, who had the care of thesacred fire in the temple of Vesta at Rome, which was kept continually burning.

CERES, the goddess of corn and harvest. The famous Eleusinian mysteries werecelebrated in honor of Ceres, during the representation of which it was death to speak; as it was also to reveal afterwards what tookplace.

LATONIA, celebrated for her beauty, and for being greatly beloved by Jupiter and persecuted byJuno.

NEPTUNE, the god of the sea, the father of rivers and fountains, and, next to Jupiter, themost powerful deity; had by Amphitrite, TRITON, his father’s companion and herald.

OCEANUS The god of water, to whom the ancients recommended themselves when going ona voyage, had by Tethys.

PLUTO, the god of the infernal regions, of death and funerals; the dogCer´berus, a frightful mastiff with three heads, and a tail like a serpent, watches at hisfeet, and three Har´pies, winged monsters, hover about him.

-

AMPHITRITE had by

Neptune

TRITON, who had no offspring.

CYLMENE had by

Japetus

ATLAS, also Menœtius, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and others.

PHORCYS had by

Ceto

- The Gorgons, viz., Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale; three sisters whose heads were covered with vipers. The Graiæ, viz., Pephredo, Enyo, and Dinon.

ACHELOUS had by

Calliope.

The Sirens were three sea nymphs, named Parthen´ope,Lige´ia, and Leuco´sia, having the form ofa woman above the waist, and the rest of the body like a flying fish.

The Harpies, viz., Aello, Ocypete, and Celæus.

HYPERION, god of the Sun, had by Thea, AURORA, the goddess of the morning; representedriding in a rose-colored chariot drawn by white horses, usually covered with a veil, the morning star appearing overhead. She was calledrosy-fingered, because she scattered roses; by Tithon´us, a mortal, she had Memnonand Æmathion.

JAPETUS, father of mankind, had by Clymene, ATLAS, also Prometheus, Epimetheus,Menœtius, and others, called Japitonides.

EREBUS and NOX

-

had

-

Light, or Day, Somnus, Mors, and Charon, the Ferryman

-

Nox or Night, Mors or Death, Somnus or Sleep, and Morpheus(the minister of Somnus, who brought dreams to men) were infernal divinities. Momus, god of laughter and satire, son of Somnusand Nox.

Ancient Roman Sun-god—Janus, the god of the year, presided over the gates of heaven,and over peace and war; represented with two faces. His temple in Rome was open in time of war and shut in time of peace.

CHAOS Produced EREBUS, god of darkness, NOX, goddess of night, and TERRA,Earth.
TERRA or TITÆA produced CŒLUS or URANUS, Heaven.
CŒLUS or URANUS, i.e. Heaven, and TERRA orTITÆA, i.e. Earth. had
	TITAN Oldest of the twelve Titans.
	THE CYCLOPS Giants, at first three innumber: Arges, Brontes, Steropes.
	BRIAREUS A famous giant called by men Ægæon,and by the gods Braireus.
	TETHYS Wife of Oceanus; for offspring, see[Oceanus].
	THEA Wife of Hyperion; the mother of rivers, and ofabout three thousand daughters, called Ocean´i-des.
	SATURN or Cronos, god of Time, had by Rhea same as Ops, same asCybele.
		JUNO, wife and sister of Jupiter, queen of the gods, and of Heaven and Earth.
		JUPITER or Zeus, the most powerful of all the gods; king of gods and men, had
			By Them´is.
				Astræa, the goddess of justice; Nemesis, of vengeance.
			By Juno.
				Mars, the god of war; by Venus, Anteros, Harmonia; the goddess of youth; oncecupbearer to Jupiter.
				Hebe, by her husband Hercules, Alexiares and Anicetus.
				Typhon, by the monster Echidna, Chimæra and Sphinx.
				Vulcan, the god of fire and of blacksmiths, and husband of Venus; byhis wife Venus, Cupid; by Medusa, Cacus, by Juno, Cæculus.
			By Lato´na.
				Apollo, the god of poetry, music, eloquence, medicine, the finearts, augury, and archery.
				Diana, the goddess of hunting, the patroness of chastity, presided also over childbirth.
			By Ma´ia.
				Mercury, the messenger of the gods, the god of eloquence and commerce, thepatron of travellers, thieves, and knaves, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to the infernal regions.By Penelope, Pan. By the Greeks he was called Hermes.
			By Mnemos´y-ne.
				The Nine Muses.
					Cli´o presided over History.
					Calli´o-pe presided over eloquence and epic poetry. (See [Dictionary ofMythology].)
					Er´ato presided over lyric and amorous poetry. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
					Thali´a presided over pastoral and comic poetry and festivals. (See [Dictionary ofMythology].)
					Melpom´e-ne presided over tragedy. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
					Terpsich´o-re presided over dancing. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
					Euter´pe presided over music. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
					Polyhym´nia presided over singing and rhetoric. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
					Ura´nia presided over astronomy. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
			By Euryn´o-me.
				Graces. (Three beautiful virgins, attendants on Venus; presided over kindness and good offices,and were supposed to give to beauty its charms; represented dancing in a circle with their hands joined.)
					Agla´ia
					Thali´a
					Euphros´y-ne
			By Sem´e-le.
				Bacchus, god of wine; by his wife Ariadne, Thoas, Œnopion, Ceranus, Tauropolis,and others.
			By Metis.
				Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal and useful arts.
			By Dione.
				Venus, said to have been borne in the foam of the sea; the goddess of love andbeauty, and mistress of the graces; wife of Vulcan; for offspring, see [Vulcan].
			By Ceres.
				Pros´erpine, wife of Pluto, queen of hell, presided over death. She was stolen awayby Pluto while gathering flowers in Sicily, and became the mother of the [Fates] and [Furies],which see under [Dictionary].
			By Euro´pa.
				Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Æ´acus, three inflexible judges of Hades.
			By Leda.
				Castor and Pollux. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
			By Dan´a-e.
				Per´seus. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
			By Anti´o-pe.
				Amphi´on and Zethus. (See [Dictionary of Mythology].)
			By Segesta.
				Æolus, whose offspring were the various Winds.
			By Alcmena.
				Hercules, whose descendants were the Heraclidæ.
		VESTA, the goddess of fire, and patroness of Vestal Virgins, who had the care of thesacred fire in the temple of Vesta at Rome, which was kept continually burning.
		CERES, the goddess of corn and harvest. The famous Eleusinian mysteries werecelebrated in honor of Ceres, during the representation of which it was death to speak; as it was also to reveal afterwards what tookplace.
		LATONIA, celebrated for her beauty, and for being greatly beloved by Jupiter and persecuted byJuno.
		NEPTUNE, the god of the sea, the father of rivers and fountains, and, next to Jupiter,the most powerful deity; had by Amphitrite, TRITON, his father’s companion and herald.
		PLUTO, the god of the infernal regions, of death and funerals; the dogCer´berus, a frightful mastiff with three heads, and a tail like a serpent, watches at his feet, and threeHar´pies, winged monsters, hover about him.
	MNEMOSYNE Mother of the nine Muses.
	THEMIS Mother of Astræa, goddess of Justice.
	CYBELE OPS or RHEA, wife of Saturn; the goddess ofall things; styled Magna Mater or Great Mother, Bona Mater or Good Mother; for off-spring, seeSaturn.
	OCEANUS The god of water, to whom the ancientsrecommended themselves when going on a voyage, had by Tethys.
		AMPHITRITE had by Neptune TRITON, who had no offspring.
		CYLMENE had by Japetus ATLAS, also Menœtius, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and others.
		PHORCYS had by Ceto {The Gorgons, viz., Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale; three sisters whose heads werecovered with vipers. {The Graiæ, viz., Pephredo, Enyo, and Dinon.
		ACHELOUS had by Calliope. The Sirens were three sea nymphs, named Parthen´ope,Lige´ia, and Leuco´sia, having the form of a woman above the waist, and the rest of the body like a flyingfish.
		The Harpies, viz., Aello, Ocypete, and Celæus.
	HYPERION, god of the Sun, had by Thea, AURORA, the goddess of the morning; representedriding in a rose-colored chariot drawn by white horses, usually covered with a veil, the morning star appearing overhead. She was calledrosy-fingered, because she scattered roses; by Tithon´us, a mortal, she had Memnon and Æmathion.
	JAPETUS, father of mankind, had by Clymene, ATLAS, also Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menœtius,and others, called Japitonides.
EREBUS and NOX had Light, or Day, Somnus, Mors, and Charon, the Ferryman
	Nox or Night, Mors or Death, Somnus or Sleep, and Morpheus(the minister of Somnus, who brought dreams to men) were infernal divinities.
	Momus, god of laughter and satire, son of Somnus and Nox.
Ancient Roman Sun-god—Janus, the god of the year, presided over the gates of heaven,and over peace and war; represented with two faces. His temple in Rome was open in time of war and shut in time of peace.

SCREENS OF LIGHT CAST BY INVISIBLE ATOMS

IMMENSELY ENLARGED REPRESENTATIONS OF ATOMS

(1) of Ordinary Matter; (2) of Radium

Here is seen an invisible speck of radium throwing out invisible atoms that sparkle into sight on a film. This stream of atoms will pour forth for 2500 years before the radium ceases to exist, thus showing the marvelous energy stored up in the smallest particle. These flying particles fall on the screen or film like hailstones splashing on the surface of water, and the splash is visible, while the radium itself and flying atoms are not. This is the nearest men have yet come to seeing an actual atom.

[Large photograph] (268 kB)

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